X-Message-Number: 1915 From: Subject: Re: Ever rising curve of expectations Date: Sun, 7 Mar 93 20:10:19 PST I would like to offer an outsider's perspective on Mike Darwin's recent post about the high (and getting higher) cost of cryonics. First, a brief introduction. I'm a 26 year-old doctoral student in physics at Simon Fraser University (Vancouver, Canada). I have been reading Cryonet for about fifteen months, have just subscribed to Cryonics and Canadian Cryonics News (yes Ben, I mailed the check ;-), and am getting very serious about signing up with Alcor (what's holding me back? inertia, concern about Alcor's stability, and the current yearly fee structure which discourages life long membership). My wife is less enthusiastic, coming from a strict protestant background, but will likely also take the plunge. We are both in peak physical condition, suffer from no medical problems and, statistically at least, will be around for quite some time to come. We currently pay $100 Canadian per month in life insurance premiums (a $50,000 policy). If we plan on seeing this money go towards suspension costs, it doesn't make any sense to place a for-profit third party in between Alcor and its members. As Mike says, that profit could be used to make Alcor more fiscally stable and finance a lot of cryonics research. However, there must be negative aspects to the rosy scenerio Mike painted. The biggest problem I foresee is that of public perception. As it stands, Alcor can easily deflect suggestions that it's yet another get-rich-quick scheme. One of the first comments I hear after explaining the concept of cryonics is "sounds like a scam." This perception is excellent ammunition for those who would like to see cryonics banned altogether. On a separate note, I strongly encourage Alcor to change the membership fee structure to a less socialistic approach. I have strong misgivings about a system that discourages people from becoming members at an early age. It is patently unfair that I (at 26 years-old) should pay the same as someone who signs up on their 65th birthday. Also, why do married couples pay a reduced rate? Ideally, I'd like to see charges only for services provided (maybe a token initial membership fee) - that is, suspended members would pay the entire cost of running Alcor. One man's perspective. Darran Edmundson Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=1915