Boomers and Health 

Boomers and Health

According to a new study, obese people don't necessarily live a shorter time than fitter people; they just cost the health-care system a lot more during the time they do live. One might have hoped that increasing short-term costs were outweighed by the savings that would follow from a shortened life. But no.

Ezra Klein, who links to this article on the Tapped site, is a liberal Democrat who naturally thinks this provides a justification for the government, which is obliged to pay out "entitlements," to do something--I'm not sure what--to prevent boomers from getting or staying fat.

Klein barely hints at a more drastic alternative. If you want to get rid of some of the boomers who are increasingly choking restaurants and buffet lines, it isn't enough to encourage them to be fat and lazy. You're better off encouraging them to take up smoking.