If, as Confucius tells us, caring for older persons is the "root of humanity," then American society is surely failing.   That is what I come away with after reading this interview with Dr. Robert N. Butler.  Here’s one exchange:

Q. Earlier this year, your organization released a report, “Ageism in America.” What is the sum of your findings?

A. We did a literature review. According to a 2004 article in The Lancet,
between one and three million older Americans suffered some form of
elder abuse from people they depended upon for their care. In the
workplace, the General Social Survey studied over-65 workers between
1977 and 2002. Among them, perceived age discrimination rose from 11.6
percent to 16.9 percent. According to the government, 1.5 million older
Americans live in nursing homes, 90 percent of which have inadequate
staffing.

Older people also experience health care
discrimination. Physicians are often less aggressive in treating their
illnesses than they are with younger patients. Medical schools don’t
teach much, if anything, about elder care. You almost never see a
medical student in a nursing home. And you don’t see them taught much
about death and dying, either. Moreover, Medicare doesn’t cover what a
lot of what older people need — long-term care. The hospice coverage
offered is minimal.

 Of course, Confucius says that caring for parents is the root of humanity and, yes, children should bear the first responsibility for addressing the needs of their aging parents.  But given the realities of modern life, the responsibility must extend beyond children.  Indeed, some children may find themselves in economic circumstances that make it difficult to care for their parents.  There needs to be stronger public support, through government budgets, of nursing homes and health care facilities and social services generally to improve living conditions of elderly people. 

    This needn’t come at the cost of caring for children, which also needs public investment.  Rather, funding could come from revised budget priorities (how much should be spend on defense?), from encouraging older folks to continue working (notice that Butler says "retired" is not a good word), and from redistributionist policies.  There, I said it; and I’ll say it again: redistribution.  We could start with Social Security.  Does a billionaire now living off of vast personal pensions and wealth really need a Social Security check?  Does a millionaire?  No, they do not need it.   Social Security should, in policy wonk language, be means tested.  The savings could then be used for public investments in elder care.   Similarly, a return to progressive taxation would also help.

     And there needs to be a cultural change.  We must, as a society, give greater value to aging, as opposed to our veneration of youth, before we will find the political will to address the problems of the elderly.  Confucius suggests that we get better as we age, we learn how to live more humanely.  We should not be afraid of aging, but embrace it.  We may lose certain physical abilities, but our human qualities deepen and bloom.  If we could see that, we would take care of each other better.