I miss my grandfather. But as I view today's society, I often smile because he has moved on to a better place. I can't imagine my PaPa, at the age of 70, working a nine-to-five, and struggling to pay bills. In Greenburgh New York, the elderly are forced to do such things due to Greenburgh containing the the third highest property tax rate in the United states. On average, a senior is paid seven dollars an hour to perform mind numbing duties, and their wages are then used as payments towards their property tax bill. How long has your grandmother or grandfather lived in their home? Chances are, if they have pictures of you in a diaper, with no shirt on, slobbing on the same pastel living room furniture your parents took their senior prom pictures in front of, then it's over twenty years! How can one be forced to give up so much family history? After getting up at six o'clock in the morning for 30+ years to support their families, they are now again faced with the all too familiar nightmare of work.
It doesn't matter if the work entails data entry, grounds keeping or newspaper clipping; seniors should not be forced to work for property they helped build, cultivate, and increase the value of! It's bad enough that they can barely afford their medication; not to mention the measly $500 check they receive each month from social security. Let's break this term down. Social Security; loosely translated, the term is thought to mean Society's Security or the protection provided by society for all that you (the elderly) have done to make us who we are. I don't know what we are, but i do know what we have become. Money hungry capitalist, that are willing to throw grandma on the street because she can't pay her cable bill. Am i wrong?.. The elderly are the cornerstones of our society. Yes, they do drive 50 miles per hour in the fast lane; Yeah, they write checks when the lines are overcrowded at Wal-Mart; of course they meant for the house to smell like moth balls, but this does not change my love for them. Does money justify cruelty? You tell me..
15 comments:
i always though it was up to the kids to take care of "mama" and "papa" once they reached the goldgen years.
yeah that might be the morally righteous thing to do, but if i was a parent i wouldn't want my kids taking care of me.
i lived to prepare for my old age and so my kids could do the same.
not that i wouldn't take care of my moms if she needed it.
what are you talking about? i mean, i understand what your saying, but taking care of one's parents once they reach old age is part of the cycle life. one goes from diapers, to pants, to diapers, but we as a society have forgotten that. we think that the elderly should take care of themselves without any reward for leaving their mark on the planet God gave us. BUT i guess we abuse everything that's old, and "Global Warming" is a testament to that..
sadly, in this world most of "mama" and "papa"'s kids have become those very money-hungry capitalists. So of course their kids aren't taking care of them. And Social Security of $500 a month...yeah right. If you're lucky. Do you know what the process is like just to be approved for SS? It's almost as bad as the one for getting visas to get into the country. But that's a whole other story.
I am back....
I hate it when people use the term capitalist as a pejorative. If you are not a capitalist, then what are you? Yet I bet each person on this blog (even mr anonymous afraid to even make up a name) are trying to "make it" in life and want to do better than their parents. I have more than my mom, I buy her birthday, christmas and Mom's day gifts. Nothing else...Guess that makes me mean...I don't think I could ever let her live with me either...
If I had the chance to opt out of Social Security, I'd take that deal in a minute.
On the other hand, I agree, the older generation were made promises they banked on. But your little heart wrenching post makes it sound like every American over 70 is gettin screwed, are in souplines and making choices between dogfood and medication. When in fact the majority are living a pretty good life. Point is you are telling a one sided story and using zero data to back it up.
Its a fact of life, not everyone can have the good life. There has to be poor among us...Its not possible to be financially equal. There has to be winners and loosers in life (call it darwinism if you will). Who do you propose pay for this poor poor grand pa's rent? Let me guess, the "rich"...
What if Grand Pa was a dope smoking hippi in the sixties and made really dumb decisions. Somehow, because he/she is old we owe them respect and a tax free home?
One other thing when you say... "Does Money Justify Cruelty"... you are implying that having "money" and being compassionate are opposing values. Wealth is not evil, being poor is not virtuous..The definition of rich is different for everyone....
Some people think guys making 50k per year are rich... Those making 50k per year think 100k earners are rich people...and the ladder moves up...
It is through the generosity of capitalism that billions, upon billions of dollars are donated to charity each year in this country and around the world.
Finally, capitalism is not a zero sum game as you make it out to be. In other words, you appear to believe that a dollar I earn is at the expense of some poor guy somewhere else in the country. That's also simply not true. The Capitalism Pie is ifinite. I don't earn at the expense of others.
Joe B you seem quite upset in your posting. You mention that the majority of the elderly are living good lives (state your source). I guess it would depend on what you consider a good life.
No one believes that the elderly should get a break on property tax just b/c they are elderly, but the whole process in general needs to be revamped for all age groups. After paying 30 years on a house that you now own you still find yourself having to pay a Never Ending Property Tax without even given any other options except to just pay the tax.
