In recent months my family has been finally forced to place my Alzheimers ridden father into care. At 89 he is incapable of any sensible conversation, is incontinent, can’t dress, shower or properly feed himself any more, and believes the world and everything in it is out to get him.
I am starting to believe him.
Over recent weeks it has been a crude, harsh wake up as to how the world preys on the elderly. It is as if the government, in their never ending hunger for cash, has found the ultimate cash cow in some of the most vulnerable, yet deserving, people in society. On TV, in the other media, and constant nagging by certain political figures, we are constantly told “save for your old age” and that “the younger generation has to pay for the older”. We ignore the fact that many older people have endured world wars, depressions, enormous hardships and economic deprivation in order for their own children and grandchildren to have a better deal, and now they are being targeted as “greedy”, “lazy” and grasping. Rest homes charges average at least $1000 weekly, and that is not including so-called “comfort money” for haircuts, small bus trips and nail clippings, not to mention a host of other extras that the family get billed for that one would think would be inclusive of the already massive weekly charges. What is more, since Dad was a frugal man all his life, and did manage to save a modest amount, he is not entitled for a subsidy of any kind – like most members of the middle classes, he has to pay. If he had been a wastrel, an imprisoned criminal or some other drop-out, he would have all this care free of charge, or, if he had been a member of the upper classes, he would have had the contacts and savvy to hide money in a number of business interests away from prying eyes and again, have all expenses paid. Honesty is definitely not the best policy.
“Pay for yourself” I’ve heard some people cry. However, when you consider that Dad and many others like him have scrimped and saved and worked six day weeks, often for ten hours or more at a time, this enrages me no end. Alzheimers is a disease like any other. Unlike other diseases however, that are eligible for subsidies and all sorts of compensations, Alzheimers sufferers and their families are cast to the wolves, to be picked clean at leisure. I am equally irate at how we are constantly bombarded by junk mail, radio and TV ads and other media urging elderly to “leave something in their will” to various charities and organisations, at the multiple reverse mortgage schemes, not to mention the constant nagging about funeral planning etc etc etc. There is definitely money to be found in death and those who howl “pay for yourself” fail to realise the severe wider economic pitfalls of the successive generational impoverishment that is rapidly taking place across society. In years past, many people have only managed to get their nest egg or dream home via inheritances, and as people live longer and as more families haemorrhage family savings in order to keep their elderly in care, the solid financial base people once enjoyed will be reduced to nil – and then who will Government target in their mad quest for easy funds? Many younger people now find it next to impossible to save, let alone dream of home ownership, and have traditionally relied on assistance on – yup, you guessed it – those no-good, greedy, lazy oldies such as parents and grandparents for help. The constant refrain “save for your old age” is laughable, as it is becoming all too apparent that the government is just hoping for people to build up a nest egg in order for the powers that be to say “goody, thank you for that, we don’t have to give you a cent!” and what’s more, you will be subsidising everyone else with no return for all your hard work and investment. Like many over 40, I well remember the economic collapse of the 1980s when multiple banks and finance companies collapsed, taking people’s hard earned funds with them, which also makes me very wary of investment schemes such as Kiwisaver these days – the powers that be have learned little from their past errors and it is only a matter of time before history is doomed to repeat itself.
Neighbours and good friends of mine, all of whom are currently on good incomes, have openly told me in recent times they are not bothering to save as they know they will be just ripe for the picking, and more often than not have been devastated in their own families by the rest home charges. With house prices rocketing skywards and with jobs being constantly “disestablished” or being “outsourced”they are also well aware that in today’s volatile society, the good times will not last, and so they are living life while they can. It is a sad indictment of modern life that things have come to this pass. As society continues its downward spiral into universal impoverishment and as the spending power of people also decreases, the economy cannot fail to stall and stagnate. It is high time we stopped targeting the elderly and their families as a never ending source of easy money to patch up the country’s woes and look towards a wider, fairer business model that guarantees a fair go for all and not just for the privileged few and their cronies.
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