The coronavirus pandemic has put a major strain on state budgets all across America.As lawmakers scramble to fill the holes caused by reduced tax revenue and increased health care costs, programs designed to aid seniors can appear to be a tempting target for budget cuts.But in this scathing article on the political website The Hill, California-based opinion contributor and senior advocate Shelley Lyford says such examples of budgetary ageism are not only morally wrong, theyre also shortsighted.COVID-19 Has Revealed New and Virulent Strains of AgeismCOVID-19 has delivered a one-two punch to state budgets, Lyford writes and were still in the early rounds of the fight to contain this deadly pandemic.
Steeply declining tax revenues combined with sharply rising expenses have turned budget surpluses into record deficits and placed critical government programs squarely in the crosshairs for cuts or elimination.According to Lyford, those critical government programs include programs for seniors.As she points out, Americas seniors have already borne the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic, accounting for roughly 80 percent of deaths and the highest rate of hospitalization from COVID-19.Still, health and social services that care for this highly vulnerable population are not immune from the chopping block, and not just for budgetary reasons.
As our country wrestles with an unprecedented and historic public health crisis, says The Hill, seniors find themselves in forced isolation and on the defense not only against the virus but against new and virulent strains of ageism that infect public policy and the public discourse.Due to COVID, Politicians and Economists Are Aggravating Generational ConflictReporter Lyford claims that some policy-makers, either from ill intent or out of ignorance, are feeding a sense of conflict between old and young.She accuses them of [pitting] one segment of society against another for some perceived political or economic gain.As an example, she cites Texas Lt.
Gov.Dan Patrick who suggested in March that seniors should be willing to risk their lives for the sake of the economy.Lyford calls this a false choice and accuses Patrick and others of fostering the belief that older people have outlived their social and economic productivity.In a blistering assessment, Lyford writes, This kind of rhetoric from a top official creates a toxic political climate where budget decisions are driven by bias and cold calculation rather than need and compassion.
She acknowledges that the pandemic calls for shared sacrifice.But by any measure, she says, seniors have already given more than their fair share.More than 100,000 have already paid with their lives.
Now, many governors and state legislators facing balanced budget requirements are turning to older adults to foot the bill.Havent they paid enough?Threatened Cuts in Two Bellwether States Mean Fiscal Storm Clouds Lie AheadIn her article, Lyford cites two examples of states where senior programs are threatened with severe cuts due to the pandemic.Her home state, California, faces a breathtaking budget deficit of $54 billion.
As a result, policy-makers were eyeing reductions in critical programs for seniors programs for nutrition, caregiving, health insurance, long-term care, independent living and more.Only after a chorus of fierce opposition from aging advocates, community leaders, state legislators, and members of the governors Master Plan for Aging Advisory Committee were cuts averted, she writes.Their argument combined compassion and common sense.
Advocates for seniors made the case that the cuts were not only excessive but would end up costing the state more in the long-run and would be counterproductive to its efforts to combat COVID-19.In Lyfords second example, our home state of Washington, legislators are expected to go into special session to tackle a budget shortfall that could hit $9 billion by 2023.Cuts of up to $220 million to programs and services for seniors and people with disabilities have already been proposed, and the opposition is gearing up.Similar budget battles will continue to unfold in statehouses across the country, says The Hill, and vulnerable seniors will likely get less than they earned and certainly less than they deserve from dwindling state coffers without vigilance, united opposition, and pushback.Cutting Programs for Seniors is Shortsighted and Doomed to FailThe problem, Lyford concludes, is how policy-makers often think about programs for seniors.
Successful aging, she argues, isnt just another budgetary expenditure its an investment in a healthier, more just society.When we cut back senior services for short-term savings, she writes, we simply incur the higher long-term costs associated with bad health outcomes, increased hospitalizations, and reduced quality of life.In the final analysis, budgets arent just numbers on a page.We need to recognize that our budgets reflect our values, says Lyford.
Excessive cuts to programs that support our aging population in a time of crisis is a morally bankrupt solution for budget shortfalls.Abandoning our parents, grandparents, and vulnerable aging neighbors in their hour of need is systemic ageism writ large and bold.And its unacceptable.
She calls the current pandemic a measure of our social values and a time of transformation.She makes a persuasive call to all of us to lay aside prejudices and self-interest.Years from now, I hope we can tell the next generation that we stood up for seniors when they needed us most, she writes.
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