Trapping Lower Income Elders

Gotcha!

Predatory lending and financing don't just trap seniors; it is just that elders are more vulnerable and less able to pay exorbitant interest and fees than our younger counterparts. Millions upon millions of American elders have zero emergency buffers. Stuff happens, and predators know they have temptation on their side. Generally elders do not opt to incur overdraft fees or payday loans for luxuries, because they know it is nearly impossible to bail out. Most go without furnishings and electronics, rather than rent or lease them. The majority of seniors who fall into the traps, however, do so, because they cannot meet basic needs. The notion of borrowing to cover a short term contingency is the premise that permitted payday lenders to claim legitimacy in the first place. Of course the reality is quite something else; certainly emergencies arise, but a payday loan is designed not to be paid off! Hence the term debt trap.

Conscience may not be on our side; guilt is pervasive in poverty. Once we retire, unless we retire wealthy, our lives become constricted. An estimated 1 in every 10 retirees today lives below the poverty line. Guilt attaches, particularly if we cannot earn our way out of debt. Even if we can, the issue becomes lifestyle. If we were properly raised and educated, we customarily attend family and other social events, looking our best and on our best manners. We take hostess gifts, and give gifts to celebrate milestones in peoples' lives. We write thank you cards, send holiday greetings, write nice letters on good stationery. In our prior lives these were not extraordinary expenses, quite the contrary. For many of the nation's elders, the more likely scenarios are foregoing groceries or medications, skipping the utility bill or paying a copay for a visit to a medical specialist. We feel terribly guilty asking for help, because it feels as though we cannot manage our finances. The following are guides, available online to help seniors manage. https://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnsum13/Summer2013C.pdf
http://www.stopfraud.gov/protect.html

As often as we find ourselves having to relinquish things we've always taken for granted, life has a way of becoming worse! It is Murphy's Law. A chest of drawers cracks and peels, a sofa grows dilapidated, saggy, and dingy. The twenty something phone stops functioning. A relatively new set of dentures slips from your hands. The lower plate breaks, and the dentist says, no, he cannot just replace it. An elderly pet becomes terminally ill, must be euthanized and, of course, cremated. If no other resources exist, high-interest loans are not the answer, I promise. We know making the payments may take a long time, and sacrifices will have to be made. In fact it is not that simple. These loans were designed to keep people in a cycle of debt. The next revelation is the lender's efforts to invite you to open yet another loan, even though you have struggled to meet payment deadlines. If you default and decline to open another loan, the lender swamps you with telephone calls. (Speaking of guilt, if you find yourself having to confess you took out an unsecured loan, people will consider you mad ... with reason.) Rather it is a lesson learned, and you are, by no means, alone in learning it. Here are a few helpful facts and some after-the-fact advice:
http://www.daveramsey.com/blog/get-out-payday-loan-trap
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cfpb-proposes-new-payday-lending-rules-2015-03-26-91034835
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/payday-loans-and-lenders?page=2

Poverty entails fear and stress and sometimes depression. It meets a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts that is something on which to pride yourself but poverty itself is romanticized by fools. ~J. K. Rowling
Will predatory programs ever be legislated entirely out of our misery? The Center for Responsible Lending has testified in state and federal hearings. Abuses are so widespread and victimize so many vulnerable Americans, legislation has already been and will continue to be enacted. Meanwhile, if you are an elder or a family elder owes a payday lender and cannot pay, there are a couple of things to know. Only a government agency, such as the IRS can touch Social Security retirement benefits, for one thing. Here is a helpful link:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/payday-loans-and-lenders?page=2

Just a quick word to the wise for elders experiencing long- or short-term financial hardship. Sometimes non-profits can offer help; however not all are created equal. Just be aware scams and scammers abound, particularly, on the Internet. For example American Hope Resources (AHR) boasts a great looking website and an F Rating from the Better Business Bureau! The National Gerontological Society is a safe site to visit, and can direct you to your State's Gerontological Society and its many resources. My State's Bar Association publishes a Senior Law Guide annually. Check to see whether your State's Bar Association publishes such a guide; it is invaluable. Senior fairs and events, although they have limited entertainment value, often provide good information.

