the elderly & immigration

My grandmother recently fractured her pelvis as a result of a fall. She couldn't walk and is in a lot of pain, but seems to be recovering. She's in a rehabilitation center/nursing home for anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks, and while she's unhappy there and would rather be home, she seems to be getting good care from attentive and kind staff.

I went to visit her this past weekend and while I was walking through the antiseptic corridors, I couldn't help but think that: (1) getting old is hard; (2) I'm going to have to go through this, or something akin to it, in about 25-30 years; (3) the effects of modern medicine on our society; and (4) who is paying for all of this?

In regards to thought (3), I recently watched a Frontline episode on this man who traveled to Germany to commit assisted suicide. He was suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease that had left him a paraplegic. He still had full presence of mind, but his body was failing and he did not want to end up with a mind fully intact and a body that was not. To his detractors, he made the point that if not for modern medicine, he would already be dead as the only way he was currently alive was because of the respirator that he was on day and night. While I disagree with the decision he made to end his own life, I do wonder about modern medicine and how God sees it. I think that in many, if not most, ways modern medicine is a miracle that God has allowed to happen. There have been countless numbers of people whose lives have been saved because of modern medicine. There are many people's lives who depend on prescription drugs in order to stay alive and those numbers swell as people get older.

Because we can keep people alive longer (which is a good thing! I have all 4 of my grandparents and am so blessed to have them), our population is aging at an alarming rate. I was recently listening to Robert Reich in a segment on Marketplace (one of my favorite NPR shows) and was incredulous to learn that 30 years ago, there were 5 workers for every retiree. In a few decades, there will be 2 workers for every retiree. Though it's not in the article, there are currently 3 workers for every retiree.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this is unsustainable. His solution? Get immigrants paying into social security. Immigrants tend to be young and have many children, which will get more workers paying into the system.

I personally have never seen the social security taxes that were taken out of my paycheck as something for me -- I've always seen them as something for those currently retired. I don't honestly expect to see any of that money in my elderly years. I'm glad that my grandparents have it and that my parents, most likely will. I think I need to plan on having lots of kids to take care of me in my old age (that and careful retirement planning now)!