It was only a matter of time...
These programs [Social Security and Medicare} actually weakened us as a people. You see, almost forever, it was institutions in society that assumed the role of taking care of one another. If someone was sick in your family, you took care of them. If a neighbor met misfortune, you took care of them. You saved for your retirement and your future because you had to. We took these things upon ourselves in our communities, our families, and our homes, and our churches and our synagogues. But all that changed when the government began to assume those responsibilities. All of a sudden, for an increasing number of people in our nation, it was no longer necessary to worry about saving for security because that was the government’s job.
---Florida Senator Marco Rubio, 8-24-2011.
So, family members and neighbors can cough up the tens of thousands of dollars it costs to take care of someone today? I suppose they can magically solve the inefficiency of health care markets as well. Of course, he completely ignores the FACT that poverty in the elderly dropped by 40 percent as a result of Social Security so, no, these people were not being taken care of at all back in the days of yore. They got sick and died.
Aren't there a lot of elderly people living in Florida? Did they vote for this guy?
3 comments:
I question the very notion that Social Security and Medicare "weaken" us as a people.
The elderly can now remain independent and self-sufficient for nearly all of their very long lives. That strengthens them, allowing them to not rely on their children for everything after they retire.
Now that they have Medicare, they can get the medical care they need. When they were dependent on their children the decision was "Do I get Grandma false teeth or my kids new shoes? Well, the old bat's gonna kick off soon, and she can just eat oatmeal..." When they get decent care -- things like knee replacements -- they can take care of themselves and not depend on their kids' generosity.
And instead of having to care for their parents, people can concentrate more on their kids and their own careers. That makes them more efficient, able to work more, and makes the country stronger on the whole.
And Rubio is delusional about how caring for parents works in practice. My maternal grandfather lived with us for 20 years after my grandmother died and he drank himself into a stroke and could no longer walk well. My father was constantly carping about how Grampa didn't pay enough for his room and board, and complained incessantly when Grampa sold some farmland to my uncle instead of my father.
Dear old dad, who is a fervent Tea Partyer, was constantly after my grandfather to give him all his assets so he could stick the old man in a nursing home and have the government pay for it all -- if Grampa kept his savings the government would take it all. When my paternal grandfather became mentally incompetent my father did cash out all his assets and stuck him in a home to let the government take care of him.
Medicare and Social Security democratize long life and good health. The downside is that the independence the elderly are granted tends to isolate them socially. But independence and self-sufficiency are what the Republicans keep telling us we need more of.
This is ridiculous! This Rubio guy is a rube anyway :)
The foundation of these arguments is usually "this is the historical role of communities, not government". I am so tired of hearing how good it used to be, how well we used to function. Times have changed. I know entire neighborhoods where people don't speak to each other, never met each, are scared of everything, and wouldn't dream of taking someone in. Or, how will the Church/Synagogue respond if the down and outer is gay, or Muslim? The reason we have government oversee this functionality is to serve ALL people without exception.
Post a Comment