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Life-expectancy is declining due to Life-Style, largely obesity, Type II Diabetes and chronic heart problems due to a self-indulgent hedonistic and inactive Life-Style.
No amount of healthcare will stop people from porking up and getting Type II Diabetes or chronic heart problems."
And what's one of the biggest reasons people are fat? Poverty! Healthy foods are not cheap grab and go foods. You have to have the money to purchase the ingredients and time to prepare healthy meals. And that's a real luxury to someone who is working multiple jobs trying to survive.
Back in the middle ages obesity meant you were wealthy and could afford to eat. Today obesity is a sin of the poor. The rich people now pay to be thin.
Healthy foods are not cheap grab and go foods. You have to have the money to purchase the ingredients and time to prepare healthy meals. And that's a real luxury to someone who is working multiple jobs trying to survive.
Water is free if you don't buy bottled water. Lot cheaper/healthier than Coke.
Fruit takes no prep time. Costs me less than $1 for fruit for lunch.
Broccoli, Green beans, carrots are all about $1.50/lb. Yes it takes some prep time to steam them but they are a lot cheaper than a McD burger and fries.
Minestrone soup costs us about $10 for a pot of 4-5 qts of soup, made from scratch. Feeds 2 of us for at least 2 nights. Again, it is cheaper than burgers and healthier.
I don't really agree that it is more expensive to eat healthier.
I voted no but not exactly for the reasons given. By the time someone reached 62 or 65 they often have medical issues that were not adequately resolved when they were younger and their work-force availability decreases. We may be living longer but not always better and the cost of healthcare keeps people from staying healthy longer. At 68 I doubt I could be as productive in my old job as someone younger. In a perfect world maybe people could work longer than they do now. Then we get to the original issue of jobs.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,186,228 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TwoByFour
Water is free if you don't buy bottled water. Lot cheaper/healthier than Coke.
Fruit takes no prep time. Costs me less than $1 for fruit for lunch.
Broccoli, Green beans, carrots are all about $1.50/lb. Yes it takes some prep time to steam them but they are a lot cheaper than a McD burger and fries.
Minestrone soup costs us about $10 for a pot of 4-5 qts of soup, made from scratch. Feeds 2 of us for at least 2 nights. Again, it is cheaper than burgers and healthier.
I don't really agree that it is more expensive to eat healthier.
Yes, there are less expensive ways to eat healthy, but it takes some effort. The typical obese "People of Wal-Mart" shopper filling their basket with processed and frozen high calorie cheap meals or routine McD patron is not about to take the time to learn how to buy and store fresh food, and cook a healthy, tasty meal. It's just a lot easier to pop something in the microwave or hit the drive-up.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,722 posts, read 58,067,115 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hurricane harry
Work until you have enough money to be self sufficient.
At what age that happens is irrelevant.
Stick it to the man.
Good answer; "work" nor "retirement" is an 'end goal' in and of itself... having enough dough / cash flow to carry on your chosen lifestyle is an adequate and superior objective. Getting to that point sooner than later will be a perfect ticket for many. (They should have taught THAT in kindergarten!) Purposed into your career and work planning, it would be very ez to get there by age 40, especially for those with double income. Singles could take the high paying routes of risky employment (fishing / oil / working in war zones). Work 24/7 and no time / place to spend and you can get to critical mass very quickly. Increased retirement age will be meaningless.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2nd trick op
Because the railroad industry is very different from your local C-store, fast-food joint, or similar "post-industrial" employer.
Railroads, like utilities and oil-and-chemical plants, involve a huge amount of capital invested per worker, and the nature of the business, with a high potential for serious injury in the event of an accident, makes the industry very safety- and discipline-conscious. Few railroaders earn less than $50K, and often, two or three times that, but in return, an operating railroader sacrifices much of his (the work force is overwhelmingly male) personal life to a regimen that makes him available for duty on two hours notice, at any hour of day or night.
In addition, this schedule tends to take a toll on health -- until fairly recently, railroaders were notoriously heavy smokers; the irregular schedule made for unhealthy eating habits, and sometimes, use of liquor or medication in order to sleep. Over-the-road truckers face similar problems -- but not quite as much since hours-of-service regulations were reformed in the late 1980's.
...
awe yes thanks for that history reminder, and yet many of us worked 30+ yrs of shift work in hazardous conditions, (with NO pension / HC) so all in employment is NOT fair
Our local Paper mill still does 'rotating shifts' 2 weeks days, one week swing, one week graveyard. I am SO glad I was strictly on the 'social suicide' swing shift for 30 yrs. And worked graveyard on weekend jobs.
Sleep has always been 'optional.' I hear 'lost-sleep' comes off the tail end of life, that is fine with me, I have been on borrowed time for yrs.
I can't participate in your poll because it is too restrictive. The answer is - it should be taken on an individual basis.
Some people are physically totally broken down by the time they are 60. Some are physically fine well into their 80s and 90s. Some people are sharp as a tack until the day they die, and others start losing it in their 50s.
I think the people who have the toughest physical jobs are hurt the most by the idea that they must continue to work until they die. All that attitude does is make sure they die sooner.
What you describe is accurate and I agree with you, but the 2nd answer most closely describes this scenario
We may be living longer in general, but with what quality of life for those who have health problems? Missing work impacts hugely on employers, many with small employee load. Many over 65 are in walkers, etc., getting hip and knee replacements and out of work for months. I cannot see a large argument here. Of course a senior in tip top health at the top of her game, sure. But I'm not so sure that that's that norm.
I guess I've always been in "tip top health" and had plenty of energy to do any job I ever had but you are right, that isn't the "norm". At least according to my work place. Most of our door greeters and self checkout cashiers have those jobs because it's all they CAN do. They have physical liabilities that mean they can't even do a regular cashier job. They are all between 60 and 80+ years old and most use a cane and all are allowed to sit on stools. Sometimes they are out for different operations, etc. but their jobs are still there when they get back, usually two months later. We recently lost two older greeters who had been there 'forever'. One was 92 and the other passed away two weeks after he retired, for the second time, at age 87.
Water is free if you don't buy bottled water. Lot cheaper/healthier than Coke.
Fruit takes no prep time. Costs me less than $1 for fruit for lunch.
Broccoli, Green beans, carrots are all about $1.50/lb. Yes it takes some prep time to steam them but they are a lot cheaper than a McD burger and fries.
Minestrone soup costs us about $10 for a pot of 4-5 qts of soup, made from scratch. Feeds 2 of us for at least 2 nights. Again, it is cheaper than burgers and healthier.
I don't really agree that it is more expensive to eat healthier.
it is amazing when we go out to eat what a salad cost vs a burger . the salad is usually far more
I can't participate in your poll because it is too restrictive. The answer is - it should be taken on an individual basis.
Some people are physically totally broken down by the time they are 60. Some are physically fine well into their 80s and 90s. Some people are sharp as a tack until the day they die, and others start losing it in their 50s.
I think the people who have the toughest physical jobs are hurt the most by the idea that they must continue to work until they die. All that attitude does is make sure they die sooner.
Well said.
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