ELF News Archives

October 2004

- Free-Enterprise Health Care -

In the 1960s, politicians ever eager to buy votes disregarded private insurance and charitable institutions and created Medicaid (for the indigent) and Medicare (for the elderly). That did it. Free-enterprise medicine — and charity — were dead, and health-care inflation was off and running and is still running.
Charley Reese 10/29

- Young people are spending big — and investing, too -

An industry has sprung up to educate young people about personal finances and investing.
USA Today 10/29

- GrannyVoter hopes to rock perception of seniors -

Contrary to the greedy-geezer stereotype, three-fourths of grandparents say they will take their grandchildren's long-term interests into consideration in the presidential election, a nonpartisan poll released Tuesday by senior activists found.

The national poll, commissioned by GrannyVoter.org and conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs, found that a strong majority of grandparents say their views on political issues ranging from national security to Social Security are based on the long-term interests of their grandchildren - as well as how they themselves might be affected in the near term.
Mercury News 10/28

- Kerry urges $60 billion to close security gaps -

Seeking to cut into President Bush's political advantage on national defense, John Kerry pitched a ten-year, $60 billion plan Tuesday to plug holes in homeland security.
Mercury News 10/28

- Tales from the 'trust fund' -

Mr. Kerry asserts that there's enough money in the Social Security Trust Fund to pay full benefits for the next 40 years, but like the demented Crypt Keeper he is presiding over an empty grave. The Social Security Trust Fund is full of meaningless government IOUs — there are no real assets and we do not have 40 years to fix the problem. Social Security will run into the red in just 2018 as benefits paid exceed contributions to the system.
Washington Times 10/27

- For some seniors, vaccine not a political issue -

...senior citizens interviewed here did not hold any politician accountable for a sudden problem that has been thrust into their lives just before the Nov. 2 election.
USA Today 10/27

- LONG-TERM CARE:The Ticking Bomb -

Long-term care threatens to bankrupt Medicaid and the states that pay for it. The best hope for a cure lies in cutting down on the need for institutional care.
Governing.Com 10/26

- SOCIAL SECURITY -

Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 52 million Americans will increase 2.7 percent in 2005, the Social Security Administration announced today.
ElderWeb 10/26

- Camps play politics with Social Security -

President Bush put Social Security back on the campaign front burner, and John Kerry is stirring the pot.

Bush said in the last debate that reforming Social Security will be a vital issue in his second term. Kerry now tells elderly voters in the key swing state of Florida that the president wants to cut their benefits.
Richmond Times Dispatch 10/25

- Libertarians urge overturning ban on re-imported prescription drugs -

"This is price-fixing by the federal government, plain and simple," said Joseph Seehusen, Libertarian Party executive director. "In an attempt to further enrich the pharmaceutical industry, politicians are gouging senior citizens and interfering with every American's right to buy products from wherever they choose."
ChuckHawks.Com 10/25

- Michael Badnarik on Social Security -

Social Security specifically is a really terrible problem because we have elderly people who have invested their money and expect some level of an ability to live. However, the government they gave that money to has squandered it. They have stolen the money from Social Security and used it to pay off portions of the national debt and the money's not there.
Campaign Crossfire 10/25

- The Welfare State Rewards Liars -

If it is to endure, a welfare state must instill an entitlement ethic in people, a feeling that the money government dispenses is “rightfully” claimed by recipients. Teaching this perverse morality is key because most people, when they think about it, understand that government can give away only what it first takes from someone else by threat of violence. (That’s called taxation.)
Future of Freedom Foundation 10/25

- Pertinent Quotation -

"Without exhaustive debate, even heated debate, of ideas and programs, free government would weaken and wither. But if we allow ourselves to be persuaded that every individual or party that takes issue with our own convictions is necessarily wicked or treasonous, then, indeed, we are approaching the end of freedom's road."
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Excerpted from article by Charley Reese 10/23

- Social Security and Medicare Will Bankrupt our Children -

The AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) is feeling smug about this huge expansion of their favorite program. Our children, on the other hand, would be quaking in their boots if they understood what we are doing to their future life in America.
Chains of the Constitution 10/23

- Social Security This Week -

Tanner: What's So Surprising about Bush's Social Security Plans?; William G. Shipman: Benefits of Reform Far Outweigh Costs; Gokhale and Smetters: Kerry's "Pay-As-You-Go" Rules Won't Work for Social Security
Cato Institute 10/22

