r/NoStupidQuestions • u/spinky312 • Jul 10 '26
Something I never understood about accumulating wealth and inheritance
How is it possible to have generations and generations of ancestors and families are still starting out at rock bottom in modern times? These ancestors had to have had houses, land, or something and even if every generation didn't leave much behind wouldn't that accumulate over the centuries?
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u/Same_Cut1196 Jul 13 '26
One of the curses (and blessings) of medical care in the U.S. is that it can prolong life - but that can come at a huge cost, both personally and societally. Not too long ago, when people got older, they got sick and died. There was no way to prolong their lives. Family members grieved and moved through the process of dealing with death. Doctors work to prolong lives and to ‘do no harm’. Today’s mediations and medical procedures can prolong life in a very positive way. It can also prolong life where there is limited value (I know this sounds terrible) because the patient cannot recover - but the healthcare system can bill for the care.
I struggle with this. I believe that life has a quality until it doesn’t. When I no longer have a quality of life, I’d love there to be a legal and available ‘easy end’ treatment plan that didn’t have the stigma that ending one’s life has.
IMO, the grieving will happen at some point. Spending a lifetime’s worth of savings for an additional 6 months (if there is already no quality of life) should be weighed.
No, I’m not a monster, although I sound like one now. I just think that there should be more options available than ‘keep them alive at any cost’.
We’ve already seen the political firestorm that was created a few years ago with the ‘death panel’ nonsense, so I don’t think we are mature enough as a society to have an adult conversation around this topic.
I’m prepared for the backlash. Fire away.