# Boomers are gonna start dropping like flies **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 20, 2009, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670 "2009-02-20T03:42:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/41 "2009-02-20T21:00:04Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > Have you noticed that persons of the Hispanic persuasion seem to be growing in numbers lately? How do you think they’re going to feel about paying high taxes to support a bunch of elderly gringos to whom they are not related? Hispanics are, in general, much more respectful of their elders than we are. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/42 "2009-02-20T21:07:32Z")
> [@parthenokinesis](#): > > With all the “lets put our feet in the shoe x-ray machine to look at the bones”, and the “Try not to get too mosquito bit, why don’cha go play by the DDT truck” coupled with the “I heard if you scrape out the filaments from that and smoke them you get a real earthy kinda high” I figured the boomers will be quite kind enough to fix the impending social security crisis by dying before they can collect any. And if that doesn’t work, the chemtrails will get us all and nobody will have to pay out anything. The cockroaches will inherit the earth. Have a nice weekend. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/43 "2009-02-20T21:10:04Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Why is there still such a focus on how self-centered the boomers are? Is there any reason to believe that successive generations are _less_ self-centered? It seems quite the opposite to me. You mean the children of Boomers raised on ‘Me’ culture? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/44 "2009-02-20T21:13:28Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > Yes, but I sprayed it with poison first. > > Robin Breathe deep, Grandma. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/45 "2009-02-20T21:24:06Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Hispanics are, in general, much more respectful of their elders than we are. Of their elders, not ours. They won’t necessarily feel any obligation to pay for the boomer’s medical expenses. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/46 "2009-02-20T21:24:56Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > Yeah, unfortunately that’s an inversion of how civilization is supposed to work. The old are supposed to bequeath wealth to the young, not the other way around. But of course Baby Boomers aren’t called the “Me” generation for nothing. Who cares if there’s enough for hte kids and grandkids right? As long as there’s enough for ME!!! Be grateful we are [settling for your taxes](http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/classics/classics_archive/silverberg3/silverberg31.html): > [@](#): > > Today my draft notice, a small crisp document, very official-looking, came shooting out of the data slot when I punched for my morning mail. I’ve been expecting it all spring; no surprise, no shock, actually rather an anticlimax now that it’s finally here. In six weeks I am to report to Transplant House for my final physical exam—only a formality; they wouldn’t have drafted me if I didn’t already rate top marks as organ-reservoir potential—and then I go on call. The average call time is about two months. By autumn they’ll be carving me up. Eat, drink, and be merry, for soon comes the surgeon to my door. > > ~~_Caught in the Organ Draft_, by Robert Silverberg ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/47 "2009-02-20T21:34:47Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > Of their elders, not ours. They won’t necessarily feel any obligation to pay for the boomer’s medical expenses. Necessarily is the key word there. It’s a little presumptuous of you to say they won’t. Nothin’ like a little cross-cultural shit-stirring, though :rolleyes:. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/48 "2009-02-20T21:41:51Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > I know you probably intended this as just a bit of dark humor, but it may come to that. We may eventually reach the point where we will simply have to tell the elderly that the government is not going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep a terminally ill elderly patient alive for a few more weeks or months. Once it has been determined that no recovery is possible for a patient on Medicaid, all we will do is make the patient as comfortable as possible and wait for the end. > > Sounds cold-blooded, I know. I certainly don’t like the idea of a doctor telling me that I won’t be receiving treats which might give me life for a little while longer. But realistically, how much money should the government spend on the terminally ill who have already lived their lives? We made that decision for my grandmother this fall. She was dying of lung cancer - but would have had another six months or more - when she got a blockage in one of her legs. Surgery would have saved her life, but her children elected to let her go into a coma and pass on. I’ve said this before here - when my sister worked for the VA as an ICU nurse she saw people on life support under ridiculous circumstances. The problem was that when the husband died, the wife would be left with only SS survivor benefits, not enough to maintain her. While he lived - his medical care being paid for by the VA - she got twice the money. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/49 "2009-02-20T21:52:07Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Necessarily is the key word there. It’s a little presumptuous of you to say they won’t. Nothin’ like a little cross-cultural shit-stirring, though :rolleyes:. I’m pointing out that the country’s changing demographics mean that we boomers won’t necessarily have the votes to keep medical care and other government goodies coming our way. Racial and ethnic politics will always be a reality. Hispanics will tend to vote for what they perceive as their interests as an ethnicity , and a much younger Hispanic population may not care very much about a bunch of ageing Anglos. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/50 "2009-02-20T21:54:50Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > We made that decision for my grandmother this fall. She was dying of lung cancer - but would have had another six months or more - when she got a blockage in one of her legs. Surgery would have saved her life, but her children elected to let her go into a coma and pass on. > > I’ve said this before here - when my sister worked for the VA as an ICU nurse she saw people on life support under ridiculous circumstances. The problem was that when the husband died, the wife would be left with only SS survivor benefits, not enough to maintain her. While he lived - his medical care being paid for by the VA - she got twice the money. I am sorry to hear about your grandmother. You have my sympathy. Advanced medical science seems to be a mixed blessing, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/51 "2009-02-20T21:56:41Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Be grateful we are [settling for your taxes](http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/classics/classics_archive/silverberg3/silverberg31.html): So far, anyway. There’s still time. