From: Harvey Newstrom (mail@HarveyNewstrom.com)
Date: Wed Jan 23 2002 - 10:50:57 MST
Mike Lorrey wrote,
> But at what cost, Harvey? Because medical care costs money, every dollar
> spent is x.xx hours of someone's life spent laboring for themselves or
> for the government. Why slave away x hours of your life when you are
> only going to get a fraction of that back in increased life span?
Because I value my lifespan more than money. I want to live longer and keep
working if I can. Why die early to save a little dough?
I also believe that even small increments of lifespan let you live longer
into the future where better life-extending techniques will be available. A
few measly years might let me reach some new longevity breakthrough. I
rather have a chance at immortality rather than saving a few bucks.
> Increased life span from health care is only cost effective when the
> cost of every hour of additional life is less than the average amortized
> hourly wage of the individual. Only then is health care actually having
> a positive impact on society.
By whose calculation? My life is worth much more than that! :-)
Seriously, you can use those calculations to limit healthcare spending by
the government for other people, if you want. But personally, I want to
spend lots of money on keeping me alive. If I ever have a choice between
dying and spending money, I'll spend the money. I can't imagine ever
keeping my money because life-extension is not cost-effective. What good
will the extra money do me if I die early?
-- Harvey Newstrom, CISSP <www.HarveyNewstrom.com> Principal Security Consultant, Newstaff Inc. <www.Newstaff.com> Board of Directors, Extropy Institute <www.Extropy.org> Cofounder, Pro-Act <www.ProgressAction.org>
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