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PaperclipPerfector  6d ago (text post)   23290 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of July 21, 2025

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It's thanks to said medical advances that most people can be confident of living well past 50, into their 60s, 70s or even 80s.

Focusing on the first fifty years of life where the need for intensive medical care isn't nearly as necessary is myopic.

Sure, but increasing lifespans for the already old is one metric among many.

US life expectancy at birth was already over 68 years in 1950.

Hence why I specified the 70s and 80s.

68 is awful in comparison, North Korea beats that today.

The same source (statista) gives 78 today. So no 80s. Though I don't know how accurate these tables are; they're by nature projections.

Taking those figures at face value, 50% of people die by the age of 78 (that's what life expectancy is, after all). I don't have actuarial tables at hand either, but that also implies that a significant fraction of the survivors then go on to make it to their 80s. Women also live longer on average.

Taking those figures at face value, 50% of people die by the age of 78 (that's what life expectancy is, after all). I don't have actuarial tables at hand, but that also implies that a significant fraction of the survivors then go on to make it to their 80s. Women also live longer on average.

I don't have actuarial tables at hand

Link

But it’s not a conscious thought process. Most people aren’t sitting down analyzing exactly what’s changed in the medical industry and where the new costs are going and finding the checkbook balances. They just know that they’re getting mostly the same procedures but it costs more.

I never claimed otherwise. People can be dumb and not think through after all. That's a failing, and not a justification for their views.

US cost-disease is in a league of its own, and I won't make strong claims about how much of it is due to the availability of more expensive treatment modalities as opposed to medical cartels, a captive market etc.

These hypothetical people might be unhappy with the ER bill from a broken toe, but they should be aware that they'll be much more grateful for therapies later down the line.

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