A few days ago I read about my favorite invention I love to poke fun of--the human exoskeleton that enables paralyzed people to walk. Today I read 89 protesters from my favorite disability rights group, ADAPT, were arrested in Washington DC. What do these two disparate stories have to do with one another? Money stupid! Rex Bionics, a New Zealand company, has just sold its first custom fitted robotic exoskeleton to Dave MacCalman. MacCalman has represented New Zealand in the Paralympics, winning gold and silver medals. The exoskeleton is, in my estimation, silly in the extreme. In fact the words pointless waste of resources come to mind. And when it comes to resources much was spent. The exoskeleton took seven years and $10 million in development costs. Read that sentence again--carefully. And exactly how much does an exoskeleton cost? It retails for nearly $150,000 USA dollars. That is a lot of money. Now if I had a spare $150,000 I would not spend it on an exoskeleton. No, I would spend such money wisely. I would buy a high end sports car. A Porsche 911 Turbo that retails for $135,500. I would even have money left over to buy gas, go up to 135 mph, have 500 horse power, get 24 miles to a gallon, and be able to go from 0 to 60 in less than three seconds. This is may not be what everyone needs but it sure is valued by some. The point here is that the exoskeleton is about as practical as a Porsche 911 turbo. Practical or not we value such cars, priceless engineering, and walking. Walking is very nice. Driving a Porsche 911 is very nice too. But are either really important in the bigger picture of life? Not in my opinion. Would it nice to be able to walk around my house? Yes it would but it is nothing to aspire to nor is it worth spending $150,000. Waking does not define who we are as humans any more than the Porsche 911 turbo defines car making.
The exoskeleton and Porsche 911 are feats of engineering that are not needed. There are far more important things in life than the ability to walk or drive a car that costs $150,000. This is what I was thinking when I read about the 89 people from ADAPT that got arrested. ADAPT was protesting Paul Ryan's Medicaid plan that would force people with a disability into a nursing home rather than live in their own home. The issue as I understand it would turn Medicaid into block grants and reduce spending by more than $700 billion over ten years. The protesters were arrested by Capital Police for occupying the rotunda. I wish I was there for I know how sound travels in a rotunda. I bet they were loud and confrontation. ADAPT people get what is important. People with a disability, like all those pesky people that can walk, value their independence. This is something we as a society should invest in--independence and autonomy. No one can be independent and autonomous in a nursing home. In an institution you do not control your own destiny. Why we do not seek to empower people is a mystery. Why we spend invest, develop, and spend millions on things, material objects such as an exoskeleton and Porsche 911 turbos is a mystery. Which is more important, a material object, albeit a very cool one like a Porsche, or people's lives?