- Unlike Bush, Kerry has head in sand about Social Security -

Dems don't want us peons to have any say-so about our SS deductions. It's the govt's money, after all. It's mixed in with the other govt money; they'll tell us how much we deserve if we vote for the proper overseers.
Lucianne.Com 10/22

- Opinion - Dubya on Medicine -

...Bush proved he believes that any conflict a person can experience – career, marriage, children, electricity, whatever – is the domain of the federal government, his comments on medicine alone show his absolute conviction that the central government is life’s answer to everything for everyone, and that he is often directly dishonest with us.
Lew Rockwell 10/22

- China has the fastest aging population in the world -

As learned from the 16th conference of the International Federation of Senior Citizen Associations China has become the country with the fastest aging process in the world. By the middle of this century senior citizens in China will have exceeded 400 million making up one forth of the total population.
People's Daily 10/21

- Bush V. Kerry: Will Seniors Deliver the Knockout Punch? -

the most common term for our older generation –”senior citizens” – aptly demonstrates that they remain a potent political force. Senior citizens are not just an age cohort; they are a societal movement with three important issues on their minds – financial self-sufficiency, health and their progeny.
Opinion Editorials 10/21

- "I Have a Plan..."A Few Well Chosen Words of Wisdom -

Both history and economic theory prove conclusively that centrally-planned economies lower the standard of living for everyone except government elites. Historically, centralized economic planning goes hand in hand with hardship and bloodshed. Modern soft socialism, found in nations like Sweden and France, is beginning to implode of its own weight as governments realize they simply cannot fund cradle-to-grave programs without imposing tax rates that kill any last remnants of productive spark in their citizens.
Texas Straight Talk 10/20

- Social Security checks to rise 2.7% next year -

More than 47 million Americans will get a 2.7 percent increase in their Social Security checks in January, an additional $25 per month for the typical retiree. But almost half of that gain will be gobbled up by a record increase in Medicare premiums.
Chicago Sun-Times 10/20

- Why privatization is the big winner -

Privatization of Social Security is suddenly a hot issue between President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry. Investors need some fresh insights. And what better source than a new poll. Viewers love polls: Snap polls, tracking pools, pundit polls, focus group pools, spin-room polls, exit polls.
CBS Market Watch 10/20

- Repealing, Not Reforming, Social Security -

As the most popular and politically invincible program, Social Security is the core of the welfare state. For this reason it is critical for believers in liberty to challenge Social Security: if we are able to break it, we will have broken the welfare state.
FFF 10/19

- Social Security This Week: October 18, 2004 -

Bush, Kerry Debate Social Security; Latest Nobel Prize Winning Economist Supports Private Accounts; Gokhale and Smetters: Kerry's Social Security Plan Won't Work
Cato Institute 10/19

- Is your loved one a victim of nursing home abuse or nursing home neglect? -

Government and private research shows that nursing home residents throughout the United States have died or have been seriously injured as a result of nursing home neglect.
Nursing Home News 10/18

- Medicaid Outpaces Education as Primary State Expenditure -

The National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) State Expenditure Report, released Wednesday, states that Medicaid costs consumed 21.4 percent of state budgets in fiscal year 2003, falling just short of the 21.7 percent spent on elementary and secondary education. This marks an 8% increase in state Medicaid costs over 2002...
MyZiva Info.Com 10/18

- Thune, Daschle clash on Social Security remedy -

In a debate sponsored by KDLT-TV of Sioux Falls and The Associated Press, the candidates were asked what they would do to preserve Social Security, which may be unable to pay full benefits after 2042.

Thune said he would support allowing younger workers the option of taking some of their Social Security money and investing it in personal retirement accounts regulated by the government. He said that would help extend the life of the Social Security system while safeguarding the benefits expected by older people.
Mercury News 10/14

- The last stand -

The two candidates presented a clear contrast on health care, with Bush promoting his health savings accounts — which would allow individuals to save tax-free money toward health-care costs — and Kerry defending his plan for expanded federally funded health care from Bush’s attacks.
The Michigan Daily 10/14

- 2005 White House Conference On Aging Launches New Web Site -

To meet the growing demand for information on the Web, The White House Conference on Aging (WHCOA) today unveiled a new Website that will provide information on the conference to be held in 2005.
Senior Journal 10/14

