ELF News Archives
August 2005
- Elder abuse is a nationwide problem -
Most of the time seniors are being abused, neglected or exploited by their own family members, friends and neighbors. Most of these people are usually motivated by what they can get out of these seniors for themselves. The welfare of the seniors that they are supposed to help care for is not very high on their list of priorities.
Herald Bulletin 8/31
- The Definition and Defense of Freedom -
He took it for granted that no government is liberal by nature. They all want maximum power and money for themselves, and can only obtain it at the expense of the people, since government itself produces nothing...It is the public belief in liberty — originating with the intellectual class — that ultimately restrains the state.
Mises 8/31
- State checklist helps in assessing nursing homes -
“Although home and community-based services are helping older adults live at home as long as possible, nursing homes are still an important component of Pennsylvania’s system of long-term living,” said Secretary Dowd Eisenhower. “Because choosing a facility can be a challenging decision that sometimes must be made in a hurry, our new checklist can make it easier to shop for the right nursing home.”
Times Leader 8/31
- New law enacted on financial elder abuse -
In an effort to crack down on financial elder abuse, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill Monday that will require bank and credit union employees to report suspected mistreatment to authorities.
SFGate 8/31
- Bills Send Social Security Surplus to Private Accounts -
A group of prominent Senators and Representatives has proposed putting surplus Social Security funds into individual retirement accounts for workers younger than 55 years old. The surplus is the amount of Social Security tax collected from workers that exceeds the amount needed to pay Social Security recipients.
Heartland Institute 8/30
- Plenty To Shoot -
"Distinctions in society will always exist under every just government. Equality of talents, of education or of wealth cannot be produced by human institutions. In the full enjoyment of the gifts of heaven and the fruits of superior industry, economy and virtue, every man is equally entitled to protection by law; but when the laws undertake to add to these natural and just advantages artificial distinctions, to grant titles, gratuities and exclusive privileges, to make the rich richer and the potent more powerful, the humble members of society ... who have neither the time nor the means of securing like favors to themselves, have a right to complain of the injustice of their Government."
Charley Reese 8/30
- Can we avoid descent into bondage? -
American society has indeed discovered that it can and does vote itself largess from the public treasury and that, indeed, it does in fact vote for those candidates who promise to bring the most benefits to them from the public treasury. As a result there exists today in America an extremely loose fiscal policy being financed by an extremely loose monetary policy...With government debt increasing at the rate of over $1 billion daily — with no end in sight and financed by fiat currency — dictatorship, as the enlightened professor states, cannot be too far behind.
Yuma Sun 8/29
- Borrowing, Spending, Counterfeiting -
Few Americans truly understand how our Federal Reserve system enables Congress to spend far beyond its means, but the cycle of spending and printing money affects all of us. Simply put, the more money our Treasury prints, the less every dollar is worth. Our pure fiat money system, in place since the last vestiges of a gold standard were eliminated in the early 1970s, has reduced the value of your savings by 80%... federal entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare will not be “fixed” by politicians who are unwilling to made hard choices and admit mistakes. Demographic trends will force tax increases and greater deficit spending to maintain benefits for millions of older Americans who are dependent on the federal government. Faced with uncomfortable financial realities, Congress will seek to avoid the day of reckoning by the most expedient means available-- and the Federal Reserve undoubtedly will accommodate Washington by printing more dollars to pay the bills.
house.gov 8/29
- Social Security number almost never is legally required as ID -
EVERYBODY WANTS it. Your bank, health club, utility company. Sometimes even the guy at the video store.
That nine-digit number which started as a way for the Social Security Administration to track worker's earnings and benefits now is routinely requested by all sorts of businesses and groups. "This is not supposed to be a national identification number ... but that's what it has become,"
LA Times 8/29
- What to do when intuition blares possible elder abuse? -
Last year, nearly 12,000 adult abuse cases were investigated by Virginia social services, half of them due to self-neglect, which "makes an adult especially vulnerable to financial exploitation,"
Richmond Times Dispatch 8/29
- Why Trust in Social Security? -
Isn’t a central argument among those who argue for the continuation of America’s premier socialist program, Social Security, that Americans cannot be trusted to voluntarily take care of the needs of their elderly parents?
Lew Rockwell 8/29
- Green Houses' an alternative to traditional nursing homes -
"Most nursing homes are sad and lonely places,".. "Our elders deserve better. They need places where they can enjoy life and grow."
