US Election. - Page 7

RPK, keep your dreams alive.

IF Obama wins AND is re-elected in 2012, it will be time for another Republican president in 2016 - may be Palin? In any event, the Dems will fix the mess they have inherited from Bush and then you Repubs can elect another mediocrity to screw things up - kinda like Clinton giving Dubya a balanced budget, a nation at peace, etc - so that he could totally f--k things up.

Quit that, KTF, quit echoing my thoughts!

I was going to say the same thing! Are you a "closet liberal" or am I a "closet conservative"? May be that is the problem with labels.

Just heard about Obama's aunt being illegally in the US and having contributed to Obama's campaign. I am waiting for the right-wing blogs and some on this board to go nuts!

I'll never ask my kids to change my diapers. Don't you guys have state run assisted living  in your area? The one here is much better than most of the private institutions and they turn away no one. You pay what you can and Medicare picks up the balance.

We have decided to lower our living standard so we can spend our summers here in PA, the summers in Florida and so my husband can take an early retirement from Harley. For us that's living large. Different strokes.

 "I'll never ask my kids to change my diapers."

What if they want to, if they don't trust state run healthcare to see that you aren't left to fall, or that you aren't subjected to impatient handling by stressed, understaffed employees?

Years back, my mother did end up in a nursing home (she paid for it, herself, believe me) at the end of her life.  One day, I came in and the rather grumpy old lady who lived next door was out in the hallway, sitting in a "gerichair".  She had a perfect handprint (a bruise) on one side of her face.  Now, I know she was fussy, and wasn't a lamb all the time, but she got assaulted in that place that day.  I most certainly saw no marks on any of the staff, that's for sure.

After that, I made a point to vary my schedule, as I didn't want anyone to know exactly when I might show up.

Micky, in my family, that's my call, not that of my kids. NEVER will I place that burden on any of them.  I am willing to take the chance that I'll end up somewhere not so great. My daughter thinks it's terrible that I won't ever move in with her, but she has come to terms with the fact that it will never happen as long as I have anything to say about it. Some of my freinds have practically made thier kids swear in blood that they won't ever allow them to go to a home. IMO that is a horribly selfish act.

Just to share a little more information about my background. I spent the best part of 23 years working in the healthcare industry - both for profit and not-for-profit. The quality of healthcare in hospitals is generally excellent - and there is no distinction in the care that patients receive irrespective of payor type ie insurance, medicare, medicaid, etc.

But when it comes to the quality of care at nursing homes, assisted living, etc the standards vary considerably and although there may be a co-relation to the cost of the home - it is a loose co-relation for the most part. There are reasons for this but it would take too long to cover them.

If the situation ever arose where either of us needed nursing care, eg one of us has a stroke, suffers from Alzheimers, etc, our contingency plan is to hire full time nursing care as long as one of us is adequately functional. But if it reaches a point where one or both of us has to end up in a nursing home, then we would like the financial flexibility to be able to choose the best nursing home that we can afford. So conserving financial resources becomes an imperative.

All pretty depressing stuff but something many of us will have to confront - especially the boomers. In the meantime, I work-out for six hours a week on the treadmill - hoping to avoid or postpone the inevitable.

 "NEVER will I place that burden on any of them.  I am willing to take the chance that I'll end up somewhere not so great. My daughter thinks it's terrible that I won't ever move in with her, but she has come to terms with the fact that it will never happen as long as I have anything to say about it."

I understand.  And, I'd be willing to bet, should you need to go into some sort of nursing home situation, they'll never abandon you totally.  It sounds like you've got great kids, Blitzen.

Set ONE tax rate for all estates

See, Mickey, why most people can be labelled?

I am totally opposed to any estate taxes. This is money that has already been taxed and just because we have through our efforts or other circumstances been able to accumulate an estate, the government has no right to demand a portion of that as well.

I am not overly concerned - really one does not need to be a Kennedy or Rockefeller to implement estate tax avoidance methods. All it needs is a half-way decent attorney who specializes in estate planning.

 THIS IS A LITTLE NOTE FOR PRESTON...

IN CANADA WE HAVE MORE GUNS PER CAPITA THAN YOU IN THE STATE.  IT IS JUST  UNDER STRICT RULES FOR SEMI-AUTOMATIC AND HANDGUNS...

ALSO WE DO BELIEVE THAT UNSTABLE PEOPLE SHOULD NOT OWN GUNS!! AND WE ALSO BELIVE THAT WE SHOULD CHECK PEOPLE RECORD BEFORE WE LET THEM OWN GUNS.

WE DON'T BELIEVE YOU NEED A AUTOMATIC WEAPON TO GO HUNTING SO IT DOESN'T HAVE A PLACE IN ANY HOUSE FOR US..IT'S FOR THE ARMY...

EVEN IF WE DO OWN MORE GUNS THAN YOU IN THE STATE...DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED FROM GUN ACCIDENT OR MURDER IN A YEAR...ABOUT 15 PEOPLE A YEAR..CHECK YOUR RECORD IN THE STATE BUDDY..I THINK IT'S ONE A DAY JUST IN PHILADELPHIA!!

I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD FOLLOW YOUR BEAUTIFUL EXEMPLE IN THE USA...NO THANK YOU..

SO DO GUN CONTROL BRING SAFETY FOR ALL..WE SURE THINK SO IN ALL CIVILIZED COUNTRY!!

I'm glad the new track opens monday ... this past 8 weeks has been hell on my finger tips. Peace.