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Taking care of your parents (and children, and children's children) is your life. The relatively brief period where america corporatized and privatized extende

Taking care of your parents (and children, and children's children) is your life. The relatively brief period where america corporatized and privatized extended families in the form of retirement communities, nursing homes, day-care and so on is coming to an end. Setting aside if that system was a net good, it turns out that it's simply too expensive: it only worked when the US was the worlds factory (first for goods, then for dollars)

spacephysics 4y ago
Further, with the elderly population quickly growing, it’ll become even more expensive as inflation grows, services become more expensive, and worst of all, supply for these services goes down (nurses, at home care workers, etc) If a family has the means and the funds, I believe the money would be better spent building a small “guest house” on the adults properties for their parents to live in, than to a nursing home. Or perhaps have a nurse visit every so often for certain services. Much of Asian culture never grew far from this notion of parents living at home in old age
- vishnugupta 4y ago
  +1. To add, vast majority of senior care requires trained, skilled, and empathetic human human labor. This can't be automated and so this challenge is only going to increase (and supply going down as you have rightly pointed) as demographics shift.
  - mkoubaa 4y ago
    If GPT takes your white collar job theyre always hiring at old folks homes
- emodendroket 4y ago
  Most of this is a bunch of value statements I’m not bothering with but the last paragraph is false.
becquerel 4y ago
God, I would feel monstrous having children with the expectation that they live for me. Slaves by bloodline.
- e67f70028a46fba 4y ago
  You can make up for this by living for them.
GalenErso 4y ago
> Taking care of your parents (and children, and children's children) is your life. Easy to say if you're a software engineer earning 200k. Not so easy to say if you earn a more normal wage of 60k (not my case btw, I earn quite a bit more) and have to choose between, say, saving for a downpayment on a house or giving your parents money to help them avoid homelessness, possibly for the rest of their lives.
- rayrey 4y ago
  And male. Most caregiving (75%) is done by women who are then sacrifice their own financial well being and relationships.
velcrovan 4y ago
Counterpoint: no, it’s not.
skippyboxedhero 4y ago
> Taking care of your parents (and children, and children's children) is your life My life has, imo, been ruined by caring responsibilities and I wouldn't change it. It is unfortunate that so many people do not understand the joy that comes from caring for your family. I agree, there is nothing else in life, no self-interested joy can compare. This also seems to be connected to resenting your parents...I have had massive issues with the people I care for, but that doesn't change what my responsibility is...just like your parents didn't walk away when you had a tantrum as a child. Unfortunate.

spacephysics 4y ago

Further, with the elderly population quickly growing, it’ll become even more expensive as inflation grows, services become more expensive, and worst of all, supply for these services goes down (nurses, at home care workers, etc) If a family has the means and the funds, I believe the money would be better spent building a small “guest house” on the adults properties for their parents to live in, than to a nursing home. Or perhaps have a nurse visit every so often for certain services. Much of Asian culture never grew far from this notion of parents living at home in old age

vishnugupta 4y ago
+1. To add, vast majority of senior care requires trained, skilled, and empathetic human human labor. This can't be automated and so this challenge is only going to increase (and supply going down as you have rightly pointed) as demographics shift.
- mkoubaa 4y ago
  If GPT takes your white collar job theyre always hiring at old folks homes
emodendroket 4y ago
Most of this is a bunch of value statements I’m not bothering with but the last paragraph is false.

becquerel 4y ago

God, I would feel monstrous having children with the expectation that they live for me. Slaves by bloodline.

e67f70028a46fba 4y ago
You can make up for this by living for them.

GalenErso 4y ago

> Taking care of your parents (and children, and children's children) is your life. Easy to say if you're a software engineer earning 200k. Not so easy to say if you earn a more normal wage of 60k (not my case btw, I earn quite a bit more) and have to choose between, say, saving for a downpayment on a house or giving your parents money to help them avoid homelessness, possibly for the rest of their lives.

rayrey 4y ago
And male. Most caregiving (75%) is done by women who are then sacrifice their own financial well being and relationships.

velcrovan 4y ago

Counterpoint: no, it’s not.

skippyboxedhero 4y ago

> Taking care of your parents (and children, and children's children) is your life My life has, imo, been ruined by caring responsibilities and I wouldn't change it. It is unfortunate that so many people do not understand the joy that comes from caring for your family. I agree, there is nothing else in life, no self-interested joy can compare. This also seems to be connected to resenting your parents...I have had massive issues with the people I care for, but that doesn't change what my responsibility is...just like your parents didn't walk away when you had a tantrum as a child. Unfortunate.