Moral Policies Are Good Economics

Folk love to complain about entitlement programs as a waste of hardworking taxpayer money inferring the recipients of entitlement program are low life slugs. Such thinking is simplistic, immoral and just plain wrong. For the most part entitlement programs save money, tax money, in the long run and show proper respect and concern for members of our society who deserve that care.

I want to focus on senior programs in this article. We are told to honor our parents and to listen to the wisdom of seniors and if you do you will likely benefit. Many of those folk who contributed to societal welfare now find themselves in a pickle.

President Lyndon Johnson signed into law in 1965 Medicare and Medicaid and the OAA federal funding for essential senior services such as job training, caregiver support, transportation, preventative healthcare, meal and protection from financial exploitation as Bernie Sander pointed out in a hearing on reducing senior poverty through the OAA.

Under sequester, and additional $40 million will be cut from senior meals programs alone; that is 19 million fewer meals available to seniors. Sanders points out “it doesn’t take a genius to figure it out…If you are malnourished, you’re going to get sick more often. You may end up in the emergency room at great expense to Medicaid…If you’re weak and fall and break you hip, you end up in the hospital, at an expense of ten and tens of thousands of dollars…We can feed a senior for an entire year for the cost of one day in the hospital.

What we are doing is immoral and bad economics.

Meals on Wheels Association of America’s CEO, Ellie Hollander showed a study by the Center for Effective Government that for every $1 in federal spending on Meals on Wheels there is as much as a $50 return in Medicaid savings alone. Currently they serve 2.5 million seniors of 8.3 million seniors who struggle with hunger. Yet funding for these program have decreased 18% since 1992 who those over 60 in our country have increased 34%.

Howard Bedlin of the National Council on Aging said there are more the 23 million economically disadvantaged seniors over 60. He also pointed out that nursing home costs are now $84,000 annually, which bankrupts seniors. OAA Home and Community-Based Supportive services help people avoid this and remain at home.  He also talked about fall prevention programs, which reduce falls by 30 to 55% saving lives and money.

Sanders and 17 cosponsors have introduced a bill to reauthorize the OAA with a funding increase of 12% of 2010 levels to catch up with population growth. That is moral and economically wise.

I think one could go through each entitlement program and find similar economic results. Folk seem to know and not know this when most oppose entitlement programs but when it comes to specific programs the majority supports each of them.

Ideology can get in the way of moral and sound economic policy. Republicans and Democrats alike should understand this and our political leaders should study and make moral and economically responsible positions passing needed legislation that benefits the common good of our citizens.