Hungry? So BEG!

Q

QuickSilver

SF VIP
Location
Midwest
https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011...eniors-should-turn-to-charity?detail=facebook

A Senate subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, chaired by Sen. Bernie Sanders, held a hearing Tuesday on the “human toll and budget consequences” of senior hunger. Panelists shared tales of woe from older Americans unable to get enough food, and urged increased funding for nutrition programs under the Older Americans Act of 1965.
Click to expand...
This might have been non-controversial a few years ago, but not with the Tea Party in town. The hearing produced a fierce debate between Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, and Sen. Rand Paul, the prototypical Tea Partier, about whether the government should even perform simple tasks like feeding hungry senior citizens....

Mary Jane Koren, a geriatrician and vice-president of the Commonwealth Fund, noted that seniors often suffer health problems and are put in nursing homes after falling down. Poor nutrition leads to decreased muscle strength, meaning a higher chance of falling—and weaker seniors are more likely to be gravely injured in such a fall. Koren noted that by 2020, the annual cost of medical care for seniors who fall is expected to reach $54.9 billion—many magnitudes more than the approximately $2 billion per year the federal government spends on nutrition assistance for senior citizens.

Sen. Paul, however, explicitly rejected this logic. “It’s curious that only in Washington can you spend $2 billion and claim that you’re saving money,” he said. “The idea or notion that spending money in Washington somehow is saving money really flies past most of the taxpayers.” Instead, Paul touted the “nobility of private charity” as opposed to government-funded “transfer programs.” He suggested privatizing Meals on Wheels and other government assistance for hungry seniors.
Click to expand...


So in Rand Paul's world... thousands of Seniors will be reduced to begging for food and medical care.. Throwing themselves at the benevolence of the Donor class.. How heartless... So much for dignified aging in the "golden years".. and begging the question.. WHY would ANY Senior vote Republican?
 

The above posts and contents were about FOOD and nothing about medical. Why this stretch in the responding post?

As I know it, we still have large amounts of food for the poor provided by the private groups. And it is mostly done through the donations of believers of that service. Much less expensive than having a government try to run things and take dollars of taxes and providing pennies of food after they pay for rent, workers wages, government efforts charges, and on and on. Governments are by the way they operate, not very efficient at all.
 
I agree QS, politicians like Rand Paul want to alter anything that might help middle income or low income seniors in the times they need help most, when their elderly and less likely to remain independent on their own, in their own homes, without some type of assistance.

Also, being malnourished goes hand in hand with medical problems that may lead to death, emergency room visits or nursing homes, and that's a higher cost to all of us, including government. With the big push for cuts, elimination or privatization of senior programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid etc. (universal healthcare would solve this issue)...it does seem like a republican vote by the elderly middle class, like many of us are here, would be a vote against all self interest as a senior citizen.

 

If in fact the United States actually has Seniors starving I am opposed to any and all Government spending to feed them and would never vote for any politician that would propose such insanity.
 
Lon said:
If in fact the United States actually has Seniors starving I am opposed to any and all Government spending to feed them and would never vote for any politician that would propose such insanity.
Click to expand...


So your philosophy is 'let the old farts die'? Have I got that right? Well that would certainly save a few tax dollars but a heck of a way to say thanks for the years of helping to build the economy to where it's at today.
 
If it could be demonstrated or proven to me that we have significant numbers of seniors STARVING TO DEATH in the United States I would change my mind instantly.
 
Lon said:
If it could be demonstrated or proven to me that we significant numbers of seniors STARVING TO DEATH in the United States I would change my mind instantly.
Click to expand...

Don't you think that cutting meals on wheels or other senior nutritional assistance programs would significantly increase the numbers? Many are kept from starving because of these... why do you oppose them?
 
What if it was shown that seniors who are subsisting on cheap, crap food because they can't afford to buy wholesome, nutritious food were dying of diseases caused by poor food? People can 'starve' to death while their bellies have something in them. Fill them full of white rice every day or cheap processed junk and they still 'starve' to death because they aren't getting magnesium and omega 3's and so on. Given that fact, I think it could be easily proven that they are still 'starving' to death even if they are fat.



http://www.hungryforchange.tv/article/overfed-and-starving-to-death
 
Oh my-----------You Libs are changing the subject now to try and strengthen your position on caring for the aged. The initial implication in the OP was that we have Seniors Starving, and now we are talking Meals on Wheels and other things not to do with Seniors starving to death. Once you libs can actually come up with one single or maybe five news clippings telling about one of our poor ole seniors croaking due to them being STARVED TO DEATH I will apologise to all, and donate $$$ to some Left Wing organization.
 
Meals on Wheels is one program that has been around for many years now. Mostly run by volunteers and donations and the menu has fees for those that can pay. Starting in 1996? there was a federal fund set up to help them stay solvent and able to help more.

There are also many other ways for hardship folks to get food aid. Salvation Army for one, and many local churches contribute time and money and space for such services. It is not as if the US has tossed their old into the trash. Some folks are just making it sound like the people don't care for each other. The government could not dig up enough money to run all the charity needs of the US that are taken care of by the good feeling folks of our communities, churches, charity groups, and so forth. Governments are mostly big cost for a few pennies of good they will claim.
 
