More Reasons Not To Trust Government

As if you needed another reason to mistrust the government ... turns the feds have deliberately underestimated the number of elderly Americans to cover up shortfalls in Social Security and Medicare. And this was happening before Obamacare.

From "Staying Older Longer," a blog post at Caregiving by Richard Peck:

What is the impact on Social Security and Medicare now that people are living longer lives?

It's common knowledge that people these days are living longer than ever, with life expectancy approaching 80 years of age (especially for women), and over-85-year-olds being the fastest growing segment of our population for some time now. Now a new study by the prestigious MacArthur Foundation says that we ain't seen nothing yet — that the mid-21st century is going to see men and women routinely living into their late 80s and early 90s, respectively, and 100-year-olds numbering nearly 2 million!

The MacArthur researchers, a blue-ribbon panel of well-known geriatricians and policy analysts, say that federal government agencies like the Social Security Administration and the Census Bureau, are underestimating Americans' longevity rates by some 3 to 8 years. The MacArthur panel maintains that advances in medical science and understanding of human health will develop more rapidly during the 21st century than they did in the latter half of the 20th century. Not only high-tech genetic manipulation and medical research, but increased emphasis on common sense calorie restriction and insulin control will pay off in longer, healthier lives, they predict.

Obviously a good thing, right? Yes, indeed, if you're among those likely to survive into this Golden Era. From the standpoint of society at-large, though, this might be a different story, and a scary one at that.

Read the full post here.

Also check out, "New Research Predicts Longer Life Expectancy for Americans, Higher Outlays for Medicare and Social Security," at The MacArthur Foundation Web site.

(H/T "Increased longevity has its price" by Kathleen Martin, posted at The Mercury)