Alzheimer's disease is a ticking time bomb for a nation with an aging population that keeps doubling. Unless a cure is found soon, exploding medical costs will reduce Medicare and Medicaid to rubble, buried under the weight of $1.1 trillion in expenses for care and treatment for a single disease.
That dire prediction by the national Alzheimer's Association is an estimate for the year 2050. If that seems far fetched, consider that today there are 5.4 million Americans living with Alzheimer's. The annual cost in 2012 for the disease was $200 billion, according to data furnished by the association.
One in every eight older Americans has Alzheimer's. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, but it is the only one of the top ten diseases that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed. While death rates for other major diseases have dipped since 2000, Alzheimer's has accelerated 66 percent.
Alzheimer's does more than extract a heavy toll on the medical system. The Alzheimer assocation's annual report estimated that 15 million Americans today provide unpaid care for patients with the disease. Without their help, Medicare and Medicaid would bear an additional $210 billion in costs.
As tragic as the statistics are today, the number of Americans affected by the disease is projected to mushroom. More than 13.8 million Americans are expected to suffer from Alzheimer's by the year 2050, a three-fold increase.
An aging population is to blame. Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, will be turning 65 and older, swelling the ranks of the aged. The number of Americans 65+ will double by 2050, growing from 40.3 million to 88.5 million, according to the 2010 Census.
Americans living longer will tax the Medicare and Medicaid programs with skyrocketing costs for the treatment of Alzheimer's. The association estimates the combined expense burden for the two entitlement programs will soar by 500 percent by 2050, less than four decades from now.
There needs to be a sense of urgency to deal with the impending financial combustion. Government funding for the disease was $606 million last year, far less than what the nation spends on research for HIV ($3 billion) and cancer ($6 billion).
There are obviously humanitarian reasons for the country to make Alzheimer's a priority. The disease is a death sentence for everyone with the condition. Saving lives will also reduce the long term care costs associated with the disease that robs people of their memory and saps their financial resources.
A public-private partnership, spearheaded by the medical community and the government, is the best hope for finding a cure. The country needs to make it a top priority on par with the United States effort to launch a man into space.
The U.S. can't afford to wait until 2050 to deal with this issue. By then it will be too late for the 13.8 million Americans expected to be impacted by the disease.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
The No Fault Nation
If The Declaration of Independence was drafted today it would be vastly different. References to God, liberty and life would vanish. Too radical concepts for the current Washington political class. With apologies to Thomas Jefferson, the document might read like this if it was written today:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident that no individual can be held responsible for his or her actions. It shall be the government's duty to protect its citizens from themselves. Happiness is defined as having the government bail out individuals guilty of bad decisions."
If that sounds far fetched, then consider the transformation of the respective roles of individuals and the government in our nation.
Thousands of Americans purchased homes they couldn't afford before the recession. They lied about their income. Many flipped homes in a fit of speculative greed. They incurred more debt than they could handle. It wasn't their fault home prices plummeted. The government stepped in and bailed out many homeowners with a slew of acronym programs. Taxpayers were on the hook for $127.6 billion.
One in ten Americans default every year on their student loans underwritten by the federal government. Going to a less expensive college was never an option. Working to help defray expenses while attending college was too old fashioned. It isn't their fault college prices have soared. Student loan debt stands at $1 trillion and the government has made it easier for students to default or pay less than the full amount owed.
Ten million unemployed Americans have quit looking for work. Accepting a low paying job is beneath many. Working part-time hardly seems worth the effort. It isn't their fault jobs are scare in the Obama economy. Not to worry because Washington just keeps extending the number of weeks the jobless receive benefits. Every time it does, it costs taxpayers an additional $30 billion annually.
Nearly 19 million young people under the age of 34 do not have health insurance. The majority work at firms that offer insurance, but they choose not to pay for it. It isn't their fault they spend their earnings on other priorities. Now the government has decreed these individuals must carry insurance or face a tax penalty when Obama Care is implemented in 2014. Total cost of the health care reform is more than $1 trillion.
Millions of American children are overweight. They slurp too much soda, gobble too many chips, woof down too many sweet treats. As a result, there are three million youngsters with Type 1 diabetes. Parents claim they are powerless to do anything about it. It isn't their fault that they can't stop their children from eating and drinking too much. The health care costs for treatment of Type 1 diabetes are estimated at $14.9 billion annually.
Holding individuals responsible for their behavior is passé. That attitude has given rise to billions of dollars in government programs designed to ease the burden of living irresponsibly.
Individuals aren't the only ones shirking accountability. President Obama has set the national tone in winning two elections by blaming the country's ills on former President George W. Bush, Congress, The Tea Party, Republicans, corporate greed, the wealthy, private jets, tax loopholes and an uneven playing field. It is never his fault.
The individual rights guaranteed in The Declaration of Independence are worth sustaining. However, those rights carry responsibilities. The government's role is to uphold those rights, not to reward irresponsible behavior at taxpayer's expense.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident that no individual can be held responsible for his or her actions. It shall be the government's duty to protect its citizens from themselves. Happiness is defined as having the government bail out individuals guilty of bad decisions."
