Retirement

It is no secret the US Social Security System is in deep doo-doo. The idea of the Social Security system is a good one. I really believe society should revere and care for its elderly.

Face it, at some point we all are going to be one of those old people you see walking/rolling very slowly down the sidewalk on the way to Bingo or the store to buy more bargain toilet paper or to the local coffee shop to have a cup of jav/tea with the other old farts in the neighborhood where we will bitch and moan about how kids today don't respect their elders, the music they listen to is too loud, they have no respect for their teachers, they don't know what it was like to only have a laptop and 2 cell phones..yadda yadda yadda...

Unfortunately, the SS system is not doing what it is supposed to. Seniors have to go to Canada for medications because there is no national healthcare system in the States where you can get treatment for low cost and the healthcare plan they had with their employer (if they can even still afford the premiums) doesn't cover the medications they need to survive. Senior citizens perish from malnutrition, freezing to death because they can't afford to pay the heating bills or get oil delivered, die from the flu because they can't afford to see a doctor..and the list goes on.

And as a result of a system and society which is in love with youth and beauty and bigger/better/faster/NOW our elderly are forced to do what they need to do to survive:

"Police say granny, 80, ran prostitution ring
Claims she needed to supplement Social Security checks
Monday, June 6, 2005 Posted: 3:26 AM EDT (0726 GMT)

LINDENWOLD, New Jersey (AP) -- Police made a surprising discovery when they busted the alleged madam of a prostitution ring called "August Playmates": The woman running the show was an 80-year-old grandmother.

Authorities arrested Vera Tursi last month during a sting operation to crack down on prostitution rings posing as legal escort services. Police say Tursi ran the business from her two-bedroom apartment, taking $60 of every $160 she charged clients for one hour with a call girl.

Law enforcement officials say Tursi admitted her role in the business, saying she took it over a few years ago from her daughter, who had died. Police say Tursi told them she needed money to subsidize her Social Security checks...."