AprilT said:
Senior faces of hunger

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/senior-hunger-photo-essay/
Click to expand...

A very interesting article and it supports what I have said about federal aid. It is insufficient. Many do depend on religious help and local help for their food supplies. p

Some complaints about medicine they cannot afford. Why should that be. They do have Obama care in Florida, don't they?

Thanks for this post as it sure sounds like my situation in a couple years. I am 82 and my wife is 85. I can still drive but not sure for how long. Then it will depend on who we can get help from. Meals on Wheels or some other charity group. I sure won't have the money to pay my way into a seniors care home.
 
BobF said:
A very interesting article and it supports what I have said about federal aid. It is insufficient. Many do depend on religious help and local help for their food supplies. p

Some complaints about medicine they cannot afford. Why should that be. They do have Obama care in Florida, don't they?

Thanks for this post as it sure sounds like my situation in a couple years. I am 82 and my wife is 85. I can still drive but not sure for how long. Then it will depend on who we can get help from. Meals on Wheels or some other charity group. I sure won't have the money to pay my way into a seniors care home.
Click to expand...

You are quite welcome, but, having said that, please be aware, some of those agencies in the article stay afloat not only with private donations but also with a large portion of government aid. Almost all of those individuals in the article depend on subsidies from government aid like food stamps and likely use government funded clinics at times. We have several of these agencies here in the area, I've volunteered at one or two of them in the past and they do run on government aid and even a few of the volunteers of these programs are mandatory workers due to the aid they receive at certain locations.
 
AprilT said:
You are quite welcome, but, having said that, please be aware, some of those agencies in the article stay afloat not only with private donations but also with a large portion of government aid. Almost all of those individuals in the article depend on subsidies from government aid like food stamps and likely use government funded clinics at times. We have several of these agencies here in the area, I've volunteered at one or two of them in the past and they do run on government aid and even a few of the volunteers of these programs are mandatory workers due to the aid they receive at certain locations.
Click to expand...

I understand what you are saying, and I wrote about federal backing in an earlier post about Meals on Wheels. Certainly cities, states, and federal to try to help. But much of it is done out of personal help and donations of materials and time.
 
Probably too late now to shut the stable door.
Providing retirement income for all citizens is something that should have been considered decades ago and a decent system of funding it set up as a national program.

One of our previous Labor governments set up a compulsory national superannuation scheme that required all workers to have a set percentage paid into a personal fund that could not be access before age 55. To begin with the amount was small - 3% of wages - and the unions agreed to forgo wage increases at the time to encourage employer to agree to the impost. Over time the percentage of wages has risen (currently 9.5%) and the final figure will be 12%. Workers can voluntarily add to their super accounts and receive a tax break for doing so.

We still have a means tested aged pension scheme but more and more retirees are now drawing just a part pension to augment their own superannuation savings.

On the whole women have less in super accounts but I am one of the lucky ones. We invested in a small home unit years ago and when we sold it, the capital was invested in my super account because Hubby was in a more generous government scheme. We are very well provided for with part government aged pensions and our own private pensions thanks to the universal superannuation scheme established in 1992.

Still, while it might be too late for members of Seniors Forums to benefit, I do urge you all to support any reforms that are designed to provide dignity in old age for future generations. Begging for food is not dignified. It is demeaning and an insult to people whose only crime is to have been poor all of their lives.
 
Lon said:
If in fact the United States actually has Seniors starving I am opposed to any and all Government spending to feed them and would never vote for any politician that would propose such insanity.
Click to expand...

This post need saying nothing more. It says it all.
 
AprilT, thanks for showing that this is a very real problem. We talked a while back about the shortage of funds on nursing homes and how it was affecting the care of seniors....https://www.seniorforums.com/showth...Hard-to-Find-in-Texas?highlight=nursing+homes..

All this is the results of the cutbacks in congress, thanks to Republicans, and if they have their way, they'll cut more and more while at the same time spending billions on war and their rich corporate buddies.
 
jackie22 said:
aprilt, thanks for showing that this is a very real problem. We talked a while back about the shortage of funds on nursing homes and how it was affecting the care of seniors....https://www.seniorforums.com/showth...hard-to-find-in-texas?highlight=nursing+homes..

All this is the results of the cutbacks in congress, thanks to republicans, and if they have their way, they'll cut more and more while at the same time spending billions on war and their rich corporate buddies.
Click to expand...


yep!!

orange sliver.jpg
 
Something about that post Jim. If the government actually took on the job of feeding all, it would go bankrupt rather quickly. Many of the volunteer for the poor care centers do get some federal or state money to help them pay the bills and buy materials. Certainly needed and helpful.

But if the government also paid for all the help and hours the volunteers and the helpful organization does, they would not last long. Pay those helpers and volunteers by the latest minimum wage that some states have offered, I believe it was $10 dollars in California. It would add up and the government would not be able to carry the load alone. Between the two, there seems to be a working deal going on.

We should all try to keep our expenses in control over our lives and hopefully have sufficient to face retirement in good financial shape. I am not a rich person, but I do have home and care paid for. I have enough in the bank to buy my health insurances per these new rules of Obama care. And I also do buy other insurances that cover beyond the doctors and drugs that must be purchased.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top