MENAFN 8/29
- On Its 70th birthday, Let's put bad program out of our misery -
Social Security is commonly portrayed as benefiting most, if not all, Americans by providing them "risk-free" financial security in old age...This is a fraud.Under Social Security, lower- and middle-class individuals are forced to pay a significant portion of their gross income - approximately 12 percent - for the alleged purpose of securing their retirement. That money is not saved or invested, but transferred directly to the program's current beneficiaries - with the "promise" that when current taxpayers get old, the income of future taxpayers will be transferred to them. Since this scheme creates no wealth, any benefits one person receives in excess of his payments necessarily come at the expense of others. Observe that Social Security's wholesale harm to those who would use their income responsibly is justified in the name of those who would not. The rational and responsible are shackled and throttled for the sake of the irrational and irresponsible.
Casa Grande Valley News 8/19
- Senior Slump : How federal entitlements hook, and change, the elderly -
Senior citizens have been infantilized by the political system, and they are easy prey for shameless political Morlocks who use fear to manipulate them...By nature, the elderly should be overwhelmingly conservative in politics as well; they should, through their disproportionate participation in elections, offset the natural inclination of younger voters with lower incomes to think that bigger government might be good for them. Seniors are, after all, more experienced in the ways of the world, and typically have the knowledge, time, and resources to be politically active. They should, in essence, be the ants that scold the nation's young grasshoppers about the coming winter.
National Review 8/19
Quality of Life
- What They Won't Tell You About Capitalism -
...capitalism alleviates poverty, raises living standards, expands economic opportunity, and enables scores of millions to live longer, healthier, and more peaceful lives..."The more regulations, controls, taxes, government-run industries, protectionism, and other forms of interventionism that exist, the poorer a country will be."
Ludwig Von Mises 8/18
- Social security fund to continue investment in stock market -
China's social security fund will continue its investment in the A-share market, which has been authorized by the State Council and relevant government departments, Li Keping, spokesman for the National Council for the Social Security Fund was quoted as saying by the Economic Daily on Thursday.
China View 8/18
- Seniors launch lawsuit against nursing homes -
A seniors group has launched a class-action lawsuit that seeks to roll back room and board hikes at Alberta nursing homes, and asks for over 100 million dollars in damages.
Calgary Herald 8/18
Quality of Life
- Family Counts -
"The men of old ... first set up good government in their own states; wanting good government in their states, they first established order in their own families; wanting order in the home, they first disciplined themselves; desiring self-discipline, they rectified their own hearts; and wanting to rectify their hearts, they sought precise verbal definitions of their inarticulate thoughts,"
Charley Reese 8/18
- Guaranteed Retirement Income -
Forget the contradiction that they are calling Social Security guaranteed while arguing that Uncle Sam, who can change it at any time, shouldn’t. Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that it is guaranteed. Let’s say that a subgroup (enrolled retirees) of the overall population is 100% assured of getting a level of real income in the future no matter what happens in the economy. Then it follows as the night follows the day that the rest of the population bears a greater uncertainty or risk in their income! This is basic finance.
Lew Rockwell 8/16
- How Medicare Became Law? -
Social Security officials had been troubled by the fact that, as long as the social security system failed to protect against the greatest single cause of economic dependency in old age--the high cost of medical care--it could not really fulfill its basic objective..."The rising cost of medical care, and particularly of hospital care, over the past decade has been felt by persons of all ages. Older persons have larger than average medical care needs. As a group they use about two-and-a-half times as much general hospital care as the average for persons under age 65, and they have special need for long4erm institutional care. Their incomes are generally considerably lower than those of the rest of the population, and in many cases are either fixed or declining in amount...Because both the number and proportion of older persons in the population are increasing, a satisfactory solution to the problem of paying for adequate medical care for the aged will become more rather than less important. In our society the existence of a problem does not necessarily indicate that action by the Federal Government is desirable.
LSU Law Center 8/16
- At 70, quality of life is key -
My home is paid for and the taxes are less than $1,000 per year. I have looked into the possibility of moving to an independent-living retirement community. The entry fee is $130,000, and the monthly fee is about $4,500. I would not own the apartment or cottage. I would have to sell my home first in order to pay the entry fee and still pay $4,500 each month. If I did not like the independent-living facility, I would be unable to purchase the same type home with the present market value of homes. Would this be a good investment? I am 70 years old.
