Waves of new fund cuts imperil US nursing homes by AP

I'm not interested in arguing, either, but I do care about getting one's facts straight. There are numerous sources out there, besides the Hoover Institution link that I posted, that will document that administrations were spending the SS Reserve Fund long before Clinton came along. Do you have any documentation that Clinton was the first, or is that just your personal opinion? Also, Congress controls spending in the Federal government, not the President, and it is Congress that spends the SS Reserve Fund (and Congress that would replace it, if that ever actually happened), not any particular president, of either party -- basic Civics, that.

Sorry for going off-topic -- I'll quit now.

I feel like things are going to get very crazy in a few years.

If the oldest baby boomers are 63 now and are starting to show up in LTC/SNF don't we need more beds not less?

Are ratios of 60 or 70:1 going to become the norm in LTCs?

What will happen to seniors when there are no beds in nursing homes for them and the family can't/won't take care of them at home?

Will we see an increase in granny/grandpa dumping and an increase in elder abuse?

With the upside down pyramid that is the population difference between the boomers and gen x/y will there even be enough young people to take care of the elderly?

Also will young people who have not been conditioned to appreciate or even respect the elderly be able to step up to the job?

What about the fact that most people work all day long and have to in order to make ends meet. Who is going to stay home with grandma/grandpa?

What are some solutions to the problem?

Things are going to get really "interesting" in the next decade and the fun is set to begin in about 2 years when the oldest boomers start to reach 65 and are Medicare eligible.

Also...I read in the article that Metropolitan Jewish Health System has already laid off 200 out of 1,000 employees in Brooklyn. Westchester Medical Center (Vallhalla, NY) will also close their nursing home which means 400 more workers will lose their jobs. When you include the two hospitals in Queens that closed earlier in the year you don't have to wonder why new grads and experienced nurses are having a hard time finding work.

This isn't a potential crisis it's already started.

I would be v. interested in knowing how the other industrialized democracies handle this issue -- yoo-hoo, colleagues in UK, Canada, Oz, etc. -- how does elder care work in your country, and how is it paid for? Do you have a private-for-profit nursing home and/or home care industry?

This makes me very sad to think of elders being moved yet again from their homes. I hope and prayer everyday that america will quit blaming each other (the party's) and act like adults to come up with a plan to solve this mess. Both party's are responsible for the mess we are in and I feel it will take both to get us out. Didn't we all learn in kindergarten that we may not like someone but we should respect them as we would like to be respected for our differences. The elders should be put first and do what is best for them.

Shouldn't have read this thread before attempting to go to bed.

This is .....crazy. Terrifying. Majority of the people in this country aren't thinking about these issues. Everything seems to be falling apart. It makes you wonder what's around the corner.

When we stop taking care of our elderly is when our morality as a culture fails.

Are you aware that a 3 pack of Sylvania compact flourescents is 5.48 at Lowes - and there are many multipacks that are cheaper. Oh yeah and some areas get rebates for switching. Hmmm that is definitely not 5-6 dollars a bulb and they last 5 times longer than incandescents. Are you also aware that one of the largest uses of water, especially in the Southwest is for electricity. Sometimes I wonder about the kneejerk reactions. If you can't afford a 5 dollar bulb once a month for 2 years (!) to replace all 24 plus lights in your home, how are you affording the electricity? So maybe you are already in the dark? C'mon.

Now, now, no point in getting snarky--this is just a friendly discussion. Maybe where you are you can get bulbs for 5.48 at Lowe's (and where is that?) but not where I am. Remember I said I have been using these bulbs since they 1st hit the market so I do BUY THEM AND USE THEM--but--some people may not want to or be able to afford to use them--that should be their choice not Congress and the lobbyists that make a lot of money from these mandates. I've been taking my garbage to recycling for 25 years too--long before other people--so I think I'm a pretty good steward for the eco-system. (Just think of all the GASOLINE I have used over the years driving into town to go to the recycling place--BAD ME). But that is another post!!
I stand by my statement about quality--it has gone down drastically--and will continue to since there will be no competition--when you are the only guy making bulbs why should you maintain quality?
Another poster pointed out the mercury factor--funny there was an article in the local paper (2 days ago)about the disposal of the bulbs and how most people are too lazy to go the extra steps it takes to dispose of the bulbs properly and that the government is already predicting that MOST of the bulbs will wind up in landfills---Hmmm, isn't this the same government that passed the law that mandates their use? Yeah right!! I bet in a few years you will be seeing a whole new industry built up around trying to stop the mercury pollution caused by these bulbs. Twenty years from now some fat politician will be standing at a podium railling at the public for contaminating the environment with mercury from these bulbs. These bulbs really are the gift that keeps on giving--I bet these bulbs alone could be the answer to our failing economy--all of those green energy jobs we can invent to solve a Problem that we started--Ahhh--I can see the profits now that GE can make---produce a bulb that is toxic to the environment--make a fortune in profits --then come along after the environment is polluted and solve the problem. Brilliant!!

Poor little incandescent bulb--relegated to the ash heap of history--just because of a few kw's. And the fact that you can't make any money from a .25 light bulb.

..."Sometimes I wonder about the kneejerk reactions". Oh I see--my opinion is kneejerk--I guess your opinion is fact? ---Right

.."So maybe you are already in the dark? C'mon" ----Whatever!!

Well, I plan to stock up on incandescents over the next year so that I'll have a nice stash of cheap light bulbs that actually provide LIGHT and can be thrown in the trash when they blow out.

I don't care if it's not "environmentally correct"---I loathe the CFLs, which cost twice as much and give off half as much light. Sure, they last a long time, but I'm going blind from trying to read, type, and do my nails in the dim glow of those ridiculous bulbs. I'm gonna go to Costco and buy every 100-watter I can afford....that, and dishwasher tabs since the eco-nuts want to ban the kinds with phosphorus in them, AKA the only kinds that actually clean your dishes. They enacted a similar ban in Washington State last year, and people are PO'd because their dishes are still dirty after using the 'green' dishwasher tabs. So why Oregon wants to follow in those footsteps, I'll never understand..........but in the meantime, I've got at least two years' worth of Electrasol tabs in stock, and I'm gonna keep buying 'em until I can't anymore. So THERE!!

I have CFLs in every room in my house and they can be pretty darn bright if you buy the right one (they have all sorts of brightness levels you can buy, just like a regular lightbulb). They also have natural spectrum versions that don't have the hideous bluish glow they had when they first came out.