Comments on Get Fat, Start Smoking...

Duh.

yeah -- but a healthy person theoretically pays more into the system as well. to be fair, the fees would be determined considering all these details, and would have to even out.

in that way -- with a distributed cost -- a healthy person gets to pay less because other people are dying sooner.

and a healthy person possibly also enjoys life more and it is worth the added cost.

I had always assumed this to be the case, but it's nice to see some research on it. Think about it - who costs us the most money? Retired people. Die before then, and nobody has to pay out a dime. Soylent Green, anyone?

Hmm. Maybe I should gain some weight: I'd rather die of a heart attack than a stroke or Alzheimers. I helped my Dad take care of my Grandpa after his stroke, and it's nothing I'd ever want for myself. Locked in a non-functioning body, stuck in a bed, with my mind not working quite right either? *Shudder*

Smoking's just too icky to contemplate though, I never could stomach its smell--nauseating. I do like the scent of unburnt tobacco, if it wasn't supporting an industry I dislike, I'd buy some for poupourri.

By this logic, a SIDS baby is the ultimate in health care savings.

Gitai just may be on to something!

#6, what about aborted fetuses?

@2,

Unless they live past retirement age, when, under our current tax code, many people's tax burden decreases.

also, what is their health cost per year and their quality of life per year?

well, think of it like an investment. as you are investing, if you pull the money out early, you get less. if you pull it out later, you'll have more -- in fact, much more.

so if you smoke, you'll need the money earlier. but if you don't, you're investment into the system has had longer to grow. while it might cost more in terms of dollars, it's not necessarily more of a financial burden on the system.

add to that that the rates (in a socialized system) should be equitable, and it should work in favour of the healthy, and costs should go down over time by encouraging healthy behavior. unhealthy behavior would just be a shorter-term investment.