Gov. Crist well thought of?

[SHELLY]

Aw heck, might as well continue the thread drift.

Both family structures and the needs of the elderly have changed a lot over the past 50 years. It's common for people to move far away from hometown and family in their 20s these days, and that causes problems down the line. My parents still live in Michigan. I'm here. My sister is currently in Georgia and has a career that will see her moving around the country every couple of years.

I can't move back to Michigan to care for an elderly parent. Job market's even worse up there. They wouldn't want to move in with me. Other than the part of us driving each other nuts after a couple of weeks, they're knit strongly into the community up north- friends, extended family, doctors, churches, etc. and they don't want to have to give that all up and start somewhere again.

And from a science and health care standpoint, we now are able to keep frail elderly alive much longer and while they have conditions that would have killed quickly in an earlier age, whether it's cancer or Alzheimer's or any number of heart or lung conditions. It's entirely different to let Grandma move into your house for the last two years of her life than to have her move in for a twenty year commitment.

And I will never ever think ill of an Alzheimer's caregiver who burns out and just can't take it anymore. It's one of the hardest things you can ask a person to do.

...didn't your parents get the memo telling them that they're supposed to purchase and move into these condoz down here in Florida during their golden years?

.

 

[beachmouse]

They've got the condo (bought pre-boom). But the only way they'd spend more than about a month a year down here is if they could bring their entire neighborhood in Michigan with them, and the place is a little small for that.

 

[Bob]

In good times, we have excess funds to spend, in bad times, cuts must be made. Budgets can't continuosly go up up up! They must be balanced right? Or we get into some real trouble.

tell that to the public school teachers

 

[Bob]

I suggest you remember who put all these programs in place. And in case you don't know, many of us contributed greatly to the quality of life you now enjoy and berate the "the elderly" for having done so. Your generation needs to grow up and contribute to the good of this country without whining about how badly they are put upon. I could say a lot more but by now I am sure you get my drift.

375 billion to medicare....586 billion to social security.....stolen from those paying now because the money was stolen from those paying then....day of reckoning approaches

 

[Andy A]

375 billion to medicare....586 billion to social security.....stolen from those paying now because the money was stolen from those paying then....day of reckoning approaches[/quote You know, I agree with you .As you and I are both aware, the Social Security trust fund, as we all know, was any thing but. Social Security will not be a viable retirement vehicle until they make some changes a lot of people don't want to make. I don't look for changes until Congress is forced to do so. Like everything else, it will only be accomplished in crisis mode. Also, if the upcoming generations will bear in mind Social Security is a supplement to retired funds, not a retirement wage in itself it would help. A lot of my generation did not plan well for retirement and are now a drag on society. Will we ever learn? I'm afraid not.

 

[30ashopper]

My point is that anytime you even mention the idea of cutting or adjusting social security benefits the people who receive them come out in droves to protest. I'm not saying that they don't all need them, but I can guarantee you that the majority of those receiving social security benefits would survive just fine without them. They would rather see children go without immunizations or unable to read than give up their Viagra prescription. That to me is disgusting and deserves no respect.

Maybe I missed the point. I've not see anything in the news about the elderly in Florida voting against state level funding of education. They might feel it needs reform, but I haven't seen any stats indicating they vote against education funding across the board. Maybe you could cite a news article related to the topic?

 

[30ashopper]

tell that to the public school teachers

You know I have a good friend who I think is a very good public education teacher. She feels there are good teachers out there and bad ones. The problem with the system (according to her) is that both good and bad are treated equally by the unions and government. She claims that's one of the root causes of our crappy education system.

I'd be all for funding more into education if we could just get to a system that promotes good education. I feel our current system fails miserably at doing that.

 

[scooterbug44]

Which is why I am against unionizing the Sheriff's department right when we want the new Sheriff to be able to get rid of the bad eggs!

There's a woman working to reform that in the (DC?) school system - she has a deal where the teachers give up their tenure (on a case by case basis) in return for a chance at higher compensation.

Per the article in Time, the biggest issues are parental involvement and demanding high standards. One of her ideas is getting new people into the system (volunteer corps) to combat burnout, which is a given considering the work environment, hours, and pay.

 

[Bob Wells]

Scooter,
Obviously ALL the Deputies RJ hired are those bad eggs you refer to. It is amazing that every time a new sheriff rides into town that getting rid of the bad eggs who were hired under the previous administration is job #1. Well its all the Unions Fault again, if people were treated fairly they would not seek protection, go figure.