Delaware OnLine 8/16
- Wolk Bill to Prevent Elder Abuse Passes Senate -
Legislation to require banks to report suspected financial abuse now moves to Governor....Legislation coauthored by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk (D-Davis) to require banks and credit unions to report cases of elder and dependent adult financial abuse...
American Chronicle 8/16
- Program to keep seniors independent to continue -
The program allows Ekman and a couple dozen others like him in the Klamath Falls area to stay out of nursing homes and in their own homes, a move that people who work with seniors say benefits their physical, financial and mental health.
Herald and News 8/16
- CMS Proposal Would Require Nursing Homes to Vaccinate Residents Against the Flu, USA -
Nursing homes serving Medicare and Medicaid patients would have to provide immunizations against influenza and pneumococcal disease to all residents if they want to continue in the programs...Unless refused by the patient or patient's family or for medical reasons, nursing homes would be required to ensure that each resident received the immunizations as a condition of participation in the two programs.
Medical News Today 8/16
- Laura is dedicated to ending abuse at homes -
A RISE in compensation claims by patients allegedly mistreated in nursing homes has prompted Manchester solicitors Pannone & Partners to set up a dedicated team.
Manchester Evening News 8/16
- Medicare Drug Benefit Monthly Premiums To Average $32, Down from Earlier Estimates, Officials Announce -
Monthly premiums for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit will be about $5 lower than previously estimated when the benefit begins on Jan. 1, 2006,...Based on bids submitted by health insurers and others, CMS estimated that the average monthly beneficiary premium for the new benefit will be about $32.20 per month.
Medical News Today 8/12
- Did sibling friction lead to death? 75-year-old sister charged -
Elder abuse by siblings accounts for just 1.8 percent of elder abuse cases nationwide, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse. In most cases, the abuser is a spouse or an adult child of the victim.
SeaCoast OnLine 8/12
- Bush Presses for Social Security Reform -
The more President Bush stumps for restructuring Social Security, the less popular his own plan seems to become. His poll ratings are dropping, too, but Bush says he is not deterred.
ABC News 8/12
- Milestones in 70-year history of Social Security -
Social Security turns 70 Sunday. Here are milestones in the history of old-age pensions and Social Security
KnoxStudio 8/11
- Beware Grand Inquisitors and Psychology Professors -
For some people, there are a limitless number of reasons individual freedom is not the great good libertarians believe it to be. The “in” reason at the moment is that freedom to choose among a large number of options makes people unhappy. The leading theoretician among the choice-is-bad set is Barry Schwartz, professor of psychology at Swarthmore College...“For many people, increased choice can lead to a decrease in satisfaction. Too many options can result in paralysis, not liberation.” For this reason, he is unimpressed by arguments that cutting back government programs is a good thing because it will give people more choices...Schwartz is hardly the first to argue that freedom makes men unhappy and that they therefore prefer slavery.
FFF 8/11
- Financial Steps To Take After A Spouse's Death -
You'll always have the fond memories, but after the death of a spouse, there are several basic steps you need to take to prevent the memories from being overwhelmed by financial difficulties.
Forbes 8/11
- THE STRUGGLE: LIFE AS WE KNOW IT -
When we're young and strong, watching elderly folks slowly unwind themselves out of vehicles and shuffling uncertainly across the pavement to the store, we shake our heads in disbelief. Why did this happen? Why are older people so s-l-o-w? Why doesn't someone do something so they don't have to be outside and in the way of those who are already late with their chores?...Some of us are "out of the way." We live in retirement communities with other aging folks who have various types of struggles. There's the fight against pain, a common thing among the elderly....And what we fear most is the loss of independence, the ability to live alone and manage our own lives, the relegation of human beings to institutional warehouses called "care centers," the euphemism for nursing homes. We've heard the stories, some of us have seen them because loved ones were put in such hellholes to get them out of the way of the younger and busier and swifter of motion.
Ether Zone 8/10
- Assisted living and in-home care increase as nursing home beds decline -
Even with the U.S. population rapidly aging, a smaller proportion of elderly and disabled people live in nursing homes today compared to 1990. Instead, far more depend on assisted living residences or receive care in their homes...
