Immortality, who needs it?

   Living longer - and longer, seems to be the objective of an increasing segment of  humanity.  Everyone wants to be rich and everyone wants to be happy, but quality apart, longevity seems to be a major objective almost regardless of the quality of life.  In response, you may quote the growing number of 'euthanasia enthusiasts' and certainly such a group exists, but they are far from being the majority and most folks want to live to a ripe old age and some would like to live forever. Despite the assertions of groups of fringe loonies, as medicine progresses, longevity certainly increases,   People live longer healthier lives and life expectancy has increased beyond our wildest expectations.  A lifespan of 104 or so seems to be tossed around  and regarded as a normal achievable goal by both physicians and patients.  All that sounds sweet, but.............
   We seem to be having increasing problems with people living as long as they do now, often into their eighties.  The health care system is  having great difficulties with  providing for  many of our  elderly people now.  Lengthy waiting lists  for patients requiring urgent care is the norm, and anything less than urgent is treated with a level of  indifference (unless just before an election!) that is downright callous.  Yet, our politicians are quite indifferent as long as the whole situation can be kept low key, until  before the election.  Then, an unlikely and never to be put into effect solution is paraded out in the hope of garnering votes.  Even at our present population levels, many old folks, and I am talking about people in their seventies and eighties, go without adequate attention and care.  Those who do  not have family members to care about them and act as advocates, suffer most.  Many live in conditions that we would not tolerate for jail inmates.  Indeed, having provided both geriatric care and correctional institutional care, I think I can say with all honesty that the latter get better care and attention.  
   Even those with families often become a burden in a two earner family, and that results in them having to live in an assisted living environment situation.  Despite our avowed dislike of 'two-tiered' systems they avail of the level of care depending on  what they and their families can afford or are prepared to  spend., because this can  be a multi- tiered system, the lowest of which is dreadful.
   Prolongation of life, which  to a variable degree in available today, can be greatly enhanced, but it will be expensive.  Very expensive.  The quality of the expanded life, is and will be variable.  Very variable.  As the population gets older - and older, who is going to pay for the incredible increase in expense that will  keep these people alive.  Living expenses, medical expenses, special care expenses.  We can barely keep our present second-rate health care system running.   The pyramid has become inverted and the younger population resents and will  increasingly resent supporting more and more elderly people.  Because, although we can prolong life and will become increasingly skilled in doing that, we still won't be able to turn old  people into young people and old brains into young brains.  Body parts wear out and though we may be able to repair them or replace them. they will be old replaced or repaired organs.   Pension plans and benefits are bankrupting countries already, think about who is going to provide for a bunch of centenarians! 
   Maybe I'll have to review my views on euthanasia!

Please don't make any comments unless you wish to live into your eighties!