I read a delightful post over at The Crescat entitled “comparing the costs of families….” which she wrote last Friday. She argues that we need to recognize our mutual responsibilities within our families, especially our aging members, and as family address those needs.
She states that the national average cost per year in nursing homes to be $61,320 according to MetLife. She suggest that adjustments to one’s life and home to accomodate an aging parent probably for most would not exceed $61,320. She also suggests that the traditional family structure of multi-generations within the household results in a shared responsibility and renders the “burdens” equitably.
She then says, “Unfortunately, thanks to our advancements and entitlements, no one has to be responsible for anyone else, much less ourselves. Women on the pill don’t have babies to grow up and care for them when they are old. Men don’t have to be fathers. Families divorce and split apart on a whim. All the while the elderly population grows and the birth rate lessens. The answer is not a new tax plan with revised spending and budgets. The answer is not more wasteful government spending and subsidies. The answer is family.”
She has a point.