Do the math, then, do the research. Take deep, cleansing, breaths. Stay safe; it's a jungle out there.

Fear and Loathing: A Salute To Seniors

     Okay, so what would you think Las Vegas, fat, greasy Elvis impersonators and Colorado elders have in common? C'mon now, think hard. The clock is ticking. "Yes, lady in the purple hat, it is farfetched, but you got it right! Lucky you, adventure awaits. You win a trip to the Colorado Gerontological Society's April 2015 Salute to Seniors!" Whoopee I know I am excited.      

      Anyone will tell you Elvis slamming and Vegas loathing do not merely border on the trite. Even in light of the negative publicity surrounding Ferguson, Missouri, though, Vegas manages to distinguish itself as an equal opportunity offender, a city millions love to hate. A "Las Vegas Weekly Magazine" edition published one insult to the city that seems to sum it all up: "a nonstop spectacle of fat ... Midwesterners, Arab sheiks, the elderly, gangsta thugs, greasy Lotharios with unbuttoned shirts and scantily clad club ladies all commingling inside a giant pinball machine." Pretty apt, although Hunter Thompson nailed it in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." Then there is the Mayor of Las Vegas, who offered a trip to a lake with cement shoes for Vegas critics ... classy, don't you think?

But our trip was different. It was a classic affirmation of everything right and true and decent in the national character. It was a gross, physical salute to the fantastic possibilities of life in this country-but only for those with true grit. And we were chock full of that.~Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

     
Oh, you say, but, "Elvis is even more an archetype than Vegas, complete with minions of worshipers?" Dear readers, proof that Elvis long since left the building lies in the endless supply of ghastly impersonators, who opt his lugubrious appearance and style, but so lack his talent. Thank you. Thank you very much, Colorado's Annual Salute to Seniors 2015 promises to be a ride ... reminiscent of the carnival rides of long ago. We all dwell in nostalgia, though, don't we? Hell, who am I to criticize? Would I have a better idea for a huge attempt to market your balls off to to hapless seniors? No.

And if there's any hope for America, it lies in a revolution, and if there's any hope for a revolution in America, it lies in getting Elvis Presley to become Che Guevara. ~Phil Ochs 

     Please do not take this as an indictment of the Colorado Gerontological Society. I am unsure whether they could do better by Colorado seniors. With the resources the Society has it does fine work. I just wonder whether the annual Salute couldn't be better named. In the alternative perhaps we could hope for a more meaningful way to honor seniors. On the other hand, maybe Denver's income challenged elders would not attend. After all there wouldn't be so much landfill fodder for hoarders to grab n' stash (ball point pens, hard candies, notepads, key rings and, as Andy Griffith once said, "I don't know what all.")

     As for me, I attended last year's Salute as a volunteer, although I did little to earn my free pass. The Convention Center food concessions were pricey and as mediocre as any Denver street food. The celebrities were sad reminders of early television. I was looking for a better Medicare insurer, although they all look pretty much the same to me. At the end of the day it was an unimpressive, somehow, unsatisfying affair. I still have one ball point pen, and guess that is something.

GDI

That you, Pin Head?

The "Fortune 500" old boys and girls will hate this post. They and many of America's 1% will be sending sons and daughters off to the beloved alma mater in Autumn 2015. It isn't due to pure nostalgia; there is leverage in all those Alumni Association dues and monetary donations. Not all the kiddies will choose to follow in their elders' footsteps, although juniors who do not choose the old school tie will likely enter Mum's sorority or Dad's fraternity. The beaming parents will encourage this; plenty of time to repent later. I say this because certain events have come to our attention regarding social fraternities in recent years. Bigotry, one could say, is only part of the equation We called Dad a frat rat, when we attended university with him. It was not pure resentment. I never have liked labels, but there was every good reason God Damned Independents and college administrators hated frats.