If that sounds far fetched, then consider the transformation of the respective roles of individuals and the government in our nation.
Thousands of Americans purchased homes they couldn't afford before the recession. They lied about their income. Many flipped homes in a fit of speculative greed. They incurred more debt than they could handle. It wasn't their fault home prices plummeted. The government stepped in and bailed out many homeowners with a slew of acronym programs. Taxpayers were on the hook for $127.6 billion.
One in ten Americans default every year on their student loans underwritten by the federal government. Going to a less expensive college was never an option. Working to help defray expenses while attending college was too old fashioned. It isn't their fault college prices have soared. Student loan debt stands at $1 trillion and the government has made it easier for students to default or pay less than the full amount owed.
Ten million unemployed Americans have quit looking for work. Accepting a low paying job is beneath many. Working part-time hardly seems worth the effort. It isn't their fault jobs are scare in the Obama economy. Not to worry because Washington just keeps extending the number of weeks the jobless receive benefits. Every time it does, it costs taxpayers an additional $30 billion annually.
Nearly 19 million young people under the age of 34 do not have health insurance. The majority work at firms that offer insurance, but they choose not to pay for it. It isn't their fault they spend their earnings on other priorities. Now the government has decreed these individuals must carry insurance or face a tax penalty when Obama Care is implemented in 2014. Total cost of the health care reform is more than $1 trillion.
Millions of American children are overweight. They slurp too much soda, gobble too many chips, woof down too many sweet treats. As a result, there are three million youngsters with Type 1 diabetes. Parents claim they are powerless to do anything about it. It isn't their fault that they can't stop their children from eating and drinking too much. The health care costs for treatment of Type 1 diabetes are estimated at $14.9 billion annually.
Holding individuals responsible for their behavior is passé. That attitude has given rise to billions of dollars in government programs designed to ease the burden of living irresponsibly.
Individuals aren't the only ones shirking accountability. President Obama has set the national tone in winning two elections by blaming the country's ills on former President George W. Bush, Congress, The Tea Party, Republicans, corporate greed, the wealthy, private jets, tax loopholes and an uneven playing field. It is never his fault.
The individual rights guaranteed in The Declaration of Independence are worth sustaining. However, those rights carry responsibilities. The government's role is to uphold those rights, not to reward irresponsible behavior at taxpayer's expense.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Why Mexico Remains Mum On Immigration
While the debate over immigration simmers in Washington, Mexico has been strangely silent. The government, often a vocal critic of U.S. policy in the past, has chosen to sit on the sidelines for a good reason. Mexico's interests are best served if our nation's southern border remains a sieve.
The reason is that Mexico's economy would crater without the billions of dollars legal and illegal immigrants ship from the U.S. back to their home country.
The flow of money, once a lazy river, has turned into a flood of cash. In 2000, Mexican immigrants pumped $6.6 billion into the hands of relatives in their home country, according to the Bank of Mexico. In 11 years, the money train chugging south has nearly quadrupled.
Estimates are Mexicans dispatched $23 billion from this country to relatives in their native homeland in 2011. That figure represents an eight percent increase over the previous year. However, it is down from the peak in 2007 when immigrants funneled $26 billion south of the border.
Each American greenback yields about six pesos under traditional exchange rates. That increases the purchasing power of Mexican recipients. Without those dollars, Mexico's poverty rates would spike, the country's social development ministry has admitted.
Today immigrant dollars represent the second largest source of income for Mexico. Only Mexico's oil industry generates more income for the country.
That explains why the Mexican government has no interest in working with U.S. officials to stem the tide of its citizens slipping over the border. In fact, the government published a 32-page guide on migrating to the U.S., which included a chapter on how to live "unobtrusively" to avoid detection.
This laisser faire attitude has led to millions of Mexicans living and working illegally in our country. A Pew Research Center study, released last year, found that almost 60 percent of the 11.2 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. are from Mexico. Illegal immigration is mostly a Mexican problem.
The wave of Mexicans entering the U.S. either legally or illegally represents the largest influx of immigrants from one country in American history, reports Pew. About 30 percent of the 39.6 million immigrants living today in the U.S. were born in Mexico, estimates the researchers at Pew.
It is easy to understand why so many Mexicans are bidding their country adios. According to the United Nations, about half of Mexicans live below the poverty line. Thirteen million Mexicans are categorized as existing in "extreme poverty."
Instead of addressing ways to increase economic opportunity for its people, Mexico is content to stand idly by as millions of its citizens illegally enter the United States. With billions of dollars at stake, it is no surprise that the Mexican government vehemently opposes the building of the border fence.
That is why any immigration reform must start with tighter border security.
In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, a law designed to bolster border security in exchange for granting citizenship for undocumented workers in the U.S. Nearly three million illegal immigrants were granted amnesty under the legislation.
Forty five years after promises of tighter border control, there are 11.2 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S., a nearly four-fold increase. The American people were duped. Washington politicians were never serious about stopping the influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico.
This time Americans must insist on border security before amnesty. Safeguarding our nation is more important than protecting Mexico's economy.
The reason is that Mexico's economy would crater without the billions of dollars legal and illegal immigrants ship from the U.S. back to their home country.
