Facing Deficits

Image courtesy of Michael Pfleghaar. www.pfleghaar.com


Ariana Huffington (huffingtonpost.com) wrote a seriously scary blog entry Life in the Age of "Much Worse Than We Thought It Would Be". I recommend reading the whole article. Here are excerpts particularly applicable to the future of aging and caregiving.

“That's the nature of unprecedented things -- they've never happened -- until they happen. But just because something is unprecedented doesn't mean it's unpredictable or that we're unable to plan for it. We can't see the future, but we can prepare for it…and there are some other "unprecedented," "unique" -- and potentially catastrophic -- problems headed our way if we continue to accept the old order's lack of imagination about what is possible.”

She is writing about America’s debt crisis. She could also be writing about the crises that face our aging population: cost of care, dementia, caregivers, etc.
“The needs of the past and the demands of the present exert a powerful pull on our attention while the future doesn't have many advocates -- it's always something we can get to later. And there was a time when we could get away with pushing our problems down the road, secure that our reserves would always bail us out. And there was a strong safety net to catch those who fell through the cracks. Well, those reserves are gone now and the safety net is frayed and full of holes.”

I love that she talks about imagination. Confidence in our creativity will give us the courage to face these looming realities.

On a national level.

Around the dining room table.


 
Peggy Flynn MA
The Caregiving Zone
www.thecaregivingzone.org
415-236-1691