Baby Boom Bubble

Nobody asked but …

A friend pointed out that everything the U. S. Government touches turns into a bubble.  I was part of one this week when I had cataract surgery on my right eye.  I’ll be back for the other in several weeks.  I am part of a giant crop.  I was born in the middle of the U. S. involvement in WWII, as my father was an adjunct of Army Intelligence.  So, I am a front ender in the “Baby Boom.”  The boom itself is a government-action bubble, caused by intervention.  But the bubble takes on a life of its own.  An ever expanding array of conditions are being harvested in the fields of America’s seniors.  And the competition is stiffening.  I had a surgical gown with its own HVAC in the prep room.  I could set the thermostat to suit.  The nurses were doing handsprings to make me happy.  Hospitals are competing with very expensive goodies.  The costs of the services must go up, or the number and breadth of services must increase.  Projected to a logical end, baby boomers will be in the system 24/7/365.  Medicare will pay.  Taxpayers will pay for Medicare.

— Kilgore Forelle