Deathbed Regrets, and Other Links
“No one on their deathbed ever wished they had spent more time in the office,” the saying goes. But is the saying correct? Robin Hanson updates us on death bed regrets.
Demographics alone will cause government to get bigger. HT to Jason Shafrin.
Maine to “repeal and replace.” Before there was a federal health care overhaul and before there was a Massachusetts law, there was Dirigo.
Gallup: 82% believe the health care they receive is excellent or good. Individuals with private insurance have 6 points higher satisfaction than those in government-run health care (i.e., Medicare and Medicaid) and even 66% of the uninsured say their care is excellent or good.
82% are happy. So Obama wants to get in there and muck everything up? What am I missing?
Good point about the demographics. We have a huge problem ahead of us.
People may not regret not spending more time at work, but I think a lot of people regret not having produced more — the book they wanted to write, the song they wanted to compose, etc.
I suspect people nearing the end of their life have multiple, if not conflicting, regrets. If they are childless, they may regret not having children and grandchildren to follow after them.
People may not specifically wish they had spent more time at the office; but they may wish they had produced more wealth to spend on memorable experiences (or leave to heirs).
People who lived a mundane life may wish they had both worked and played harder, rather than wasting their lives on the couch in front of the TV or working at unfulfilling job.
Vicki, that’s what it means to be a liberal. People who want to muck around in your life and tell you what to do.
Vicki, could it be that they simply wanted to remake the system to fit their sense of an orderly society?
There’s plenty of that around. Far-libertarian types want to end the current tax-subsidized system of employer-sponsored coverage, thereby forcing 90% of people with non-government insurance to shop for new coverage. Instead of a government-dominated form of egalitarianism, the type of order desired is one that operates on pure market principles. But in either case the focus is on the system itself, and not the individuals.
As a conservative first and libertarian second, I have a special respect for the status quo. Changes– especially major ones to a complex system– need to be though all the way through. It’s not enough to focus on the intended goal, in certain belief that the benefits will outweigh any possible downside.
As someone who was on their death bed not long ago I will tell you that my mind was squarely on those I would have left behind and the love I felt for them and the warmth they gave me. No regrets. Just the feeling of love and love I may lose.
That is why I am still here.