     I was very clear, upon entering the University of Colorado at 16, whether or not I wanted to join a sorority. Having been part of the military life I'd had enough of "Rank Hath Its Privileges,"even though my father was a commissioned officer. Nor did I care for the potential advantages of sorority life. I did not live in campus housing. My funding, eventually, a full-ride scholarship, reflected my passion for my studies, so study groups, other peoples' class notes, sample tests ... had no appeal.

     I did have a frat rat laboratory partner in first year Biology. He was a BMOC, a prominent athlete. I'll call him Studley. Unfortunately we shared a fetal pig in Anatomy Lab. One fine day, we were to establish and show the sex of our babies. Studley began by stabbing me with his scalpel. I thought, silently, "This guy has the makings of a Navy Doctor!" 

     The professor arrived at our table, while I was cleansing and bandaging my wound, cursing under my breath. He asked Studley the sex question, before I could stop him. (I'd already pointed out that our piglet had undescended testicles.) "Why, Sir, it is clearly a female," my buddy opined. The teacher, tweezed and displayed perhaps the largest pair of cajones ever to occur in a porcine infant. Studley reddened. I just kept silently swearing, slapping my forehead. I feared his lab grade would be my lab grade. Studley was one of a handful of fraternity men of my acquaintance and, clearly, Sir, needed every advantage he could garner.

     By contrast some of the women I knew who had entered sororities, were fine students. I associated, for the most part, with Alpha Chi Omegas, generally shunned by more elite sororities. Many of their number were female athletes. You see, the ideal woman of the early Sixties was feminine, a beauty ... marriageable. If she was intelligent or extraordinarily gifted, she hid it. She had to be more than discreet. She had to be wily, to avoid being exploited by her male counterparts. Some traditions in the throwback Greek System began in the 19th Century. I promise you they never die. The following is quoted from an Atlantic article by Caitlin Flanagan.

An 1857 letter that a Sigma Phi sent to one of his fraternity brothers suggests the new system was already hitting full stride: “I did get one of the nicest piece of ass some day or two ago.”

     There was always tremendous peer pressure to smoke, drink and screw like minks, but exclusively ... and always in a manner befitting. Talking about sex was fine, talking about sexual encounters, absolutely not. Drugs had not quite emerged in the social scene, and, if they were present at parties, their use was clandestine. We were truly the youth of Pleasantville, having narrowly escaped the 1950s high school nightmare. Universities were still governed, although in varying degrees, by the now outdated concept of in loco parentis. They were not diploma mills, they took seriously the job of molding character and, often, of protecting students from themselves. All that came to a screeching halt, just as students of my generation entered careers and/or the grind of post graduate degree programs. It looked for a time, as though, the grandeur of fraternity mansions and boola boola were doomed to extinction. Many became seedy rat traps; not all have been completely renovated. Some are downright dangerous.

     Rather than rely on my own perceptions, current or past events, I reread a detailed article from The Atlantic, published in 2014, "The Dark Power of Fraternities." The link is here:

http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/02/the-dark-power-of-fraternities/357580/

Parents and grandparents of all socio-economic groups need to read this and reread it.

      One fact was and has remained abundantly clear. The Greek System, while it provides housing and social opportunities to the chosen, fraternities and sororities often find themselves at odds with the philosophy and mission of academia. As long ago as 1978 Dartmouth's faculty proposed to eliminate fraternities and sororities on the premise they fostered anti-intellectualism and sexism.

      Add incubating for tomorrow's bigots and elitists, and I'll give an, "Amen." Tempus fugit, it seems, albeit very slowly. A more recent report of the Dartmouth Committee on Diversity and Community leveled similar criticisms. Herein lies the rub the trustees will have to build new housing. They must consider providing more and better student events, as well as venues. Dartmouth may make the investment, but not all universities enjoy the financial health and outside investors to do so. 

