Higher GDP means little to nothing to the average consumer, and more tech is absolutely not automatically better. We're still coming to terms with the harms of

Higher GDP means little to nothing to the average consumer, and more tech is absolutely not automatically better. We're still coming to terms with the harms of the current and last generation tech, to say nothing of the extreme shifts ahead as AI/ML continue to explode. Murder rates are rising, and there seems to be very little political will to make the systemic changes needed to address this. Why would life expectancy continue to climb? Setting aside issues related to extreme weather and/or forced migrations in some regions, and taking into account recent trends like extreme spikes in colorectal cancer in younger adults for reasons we have yet to understand, and increasing awareness of the health impacts of various chemicals, plastics, etc, it seems problematic to assume higher life expectancy. Health outcomes may improve in certain categories, but it seems almost certain that it will degrade in others.