The Administration on Aging reports that JFK while President declared the month of May Senior Citizens month. At the time there were just 17 million living seniors that had made it to 65 and a third lived in poverty. In 1980 Jimmy Carter changed the name to Older Americans month but it has continued to be celebrated with events and themes each year since it began nearly 50 years ago.
On April 13 Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan proposed a budget proposing $6 trillion in budget cuts and making significant policy changes to Medicare and Medicaid.
President Obama than responded with a budget of his own which had the following key provisions:
1. Deficit Reduction – $4 trillion over a period of 12 years in order to strengthen the economy and encourage employment.
2. Debt Trigger – If the national debt is not on a declining path, there would be automatic across-the-board spending reductions starting in 2014.
3. Spending Cuts and Tax Increases – There would be a balance between the reductions in spending and increases in taxes.
4. Shared Sacrifice – There would be budget cuts, but also increased taxes for upper-income Americans.
5. Bipartisan Commission – Vice President Biden would chair a commission with two appointed members from each committee. The commission would negotiate deficit reduction measures.
6. Medicare – The expenditure would eventually be limited to the growth in the economy per person plus 0.5% per year. There would be no block grants to states.
7. Income Tax Rates – The top tax brackets would increase to 36% and 39.6% for upper income taxpayers. Tax savings on itemized deductions for charitable gifts and mortgage interest would be limited to the savings of a taxpayer in the 28% bracket.
Source: Gift Legacy eNewsletter
Walter Breauning died today as the worlds oldest man at 114. He lived in Montana.
His secrets to a long life
Always embrace change
Eat two meals a day
Work as long as you can
Help others "The more you do for others, the better shape you're in."
Source Aol News
In early March of this year 90 year old former actor Mikey Rooney testified before a special senate committee about elder abuse from a family member believed to be 52 year old step son Chris Abert that he says he had experienced. He felt trapped, scared, used, and frustrated.
The senate committee is considering legislation to curb abuses of senior citizens.
"Above all," Rooney said of being a victim of elder abuse, "when a man feels helpless, it's terrible."
Every year, an about 2.1 million older Americans are victims of physical, psychological, sexual, financial, or other forms of abuse and neglect, according to the American Psychological Association. And for every case reported to authorities, experts estimate there may be as many as five cases that were not reported.
Elder abuse cuts across all socioeconomic groups, cultures, and races, according to the National Center on Elder Abuse. And it can occur anywhere - in nursing homes and other institutions as well as private homes. Older people who are demented are especially vulnerable, as are those who have a substance abuse problem - or are cared for by someone who does.
Rooney accused Aber in LA Superior Court filings of withholding food and medicine and meddling in his personal finances. On February 15 he was awarded a restraining order by the judge in which Aber could not come within 100 yards of Rooney. He was concerned that Aber may even try to kidnap him unless he signed over all his property so he also had the court appoint a conservator also referred to as a guardian in some states. His attorney was appointed for this purpose.
Fortunately on April 6 they were able to settle the matter and Rooney agreed to drop the restarining order with Aber agreeing to voluntarily leave him alone.
Click here for a 3 minute video of Mickey Rooney speaking about Elder Abuse.
Sources February 15 TMZ.com April 6 2011 TMZ.com and CBS News
If the US government were to shut down later this week this would cause a slower processing of tax returns and limit small business loans and government-backed mortgages during peak home buying season.
The last such shutdown began in 1995 and went on for 3 weeks.
Taxpayers would remain responsible for filing and paying their taxes on time which is April 18 this year given a local holiday in Washington. Tax audits will be not occur during a potential shutdown.
The IRS also will not process any paper returns during a shutdown. About thirty percent of tax filers still use paper returns. Tax filers who expect a refund should file their returns electronically and ask that the money be deposited directly into their bank accounts. While taxpayers will still be required to properly ask the help lines for the IRS will not be staffed.
Social Security payments will continue to be delivered, and applications for benefits will continue to be processed. But some services will be limited, Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue said.
If the shutdown goes on for an extended time though there would be problems with any changes in address, status or changes.