     What else has kept the outmoded system in place? Can it be charitable and community service activities? As significant as the contributions may or may not be to a fraternity or sorority image, they seldom offset the negative side of the balance sheet. The concept of in loco parentis may have been all but abandoned, but the Constitutional right of Freedom of Assembly has kept social fraternities and sororities right where they are, even when they are prominently troublesome to community and university authorities. Turning them into coed institutions may work, or it may just address some issues.

    Change is once again in the air ... it may take time, but I believe we'll see an end to other than academic fraternities in our lifetimes. Meanwhile if you have a youngster headed off to college this Fall, consider the safety and security concerns in your student's housing, whether it is off or on campus. You may want to give the kids a heads up concerning their comportment, as it relates to their safety. Parents cannot just assume these kids will be the exemplary citizens we have trained them to be. They are fledging into a highly competitive environment of intricate social complexity, combined with unimaginable freedom of choice. For some it will prove to be the perfect storm.

Not Your Grandma's Bad Knee

The Best Valentine

Beached with a flare up of arthritis, I sat down to watch a national television talk show (I generally dislike talk radio and talk television,) Dr. Phil McGraw is one of those characters I cannot, for the life of me, dislike, in spite of significant cultural differences between us. The episode featured a young woman, who spoke to the challenges she faces in suffering from a 'hidden' illness. Young and attractive, she is afflicted with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Based on her personal experience, she suffers equally from the common curse of today's society ... knee jerk judgment and extreme discourtesy. I get it, but, think she's doing a good deal more whining than her grandmother would ever have been allowed to do. My mother, for example, would have considered her complaining self-indulgent.

As the conversation progressed, however, she said of her R.A., "This is not your grandma's bad knee!" The good doctor had the common sense to add that osteoarthritis can be, itself, serious, or words to that effect. The conversation advanced, as though those words had not come from his mouth. I wanted so much more, and here it is! I never minimize anyone's pain or suffering, but, by God, I don't expect anyone to minimize mine. 

Osteoarthritis, if one of your elders has it, does not confine itself to a creaky knee. It is chronic inflammatory disease; it is degenerative, so today's painful knee, becomes tomorrow's second painful knee, and the next day's painful hip, stenosis of the spine, crippled, crooked hands or feet. Like rheumatoid arthritis, it's more benign cousin causes malaise, extreme fatigue, depression. Oh yeah ... most of the package, less pronounced, less dramatic though it may be. People die like flies from the pain medications and surgeries conventional medicine offers. Lives become as constricted as the movement of inflamed, swollen joints. 

“When we fail to set boundaries and hold people accountable, we feel used and mistreated. This is why we sometimes attack who they are, which is far more hurtful than addressing a behavior or a choice.” 

~Brene Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who you Are

Here is the thing. People in the shopping center parking lot may not get nasty because I've parked in a handicapped space. Let's start, though, with the cashier at the check stand, who short changes me in a significant amount. When I tell him he is wrong and owes me $20, he reminds me not to have a heart attack. He stops short of calling me "grandma," so I stop short of dragging him to his manager by the scruff of his scrawny neck. My day is pretty much filled with this kind of insult. Later in the day my PCP says he wants me to confine my visits to his "geriatric clinic hours." He fails to treat me for arteriosclerosis, in spit of finding radiographic evidence of a hardening artery in my right leg. "We all get there," says he. He points out how fortunate I am to have lived long enough to have this happen. The result is a trenchant refusal to return to this guy's practice.

Ah but the day is not over. After the grocery store and PCP's office, I attend a volunteer orientation for Foster Grandparents. I'll be damned if the facilitator doesn't hand me a badge with "Grandma Kathy" on it. I hand it back to her, saying, "Madame, my name is Kathleen Cole, Ms. Cole, to you." On the return home, my neighbor holds the elevator door. He says, in a syrupy tone, "How are we today, dear?" I look at him, and say, "Hey, it's all good. Wazzup Adrian?" 