- Objective Wisdom About the State of Americans in 2004 -

"From Dawn to Decadence" (2000), that the state can no longer defend its citizens from rising crime. It will go bankrupt when the bills come due for state-funded retirement and medical programs.
Lew Rockwell 10/12

- Online Prescription Drug Sites Attract 26 Percent of Americans -

The Internet has become America’s number one source for information and 25 percent say they have used it to search for information about prescription drugs – but not necessarily to buy them. Only four percent say they actually made a drug purchase online, according to research released yesterday by the Pew Internet Project.
Senior Journal 10/12

- Doctors Can Be Sentinels for Elder Abuse -

Elderly people who are abused are much likelier to die sooner than are their peers who are not mistreated, but medical professionals are in a powerful position to detect cases and even intervene.
Yahoo News 10/12

- Social Security teetering Only tax increase or benefit decrease will save it -

"Social Security's current annual cash surpluses will soon begin to decline and then turn into rapidly growing cash deficits toward the end of the next decade as the baby-boom generation retires," they say. Medicare is in even worse shape and its problems will come home to roost sooner, but that's another story.
Arizona Republic 10/11

- Social Security This Week -

Cato Releases Educational Guide to Social Security Reform; CBO Report: Private Accounts Will Boost Economy by $58 Billion; USA Today Special Report Highlights Social Security Crisis
Cato Institute 10/11

- Social Security election fantasy -

The claim is that allowing personal accounts for Social Security, as President Bush proposes, would result in $940 billion in administrative fees going to private financial management firms (read Wall Street) over the next 75 years. This figure was concocted for John Kerry by Professor Austan Goolsbee of the University of Chicago.
Washington Times 10/08

- Study: Medicare law likely to limit nursing home residents’ access to prescription drugs -

The Medicare prescription drug law is likely to make it more difficult for the estimated 3 million beneficiaries in long-term care facilities to receive necessary medications, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study.
McKnight's Online 10/07

- Life Insurance Finding Value in a New Marketplace - Life Settlement -

A growing industry is in the business of purchasing life insurance from insured senior citizens for more than the surrender value and less than the final death benefit... Institutionally funded companies are now purchasing existing life insurance policies of seniors. In some cases, it can be for substantially more than the cash surrender value. The senior must be at least 65 years old. Other factors taken into consideration for purchase are face amount, premium amount, general health condition of the insured and the type of policy.
Senior Journal.com 10/07

- Australia's Medicare Crisis -

"This election is a Medicare emergency, it could be our last chance to resuscitate bulk-billing, fix the hospital crisis and restore universal access to quality healthcare," ..."Australia also needs an aged care system that truly values older people and the nurses who care for them and a skilled and sustainable nursing workforce,"
News.Com.Au 10/07

- Elderly Abuse In the News -

"Iowa nursing home workers may have abusive or criminal history" Iowa state officials have said that hundreds of people have been authorized to work in Iowa nursing homes despite accusations of abuse or criminal acts.
Elder Abuse Foundation 10/05

- Move to Nursing Home Is Hard for Care Partners -

Care partners who make the difficult decision to place a loved one with Alzheimer’s in a nursing home may be particularly prone to depression and anxiety, new research reports. Even though the move to a skilled nursing facility means that caregivers will receive additional day-to-day help in caring for loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease, the stress of making such a transition and coping with ongoing care needs may make it necessary that caregivers receive extra support during this difficult time.
Alzinfo.org 10/05

- HHS Releases New Report on Assisted Living Facilities -

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has released a report on assisted living facilities finding that most residents surveyed feel they are treated with respect, affection and dignity by facility staff. However, residents also expressed concerns over the number of staff available and staff turnover.
Retirement Living Information Center 10/05

- Elderly people should not be seen as marginalised victims in society -

A seminar in this week’s issue of THE LANCET discusses the under-reported and complex subject of elder abuse. The topic is also covered by an editorial in this week’s issue (p 1192) which concludes that ‘elderly people should not be seen as marginalised victims in society but as fully participating and valuable citizens. Anything less is inhumane and unsustainable’.
News Medical. Net 10/01

- Abused Senior Citizens More Likely to Die in Three Years -

Senior citizens who suffer from physical or mental abuse are three times more likely to die within three years than those free of abuse, according to a new review of data on elder abuse.

A substantial number of older persons -- from 2 to 10 percent of the elderly population -- are physically or mentally abused.

Senior Journal.Com 10/01

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