News Medical 8/10
- National College of District Attorneys to get $865,000 grant -
The National College of District Attorneys here will receive an $867,861 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to fight abuse and sexual assault against the elderly and disabled.
Myrtle Beach OnLine 8/10
- From Ireland: Mystery Over Nursing Home Top-Up Fees -
Top-up fees have been causing financial and emotional stress and uncertainty for those patients in nursing homes...The fees have in some cases amounted to an increase of 300 per cent
News Letter Northern Ireland 8/10
- Experts debate effect of expected Medicare cuts -
...for larger clinics, doctors say upcoming Medicare cuts might mean cutting jobs, especially because the cuts could add up to 26 percent over six years...doctors may stop taking Medicare patients because the government isn't paying enough. If seniors do get in the door, doctors will have less time to spend with them because they'll be busy seeing more patients so they can make more money....The American Medical Association painted this grim picture that cuts would total 4.3 percent next year ...
Tampabay 8/09
- Police: Couple Conning Elderly Men -
Police in San Diego are warning residents about two people who are targeting elderly men, tricking them out of thousands of dollars. The men think they're doing someone a favor, but police say it's all a scam. The con begins when an Asian woman tells the victim that she needs help with a family inheritance. By the end of the swindle, a good Samaritan is cheated out of his life savings.
NBC Sandiego 8/09
- Rep. Kennedy pushes for improved health care -
Kennedy, a proponent of universal health care and placing a bigger emphasis on preventive care, said the nation's health care system does not do a good enough job in serving people...More than a third of health costs go to pay for administrative expenses, rather than helping people get better, he said. For senior citizens who rely on Medicare...Kennedy has fought congressional attempts to privatize Medicare
The News-Review 8/09
- Economics Team to Meet at Bush's Ranch -
While congressional Republicans have expressed doubts about getting Social Security legislation approved, Snow said: "I remain optimistic that we will get something done there. ... I think in the fall you will see us heavily engaged on the Social Security issue."
FOX News 8/09
- Assisted living and in-home care increase as nursing home beds decline, USA -
Even with the US population rapidly aging, a smaller proportion of elderly and disabled people live in nursing homes today compared to 1990. Instead, far more depend on assisted living residences or receive care in their homes...
Medical News Today 8/08
- Elder abuse jumps -
"Studies show us that only 16 percent of abuse issues are reported."...Reported cases of alleged abuse of seniors or incapacitated adults in the state jumped about 50 percent between 2000 and 2004. In 2000, 1,424 cases were reported, followed by 2,130 cases four years later. Experts calculate that, of cases reported in 2005, 679 alleged victims were alone in their home, while 320 owned their home with a spouse or partner.
Seacoast Online 8/08
- Social Security This Week: August 5th, 2005 -
In Social Security This Week: Renewed Calls for Bi-Partisan Reform Emerge, Bush Remains Adamant on Personal Retirement Accounts, Insurers Hope to Have a Voice in Social Security Reform Debate
Cato 8/08
- Seniors Often Must Fight for Medicare Home Health Benefits -
Medicare is mandated to cover your home health benefits with no limit on the time you are covered. Unfortunately, few Medicare beneficiaries get the level of service they are entitled to and many find their services cut off prematurely. Getting these benefits can be critically important. Medicare home health care benefits can mean the difference between being able to stay at home with a difficult medical problem or ending up in the hospital or a nursing home.
Senior Journal 8/05
- New service aims at keeping elderly independent -
Studies have shown that elderly citizens who remain in their homes are happier, healthier and live longer than those who leave the home near the end of their lives. Carol Blackwell hopes to help keep elderly citizens of Leavenworth, happy, healthy, and most importantly, in their own homes.
Leavenworth Times 8/05
- New program in Fontana will help senior citizens thwart identity theft -
Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the United States. Thieves have preyed on millions of unsuspecting citizens, and unfortunately, many of the victims have been senior citizens...The Fontana Police Department has found that seniors who are not active or do not have strong family or community support are more likely to be exposed to crime, fraudulent practices, abusers, and predators.
Fontana Herald News 8/05
- Prescription Drug Advertising is Good for All of Us -
Critics of the pharmaceutical industry demonstrate willful ignorance of the basic principles of economics and marketing....Effective advertising of new drugs provides obvious benefits. Most importantly, it informs those with medical conditions about new treatments (including those who may have given up on getting relief).
