In order to play Devil's advocate here: If you're not capable of contributing to your society then what value do you truly have? Is it everyone else's responsibility to keep people alive for the sake of having more friends or family members around you than if they just died off?

Although it's not even as simple as "pensioners are worth less because they earn less." Why do computer programmers who sell their souls to Apple or Google get to earn 6 figure salaries - why are they valued as highly as doctors? More valuable than teachers. More valuable than nurses. What the hell good is Facebook doing for humanity? That's more like a personal beef because I live in Silicon Valley and I do not work in tech. I teach special education. I'm far less valuable to my community than Twitter.

Economic models are not based on the value of a human life to the benefit of their community. People are paid a lot because they will allow a company to earn even more. I'm paid comparatively less because I don't work at a for-profit organization and I don't contribute to this capitalistic culture of making and selling products or services. I just ensure that children will grow up to be empathetic. Something we obviously need more of.