The problems we have are big; but not big enough to capture the nation’s attention. We forget that nursing home residents make up a very tiny percentage of the population- maybe 2% of people over 65 are residing in these places. That’s about 1.8 million residents. In a nation of just over 300 million.

Then we forget to consider that it is costing the US taxpayers 300 million plus to care for those 1.8 million. No one wants to see that number increase. And no one is going to sit back quietly and watch that happen, without standing up and demanding alternatives. No candidate, or elected official, is going to up the ante on this. It would be political suicide.

Bet on this: The workers needed to support an aging population will be foreign, uneducated immigrants (legal and illegal) who will do this work for low pay and little to no benefits, no matter WHO is elected President. Both candidates are very supportive of allowing immigrants to enter the US and do this work, which is fast becoming one of those jobs no American will do.

atoleos, your comment is somewhat rude and brash considering an association with PHI. I have noticed an increase in political style posting here- all left leaning- which disturbs me and many others. When you drag politics into the advocacy PHI has always stood for, it totally takes away much creditability. PHI may as well be a Democrat campaign site or an offshoot of DailyKos or the other liberal blogs.

Remember: Issues related to the work of ALL direct care workers should be the main focus here. Those of us who DO the work for a living are already well seated in our political beliefs and party affiliations. We don’t need to come here to read MORE politics.

Who are you supporting if “none of the above.” Let’s hear about your candidate and why you are supporting him/her. Does your candidate have a position on long term care?

It should be about choice, not the two most well known “brands”. To me, the choice between McCain and Obama is “None of the above”.