The flow of money, once a lazy river, has turned into a flood of cash. In 2000, Mexican immigrants pumped $6.6 billion into the hands of relatives in their home country, according to the Bank of Mexico. In 11 years, the money train chugging south has nearly quadrupled.
Estimates are Mexicans dispatched $23 billion from this country to relatives in their native homeland in 2011. That figure represents an eight percent increase over the previous year. However, it is down from the peak in 2007 when immigrants funneled $26 billion south of the border.
Each American greenback yields about six pesos under traditional exchange rates. That increases the purchasing power of Mexican recipients. Without those dollars, Mexico's poverty rates would spike, the country's social development ministry has admitted.
Today immigrant dollars represent the second largest source of income for Mexico. Only Mexico's oil industry generates more income for the country.
That explains why the Mexican government has no interest in working with U.S. officials to stem the tide of its citizens slipping over the border. In fact, the government published a 32-page guide on migrating to the U.S., which included a chapter on how to live "unobtrusively" to avoid detection.
This laisser faire attitude has led to millions of Mexicans living and working illegally in our country. A Pew Research Center study, released last year, found that almost 60 percent of the 11.2 million illegal immigrants in the U.S. are from Mexico. Illegal immigration is mostly a Mexican problem.
The wave of Mexicans entering the U.S. either legally or illegally represents the largest influx of immigrants from one country in American history, reports Pew. About 30 percent of the 39.6 million immigrants living today in the U.S. were born in Mexico, estimates the researchers at Pew.
It is easy to understand why so many Mexicans are bidding their country adios. According to the United Nations, about half of Mexicans live below the poverty line. Thirteen million Mexicans are categorized as existing in "extreme poverty."
Instead of addressing ways to increase economic opportunity for its people, Mexico is content to stand idly by as millions of its citizens illegally enter the United States. With billions of dollars at stake, it is no surprise that the Mexican government vehemently opposes the building of the border fence.
That is why any immigration reform must start with tighter border security.
In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act, a law designed to bolster border security in exchange for granting citizenship for undocumented workers in the U.S. Nearly three million illegal immigrants were granted amnesty under the legislation.
Forty five years after promises of tighter border control, there are 11.2 million illegal immigrants living in the U.S., a nearly four-fold increase. The American people were duped. Washington politicians were never serious about stopping the influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico.
This time Americans must insist on border security before amnesty. Safeguarding our nation is more important than protecting Mexico's economy.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Media Bias And The Stinky Economy
After shocking setbacks jolted the world's largest economy last week, President Obama dispatched his puppets of propaganda to brainwash Americans into to thinking it was good news that unemployment climbed and the nation's output nosedived.
Like trained lapdogs, the partisan media obliged with quotes, reports and headlines like these:
Like trained lapdogs, the partisan media obliged with quotes, reports and headlines like these:
- "Mostly Encouraging Jobs News," Associated Press.
- "Best looking contraction ever," Reuters.
- "Economy Begins Year With Solid Job Gain," Washington Post
- "Latest Jobs Numbers Signal Economic Recovery," CBS News.
Obama's mouthpiece-in-chief Jay Carney couldn't resist blaming Congressional Republicans for the disastrous economic news, a ludicrous charge repeated as if it was fact by an adoring media that worships at the feet of the president.
The media cleverly quoted economic experts, no doubt supplied by the administration, to apply the spin to the worst economic news since the recession officially ended in 2009. News reports were sprinkled with opinions reassuring Americans the dreadful economic reports were nothing to worry about.
A close examination of the economic numbers reveals genuine cause for alarm. The economy is backsliding, not growing. To set the record straight, here is the truth about the nation's economy:
- The nation's unemployment ticked up to 7.9 percent in January, but the situation is even worse than the official figure. People working as little as one hour a week are counted as employed. A better measurement is to include not only people looking for employment, but those working part-time who want a full-time job. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that number is 14.4 percent. Long-term unemployed, those out of work for 27 weeks or more, is a whopping 38.1 percent of the jobless number.
- There are more than 23.5 million people unemployed or underemployed in the U.S. The figure includes 2.4 million Americans who are not in the labor force, but have not looked for a job in the past year as well as 804,000 persons who are not longer seeking employment. There are more Americans out of work today than at the height of the Great Depression (11.3 million).
- The Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a measure of the economy's output, contracted in the fourth quarter for the first time since mid-2009. Economic growth has not achieved 3.0 percent in more than four years. That is the level that most economists recognize as necessary for healthy job growth. A contraction in the GDP is a rarity for this nation. From 1948 to 2012, GDP growth in the U.S. averaged 3.22 percent annually.
There can be absolutely no denying that Barrack Obama has presided over the worst economy since the Great Depression. Since he assumed the Oval Office, the United States has been mired in a economic malaise marked by tortise-like growth, high unemployment and a shrinking workforce.
Yet the mainstream media continues to smear lipstick on this smelly pig of an economy by ignoring facts and using economic "experts" to fabricate plausible reasons to dismiss the numbers. However, no amount of journalistic deception can alter reality.
The government's own numbers are an indictment of the failed economic policies of President Obama.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)