Americans for Free Choice in Medicine 8/04
- Social Security and Forced Government Health Care -
When politicians proclaim that you have a “right” to health care, they actually mean many other things. First, that they want unlimited power to force others to provide you with health care—whatever the cost. They also mean that you have no right to manage and provide for your own health care, indeed no right to any health care whatsoever but that which is provided and approved by the government. They want the federal government to decide exactly what treatments you can and cannot have. They also demand that your doctor provide the government with all the personal details of your health care—after all, they’re paying for it aren’t they? Whatever this is, it is not protecting your “rights.”...we should keep in mind how the government uses Social Security as one more tool to force retirees into government controlled health care.
Americans for Free Choice in Medicine 8/04
- Letter: Family should be consulted for nursing home information -
Often when there is an article about failure of care in a nursing home, a sidebar is included offering suggestions for anyone who is looking for a nursing home to place a family member. Suggestions regarding what to look for when visiting a nursing home are good; however, two recommendations that are nearly always included give me pause....Regarding the information about quality measures, there falls an even larger shadow because quality measures are self-reported by nursing homes. No agency checks their validity.
Gallatin News Examiner 8/03
- Letter: Human rights law 'fails elderly' -
Lack of hygiene, the use of inappropriate restraints, both chemical and physical, and restricted access to food and water have been reported to it as existing in some health and care settings.
BBC News 8/03
- Nursing home aide gets jail for abuse -
A former aide at an Ohio nursing home has been sentenced to 10 months in jail for giving elderly residents laxatives...a co-worker decided to give milk of magnesia to five patients to harass someone she did not like on the next shift at the Willowood Care Center in Brunswick.
Science Daily 8/03
- Social Security This Week: July 29, 2005 -
In Social Security This Week: Democratic Retirement Plan Ignores Social Security, Administration Officials Talk Strategy at White House Briefing,
GROW Accounts Bill Unveiled
Cato 8/03
- California eases enforcement of nursing homes, report says -
State inspectors in recent years have eased enforcement of laws designed to protect residents of nursing homes, issuing significantly fewer citations even as complaints about the quality of care rose sharply, a newspaper reported Sunday....Citations dipped about 35 percent from 2000 to 2004, from 709 to 464, according to the Los Angeles Times, which cited state records. During that period, complaints about elderly care rose about 60 percent, from 9,650 in 2000 to 15,512 last year,
Napa News 8/02
- Alternative elder care -
Dr. Bill Thomas is on a mission to close every nursing home in America... "Most nursing homes are sad and lonely places," the Harvard-educated geriatrician said. "Our elders deserve better. They need places where they can enjoy life and grow."...Gone will be the large nursing homes that treat residents like hospital patients. Instead, there will be "Green Houses" for 10 to 12 elders who live like a family.
Dallas News 8/02
- Elder abuse jumps -
Reported cases of alleged abuse of seniors or incapacitated adults in the state jumped about 50 percent between 2000 and 2004. In 2000, 1,424 cases were reported, followed by 2,130 cases four years later. Experts calculate that, of cases reported in 2005, 679 alleged victims were alone in their home, while 320 owned their home with a spouse or partner.
Sea Coast On-Line 8/02
- Bush victories delay lame-duck status -
But a CNN/Gallup/USA Today poll released on Thursday had disquieting news for Bush: 62% said they opposed Bush’s approach, compared to 29% who approved.
Opinion 8/01
- Means matter in senior drug plan -
This month Social Security began a blitz to convince seniors of modest means to sign up for subsidies that come with the U.S. government's plan to provide prescription-drug coverage, called Medicare Part D.
Daytona News 8/01
- How President Bush's Social Security Reform Died: Kevin Hasset -
Social Security reform is dead. How it died tells us a lot about both U.S. political parties....
From the outset, many in Congress believed Social Security reform could only be achieved if it were included in a broad tax-reform package, or some other, more general legislative action. Only then would the horse traders have enough room to buy the votes needed to push the plan through. By insisting on the separation of Social Security and other initiatives (especially tax reform), the president tied the hands of his allies...By my count, there are now 31 countries that have incorporated private accounts into their public pension systems, a list that includes the U.K., Sweden, most of South and Central America, a large number of central European countries and even Mongolia.
Bloomberg 8/01