Medicare would still pay medical claims for its 48 million recipients, who are mainly seniors but also several million younger people who are permanently disabled or have kidney failure. Payments to
The Federal Housing Administration, which guarantees about 30 percent of home mortgages, would stop guaranteeing loans. The issuance of government backed loans to small businesses would be suspended, according to the White House.
The Obama administration said the impact on the housing market would be more significant than during the last shutdown since the Federal Housing Administration accounts for 30 percent of the mortgage market, almost triple the amount 16 years ago during the prior shutdown.
Source Huffington Post
The Republican budget proposal will eliminate the national debt while still preserving costly entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan told CNBC.
Representative Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee speaking shortly before the spending plan gets its formal introduction in Congress, later today said the debt will peak at 74.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2014 and then drop from there.
Among the key tenets in a budget resolution to be presented are fundamental changes to the way Medicare and Medicaid are financed. The resolution does not address Social Security, though Ryan said he expects a bipartisan agreement on that issue later this year.
The budget plan includes proposed legislation that Ryan has said will slash $4 trillion from federal spending over the next decade.
The resolution is necessary as a potential shutdown looms over Washington and Congress must approve raising the national debt limit.
Ryan acknowledged the political obstacles he will face both from Democrats and some members of this own party who may bristle at the aggressive spending cuts involved.
"The problem in Washington is, they take any honest and sincere attempt to fix this problem and use it as a political weapon against you in the next election," he said. "We can't let that deter us."
On Fox News Sunday Representative Ryan discussed a controversial overhaul of Medicare, the health care program for seniors, and that the propsed budget would force deep cuts in Medicaid, which provides health benefits to low-income Americans.
Beginning in 2021, elderly Americans would receive government assistance in paying health insurance premiums instead of enrolling in the government-run Medicare program, Ryan said. He rejected the label of "vouchers" for the payments, calling them "premium assistance" payments instead.
The plan is similar to the one he created last year with Alice Rivlin, budget director under President Bill Clinton. The Ryan-Rivlin plan said the amount of assistance would be calculated in part by taking the average federal cost per Medicare enrollee.
The proposal would also:
Reform Tax Code - Remove loopholes in Corporate Tax and reduce rates to 25%
End the authority for Wall Street Bailouts.
Reduce federal spending for the deficit to less than 20% of GDP.
Sources: Jeff Cox CNBC, CNN and Fox News
Assisted living is a residential option for the elderly who want or need help with some of the activities of daily living such as cooking meals, getting to the bathroom in the middle of the night, maintaining the home, coordinating services by outside health care professionals; and monitoring of resident activities to help to ensure their health, safety, and well-being.
Assisted living is helpful for those residents who would be between indepedent living when that is no longer a desirable or practical option and prior to nursing home care where they do not need 24 hour medical care.
Assisted living facilities offer the safety and security of 24-hour support and access to care. Day or night, help is only a phone call away. However, privacy and independence are encouraged. A good facility will develop a personalized plan that meets the residents desires, interests and needs and accommodates their disabilities, while giving them the freedom to do what they can for themself.
Some assisted living facilities provide apartment-style living with scaled down kitchens, while others provide rooms. At some assisted living faciities the resident may need to share a room unless willing to pay higher cost. Most facilities have a group dining area and common areas for social and recreational activities. They may offer educational courses, exercise classes, social activities. The fees can be all inclusive so when doing the math not as much as it may at first seem with food, meals, care and other activities all included.
If appropriate for the individual if they are at their own home but needed more assistance a Geritatric Care Manager mentioned in prior post may suggest as part of their suggested plan that based on their specific situation an assisted living facility could be a good option for them. An additional valuable service that those assist with is knowing the proper resources and professionals in the elder care field.
Some assisted living facilities are very nice homes with good meals and activities that allow the seniors to live their life to the fulest but it is just important to evaluate each persons needs and interest to determine what the ideal living arrangements are for their golden years.
The Assisted Living Federation of America reports that the average age of assisted living residents is 86.9 years (female average age, 87.3; male average age, 85.7). Female residents (73.6%) outnumber male residents by almost 3 to 1. The majority (76.6%) of assisted living residents are widowed, and just over 12% are still married or have a significant other. The average length of stay for assisted living residents is 28.3 months (the median is 21.0 months).