A recent report compiled and released by joint efforts of the AARP and the federal government reveal alarming statistics regarding long term care for the disabled in this country.  Perhaps the first figure to stand out is the fact nearly 55 million Americans have some level of disability and of those, nearly one-third will require long term care due to their disabilities.  And if you think disability is reserved only for the elderly, think again.  22%, or 12 million, of those who are considered legally disabled are under the age of 65.  The need for solid solutions in long term care has long since been on the governmental backburner.  This is no doubt one of the most neglected of societal issues. 

Further, those family members who bear the brunt of the financial obligations of those who are disabled continues to rise, both in the numbers as well as the money that’s applied toward their loved ones’ needs.  Consider $375 billion dollars that was contributed in 2007 by family members who provide for their disabled loved ones versus the $97 billion spent by Medicaid, and the reality begins to emerge of just how important this issue is.

Long term care disability is defined as any chronic disease or serious accident that inhibits the ability to work or severely inhibits one’s quality of life.   With the vast majority of earmarked Medicare funds going to nursing home facilities or other assisted living facilities and due to the guidelines that many simply don’t qualify for, it’s a “fend for yourself” attitude that seems to rule the day. 

Disabilities strike all racial or ethnic groups and isn’t partial to any age group, either.  With today’s bankruptcy filings of General Motors along with every other story that seems to announce yet another big company’s demise, this issue, important as it is, won’t be addressed anytime soon.

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. Gary Condit

Our federal government now has time on its hands to go into the romance business.  Feeling reassured?  You’re not alone - most aren’t.  Politicians and fidelity go hand in hand about like Oprah Winfrey and the Texas cattle ranchers.  Consider those who’ve not put their marriages first, got busted and then had the whole sordid story unfold in the public eye:

Bill Clinton - Nine words: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman!”

Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer - His call girl scandal caused him to resign as governor. 

Former New Jersey Governor James E. McGreevey - Before being outed as a homosexual, he admitted to being “as avid a womanizer as anybody else on the New Jersey political scene”. 

Gary Condit - He was briefly a person of interest in the abduction of Chandra Levy in 2001 because of a romance between the two that he initially denied.  This ultimately ruined his career although he was never charged.  An imminent arrest, thanks to a DNA match, of a former gang member was announced in February 2009.

John Edwards - An admitted affair with a former campaign worker ended Mr. GQ’s political career.  As his wife struggles with cancer, he was working double-time to keep his affair secret and out of the media.  What’s even more bizarre is how this magically dropped out of the media spotlight just as it was heating up.

Former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer

These are just a few of the most recent scandals that come to mind.  Granted, I doubt the creation of the government’s website for Romance and Marriage 101 will have any of these fellows as guest commentators, but it’s almost laughable that those responsible for this new brainchild are actually managing to keep a straight face as the announcement is made of the five million dollars that will be used to bring this site live.  We can’t forget, either, the hundreds of other scandals our elected head honchoes find themselves in - including bribery, theft, DUIs, writing worthless checks - the list is endless.  And yes, they’re human…but they’re held far more accountable since they’re the ones breaking the very laws they’ve written.

Granted, there are major costs associated with divorce and single parents.  And most people agree with the sanctity of marriage, both morally and legally.  It just feels like a kick in the teeth to most us who’ve watched so many scandals, courtesy of politicians and lawmakers from every state, play out on the evening news day after day…after day.

There is another storm brewing too.  The gay community says it’s their tax dollars that will be contributing to this new program, yet they’re not given the option of marriage in this country. 

Public opinion is less than optimistic, to say the least.  The site, if you’re interested, is www.TwoOfUs.org