As the writer wrote, imagine having to give up your home simply b/c you got sick or unexpectedly lost a spouse and now you have a fully paid off home, that you can no longer afford to live in b/c you can not pay the taxes. Capitalism is a way of society, but if we do not vamp more than just SS will there really be more for our children to strive for than what we are accomplishing now?
It is a MYTH that there has to be losers in society. Life is not a game of sports where you do have clear winners and losers; life is an opportunity to truly make dreams come true. When someone speaks to their friends no one in the group is sitting around saying they want the exact same color car, house, or want to go to the same vacation spots, everyone wishes for many different things and this is why it is POSSIBLE for everyone to be rich or wealthy according to what they believe for themselves.
Property tax, SS withholdings, income tax, and many others need to be revamped or we will have more than just the elderly choosing between dog food and medication.
Amen..(to the last comment)..i was going to address joe b. but you definitely took the words out of my mouth. thank you..
whoa there joe b my name is "anonymous"
and i agree with most of what you said.
i believe we are all created equal, but can't live equally.
its not fair for the elderly to pay property tax on a house they paid off after 30yrs? living in a house is a choice and an investment. if they get sick or lose a loved one and can't live at home, what do you think there home is for? selling!
is it more fair for me to pay property tax on a home i've been struggling to pay off for 10yrs. and still have 20yrs. left on it?
the elderly have the same oppurtunities as the young, they've just had more time to use them. the eldery should be taken care of physically not socially and financially.
Let me ask anonymous and Joe b a question..Or better yet, make a statement..I guarantee if it were your own parents or grandparents for that matter on the property tax "chopping block" you both would toot a different horn..You guys remind me of politicians.."it's okay for your children to go off to war and fight for this country, but don't you dare ask me to sacrifice my own." Big talk, but little action..As for us individuals with a heart; we'll continue to fight for those who cannot fend for themselves!!
R u kidding??????? Spend your entire life to pay for a home and then just sell it....Anonymous you say that as if that is the right thing to do. That is like asking someone to give up a family heirloom that they want to pass down to family member and let's not forget about the memories that the elderly have built in their homes--but it's ok just sell it. You want to take care of the elderly physically, but what about emotionally? A person's mental state is closely related to their physical well being, so yeah pay out more money to keep their physical health b/c once they loose their precious home their health will go down hill and then you will be saying why do my taxes have to go toward those people.
Sorry I disappeared.
1. I'll get you that data, I believe it was in a NYT article I read a while back. Need some time to look it up.
2. If you were able to make a house payment and pay taxes, then just paying the taxes should be cheaper. My father, lost his home when I was about 19. He could no longer afford it. He made stupid financial decisions.
3. My wife's grandma had to sell her home because she could no longer afford to take care of it, which included taxes. She is in a nursing home. Using the 200k+ she sold the house to pay for it.
4. Not Angry by the way, to denote anger I'd use CAPS and lots of !!!!!!!!.... But I am, please don't mis-interperet my tone.
5. I am not a hipocrit. That was very predictable by the way, most people who can't give a substanitive agrument or can't articulate their point generally calls the other side names.
Neither of my parents born in this country. I was. My father faught in Korea to gain his citizenship. My mother came over when she married my father (she is from Hunduras, my father is from Hungary). My sister, is currently in the 549th in Fort Hood Texas. I never served.
In this country, you have a right to own property but not the right to keep it. YOu are not entitled to your land, even if you lived on it for 40 years. I've made pretty stupid financial decisions myself in the past, mostly when I am younger. I am still paying for some of them today. No one bailed me out.
Guys, I have a heart and am a pretty charitable guy. I believe in a safety net, but there is a difference between a safety net and government housing. If the gov't steps in and pays for that guys house what criteria do you use? Where do you draw the line on the next guy? Who makes the decisions?
Its so easy to have a liberal mind set, everything most liberals and democrats believe is is based on emotion. I am for the "Children", for the "environment", for the "People"...the elderly. Well I am for that too....My idea of people, is leave them alone, but protect them. Its ok to give children healthcare, but not illegals. I just don't want 50 million taxes and regulations telling me which light bulbs to use, what to re-cycle, etc....
So why don't one of you clearly articulate the way it should work? I don't hear that from any of you? What's the right thing to do?
I am out not available Thursday, wich I could debate more. Keep this string open. Try not to call me names. :-)
joe b i don't think i could have said it any better than you have. Amen!
gracias anonymous!
Attached is a recent USA Today Article on Senior care:
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20080214/1a_lede14_dom.art.htm
So let's add housing and mortgages to the 952Billion dollars a year we spend on the elderly!
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