Thank God for my dog. She awaits me, tail wagging furiously. She is so excited, she runs full tilt 'round and 'round the apartment. To her I am worthy, beautiful, a source of constant care and entertainment, never mind the white hair and frown lines. To her I am that eternal goddess of Dr. Christian Northrup's vision:

http://www.drnorthrup.com 

As for me? I'm working on it, Doctor Northrup, and I have the starch to do it.

Reconciliation and Solidarity

US

America faces enormous challenges in this 21st Century, among them, significant human rights challenges. While tremen-dous progress has been made in elder rights and attitudes toward aging, American attitudes toward and among the aged need changing. Elders need to change our own image. We need not retire, if retirement means withdrawing from leadership roles. Elders should be growing into roles of greater, not diminishing, prominence and responsibility. 

We have much to say. In Native American cultures elders are the reservoir of tradition; they are teachers and community leaders. A link to a "Huffington Post" article follows:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/25/what-other-cultures-can-teach_n_4834228.html
Many American elders have engaged in the human rights movement at home and abroad. We have learned the lessons of solidarity. We find it appalling, when ignorance and fear continue to spawn injustice in our Nation. As parents, grand parents and great grand parents, we have a stake in protecting younger Americans from police brutality and a broken justice system.

People, it is not localized, episodes of racial intolerance and incidents of brutality by a small percentage of police officers agains a particular group of people. It is not just Ferguson! Here is a link that outlines critical issues in policing through-out the Nation.

http://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Critical_Issues_Series/civil%20rights%20investigations%20of%20local%20police%20-%20lessons%20learned%202013.pdf

Finally, here is food for thought from Bill Moyers: http://billmoyers.com/2014/08/13/not-just-ferguson-11-eye-opening-facts-about-americas-militarized-police-forces/

And Caesar's spirit, raging for revenge,

With Ate by his side come hot from hell, 

Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice 

Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war, 

That this foul deed shall smell above the earth 

With carrion men, groaning for burial. 

~Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 1, 270-275 

Of the nations of Earth, it would seem The United States of America would be the least likely to let slip the dogs of war within our towns and cities. Yet we have permitted, no, we have facilitated, the militarization of police forces. It brings new definition to "excessive force," it opens the door to inherently excessive response. President Obama is correct in his assessment of the problem of police brutality as not new. The "we vs. they" problem in this country is nothing new, nor is racial hatred new. Now, however, the potential for widespread, excessive force is growing exponentially. I'd say what is new is the blatant level of endorsement and coopera-tion would-be militarizers receive. Coupled with the slow, relatively mild, reaction of most of the Nation, a perfect storm awaits.

It is not just military equipment, either; we live for the vicarious thrill of violent action and reaction.  The television primetime Saturday night menu last evening, featured only one program that did not deal with disaster, murder and/or criminality. It was on Spanish-speaking public television. Channels other than the big networks provided no viable alternatives; the choices were between Grit, The Justice Network, Escape or the movie, "Escape From New York." By contrast the one or two channels that offer retro pablum pedaled their usual. Does anyone else see the contrast, alone, between episodes of "Gomer Pyle" and "48 Hours" contributing to a huge reality gap for teens and young adults?

Meanwhile back to the real world. A 22 year old coed is stopped by a policeman for a minor violation. She gets a little attitude, failing to say what the officer wants to hear, the way he wants to hear it. Maybe she resists a little. He slams her into the cement sidewalk and curb so hard, her chin is severely bruised. One of her front teeth breaks off. Is she your granddaughter or mine? No, but the point is, she could be ... so many of the youngsters brutalized by police in recent months have been everybody's kids. 

We elders have lived police brutality against peaceful demonstrators. We've had to learn and practice solidarity, accept reconciliation. Now our children and grandchildren need us to ensure they know their rights, familiarize them with the justice system, teach them to react appropriately, if approached by police. More important we must demand from police those things, and only those things, we hire them to do. We must, further, hold them accountable for how they do their jobs. "Protect and Serve" was not meant to apply selectively. Get active in community watchdog organizations and get vocal with legislators:

http://www.cuapb.org/what-we-do