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/52 "2009-02-20T22:07:31Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > I’m pointing out that the country’s changing demographics mean that we boomers won’t necessarily have the votes to keep medical care and other government goodies coming our way. Racial and ethnic politics will always be a reality. Hispanics will tend to vote for what they perceive as their interests as an ethnicity , and a much younger Hispanic population may not care very much about a bunch of ageing Anglos. And I’m pointing out that “may not care very much about a bunch of aging Anglos” is a far cry from “how do you think they’re going to feel about paying high taxes to support a bunch of elderly gringos?” - which is an incredibly loaded and provocative question. Even the former is very presumptuous and divisive. Would YOU disenfranchise millions of people based on their ethnicity, and if the answer is no, then why do you assume hispanics would? ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/53 "2009-02-20T22:17:04Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > And I’m pointing out that “may not care very much about a bunch of aging Anglos” is a far cry from “how do you think they’re going to feel about paying high taxes to support a bunch of elderly gringos?” - which is an incredibly loaded and provocative question. Even the former is very presumptuous and divisive. Would YOU disenfranchise millions of people based on their ethnicity, and if the answer is no, then why do you assume hispanics would? Who’s talking about disenfranchisement? That word is not a synonym for _outvoted_. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/54 "2009-02-20T22:25:18Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Who’s talking about disenfranchisement? That word is not a synonym for _outvoted_. Sorry, health care is increasingly referred to as a right, deprivement of which would be disenfranchisement, but if you’re going to be nitpicky about it, call it outvoted. My point still stands. There’s no reason to believe the Mexicans are out to get us. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/55 "2009-02-20T22:39:40Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Can we have your liver then. Given the absurd assortment of meds, i dount it will be much good. I am an organ doner, and I am willing my corpse to whatever agency wants it. At least some anatomy students can have a good laugh:p I have corneal scarring, so I doubt they will want them. I have very nice skin, so I would be good for grafts, assorted bits of bone to sterilize and use as structure, my kidneys are shot, my lungs are shot [something about lungs and phosgene not getting along …] my heart is pretty good now … assorted blood vessels are ok … Im sure that parts of me will get used. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/56 "2009-02-20T22:48:39Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > The baby boom lasted a good 20ish years, so it’ll take them a good 20ish years to die off, starting in . . . 10ish years. They’re not going away any time soon. That means in about 30ish years, only the REALLY stubborn baby boomers like panache45 will be left. Just in time for me to start collecting. Gen X will have all killed themselves in a grand emo display of just how much they hate their fathers, so the only ones left will be us! mwa ha ha! ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/57 "2009-02-20T22:54:06Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Given the absurd assortment of meds, i dount it will be much good. I am an organ doner, and I am willing my corpse to whatever agency wants it. At least some anatomy students can have a good laugh:p > > I have corneal scarring, so I doubt they will want them. I have very nice skin, so I would be good for grafts, assorted bits of bone to sterilize and use as structure, my kidneys are shot, my lungs are shot [something about lungs and phosgene not getting along …] my heart is pretty good now … assorted blood vessels are ok … > > Im sure that parts of me will get used. That’s a very…practical view of things. Now, please pardon me while I go hurl. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/58 "2009-02-20T23:22:07Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > That’s a very…practical view of things. > > Now, please pardon me while I go hurl. \ Well, Im alive thanks to bodies previously donated to study anatomy, and other bits of research, the least I can do is let them use what is left. I dont hold with needing to plant a pretty corpse, Im not using it any more. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/59 "2009-02-20T23:43:57Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > . . . so many of his cohort are mistaking the gas and brake pedals and plowing through crowded food courts. Hey, don’t assume it’s always a mistake. Those food courts are packed with you guys and your little brats. Some of us fogies still have great aim. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2009, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670/60 "2009-02-21T04:11:11Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > And I’m pointing out that “may not care very much about a bunch of aging Anglos” is a far cry from “how do you think they’re going to feel about paying high taxes to support a bunch of elderly gringos?” - which is an incredibly loaded and provocative question. I don’t see how it’s a far cry at all. Would you care to explain? > [@Cisco](#): > > Even the former is very presumptuous and divisive. Would YOU disenfranchise millions of people based on their ethnicity, and if the answer is no, then why do you assume hispanics would? My apologies for upsetting you by bringing the ugly reality of ethnic and racial politics to your attention. Do you seriously believe that Hispanics won’t practice racial and ethnic politics? And do you seriously believe that won’t have an effect on boomers like you and me? Your assumption that the demographics will always be entirely on the side of the boomers seems rather shaky to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boomers-are-gonna-start-dropping-like-flies/486670.md?page=4)