Why aren't the oldest living people getting any older?

Re:Why aren't the oldest living people getting any older? by sixtofour on Tuesday July 26, 2011 @12:43PM (#2808189)

What do we do with people who live to extreme age, but do not operate at the speed of the current economy? How do we keep them occupied? How do they make a living? How do we use what they can contribute? Are we as a culture, today or on the next two generations, ready to deal with those issues?

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Re:Why aren't the oldest living people getting any older? by iwwr on Tuesday July 26, 2011 @02:50PM (#2808867)

How do we

There is no 'we', people act individually. If people will have enough savings, they will retire earlier, if they don't they keep working. The increase in life expectancy would be doubled with an increase in health and fitness at these older ages. So people can and would keep working.

The alternative interpretation is more insidious: "we should not allow people to live longer because it will bankrupt the pension system". Well, if the pension system is one casualty of longer, healthier and more productive lives then so be it.

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Re:Why aren't the oldest living people getting any older? by sixtofour on Tuesday July 26, 2011 @03:52PM (#2809186)

"There is no 'we', people act individually."

There are many 'we's," people act together and individually. Some of the ways we act together are strictly voluntary, others are coerced (tax supported activity) and we either agree and go along or disagree and go along. Some people don't go along at all in rare cases.

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