Old People aren't Cost Effective

Remove all ads!

Going back to Silvery's original intent, or at least my version of it, I am of the position that our societies should make an effort to show more respect to our elders. We have a pretty blasted good lifestyle and it came about because of the hard work and sacrifice of our forebears. Far too many people pay back that tremendous effort with smug, elitist, judgemental attitudes that show a total lack of understanding about how we got to this great lifestyle in the first place.

One day I may have no choice but to see my Dad go into an old folk's home or some such facility. But I will fight with all my energy to avoid that fate for him. I'd hate for him to be somewhere where the staff didn't give a hoot if he sat for hours in a fouled adult diaper. He made huge sacrifices for me and I think I owe him.

I know most people feel the same way as I do, and financial reality can necessitate the moving of our elders into such facilities, but I also know there are some people who are just chomping at the bit to cart their parents off and dump them, and I think that's disgraceful.

Certainly as a whole, we need to make the world a little more senior friendly, especially as the boomers enter old age. A lot of them paid a lot of money into social programs, and justice and common decency says they should get good payback for their sacrifices.

Not to be a judgmental dirtbag*, but in a world where resources are limited, every penny I see going to some filthy criminal getting a colour TV in his cell or better food for child molesters or cheap housing going to junkies, I think "that's money that could go to improving the life of a decent, upstanding senior citizen who has never made a criminal choice in his life rather than this slimeball."

* but I will because in this life sometimes you've got to make judgements -- the trick is being informed first, and to quote (well, paraphrase, actually) Adrian Veidt, "I think I'm as well informed as most people!"

 

We had to put nan in a hamo because she wass a danger to herself. She no longer knew how to control her diabetes (which lead to us finding her in a hypo state several times) and trying to light the ELECTRIC oven with a match

 

I wasn't trying to criticize your decision, Silvery, you obviously did the best thing possible under the circumstances. But wouldn't it be nice if more public money went to helping people like your Nan instead of to cushier jails for pedophiles? That's what I'm talking about. Society says they value the lifelong contributions of the elderly. When an elderly person has trouble, society as a whole should put its money where its mouth is.

 

LKD, unfortunately, the best way to do that is probably to raise the pay of the basic workers in those homes. More pay means more incentive to want to keep your job, as well as more competition for it. That means people will work harder to impress the bosses, keep a good record, etc. It also means the lazy slobs who would let a woman starve to death because they don't care enough to unwrap her food wouldn't get in.

While I'm sure you'd be willing to pay top dollar for a home with a good record and well-payed employees for your father if it's ever necessary, there are a lot of others who simply can't.


Deise, my point is that most Americans seem to get very good health care and don't pay too much for it. I'd guess this sub-set is probably competative with other 1st world nations. Then you have the rich who can spend fortunes on the smallest procedures and, while they get great results, they spend way more for it than anyone else would even dream of. On top of that, you have the poor who probably pay very little, but recieve next to nothing (or, in many cases, nothing at all) in terms of care. So, you see, the system that most Americans live under may be just fine, but an average US statistic may be weighted toward the pricey and poor ends of the spectrum by the extreme cases.

 

I agree that most middle-class Americans receive adequate health care. However, I believe the poor end far out-number the wealthy end. There are approximately 47 million uninsured Americans out there, and I cannot believe that there are 47 million filthy rich people who can spend whatever they need to on health care.

 

No, but the few rich that there are are seriously rich. We're talking standing appointments for weekly botox injections kind of rich. That'll screw with the system just as much as 47 million uninsured Americans will.