Tomorrow will be the last debate of the never-ending
presidential campaign. I don’t
want to hear about the secret plan to crush ISIS. A bunch of losers on the back of pick up
trucks in a disaster formerly known as Syria is not an existential threat to
this great country. Yes, they have
inspired some terrorist activities. From
2005 to 2015 24 Americans have been killed on US soil by acts of terror[1]
. Sure, it’s an issue; but a real
threat to this country? Give me a
break!!
Contrast that with Grandma.
By 2050, the population of those greater than 65 will double. The population of those greater than 85 will
triple. How are we dealing with that? Half of married seniors and 70% of single
seniors rely on social security for more than half of their income. The average senior retires with $50,000 of
assets (including home equity)
How are we as a nation supposed to deal with this? During this election we have learned how to
remove emails and have gotten a play by play plan for sexual assault, but no
one has discussed how to cope with this financial burden.
The average cost for a nursing home bed is $225 a day
($82,000 per year) Assisted living
facilities average $3500 per month.
Where does this money come from?
Needless to say, at the end of the day it comes from all of
us. Medicaid ends up paying the lion
share of nursing home costs. How will we
manage this going forward? How will an
increasingly nonwhite working force pay for the living expenses of aged white
baby boomers?
We need to become creative in how we approach this. Our current model is simply not
sustainable. Room2Care.com is the
leading company in developing a new model of low cost senior support. Instead of being placed in a facility,
seniors are placed in the homes of carefully screen caregivers. This network of caregiver homes can provide
support for a small fraction of what we are paying these institutions.
Isn’t it time to look to safeguard
and protect our country’s future, not only from
terrorists, but from the far more clear and present danger; the care of our
parents and grandparents.
[1] http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2015/oct/05/viral-image/fact-checking-comparison-gun-deaths-and-terrorism-/
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