By Gema G. Hernández

What lies ahead for the next four years could change forever the safety net we used to enjoy in this magnificent country of ours. It will change the way we care for elders, provide education for children and prepare for retirement. It will also change forever the type of services we provide our Veterans and the support we offer families.

While the majority of Americans voted to reelect the President it is my belief few of us truly understood the unintended consequences of our votes. I said unintended consequences because while we may have agreed with one piece of his policy reelecting the President meant we are going to feel the effect of “all” of his plans.

So what is in store for us? The majority of the changes will begin to take place during the first two years, particularly during the first year. Details of how he is planning to privatize Social Security for those individuals 55 years of age and younger will begin to emerge during his second inauguration speech and will become the centerpiece of the State of the Union address. It can be said that private companies and the Stock Market are the first winners by default. When we privatize Social Security the money that used to go to the Social Security Trust Fund will now go to private corporations. Workers will invest in the private plan in the hope that 30 or 40 years into the future the return of their investment will pay off. But what about if those private companies where my Social Security dollars are now going do not realize their projected profits? Do I still have a safety net to protect me in my old age? This is a very risky business. Imagine for a second that at age 40 you choose to invest in companies like World Com or Enron, companies that look very good on paper but ten years later you find out your “investment” is gone. Do you have time to recoup? Where is the safety net that a defined monthly payment represents at the end of your working years? At least now Social Security provides a limited but secured source of income for my old age. The new plan promises better results but with no guarantees.

The younger workers will have a limited number of investment plans available as options. Choosing the right plan becomes the key to a successful retirement strategy, but how may of us are equipped to make an informed decision? The modernization of the Social Security program will also entail changes in the retirement age from 67 to 70. This will leave in limbo those individuals between the ages of 55 to 66,.and, if they choose to apply to Social Security before their 67th birthday, the plan will entail additional financial penalties, forcing the majority of those individuals to keep on working whether they are physically and mentally able to do so.

The big unspoken question still remains out there. How and who is going to support those individuals already retired? If the money from working Americans is now going into Social Security to support retired Americans and the money is now being pulled out, who is going to support the millions of retired Americans from now until the year 2059 when the President’s new vision for retirement comes full circle?
If we know that Americans are living longer and that people would continue to work well into their 60’s and now 70’s the administration is going to also be looking at “modernizing” the Older Americans Act. The Older Americans Act will be another casualty, another unintended consequence of the election. What would be the role of the programs funded under the Older Americans Act in this new era? A valid question the administration will be asking would be: Should we continue to support senior centers and programs whose eligibility age is 60? Or should we also change the eligibility age to age 70? The plan is to address this issue during the next White House Conference on Aging scheduled for next year. As a matter of fact the next White House Conference on Aging will radically change the premises upon which the original Older Americans Act was created.

As planned the next White House Conference on Aging will provide the president with more political capital to institute new mandates. Mandates that will address family responsibility in issues of Long term care. One big part of the first year’s agenda includes the de-institutionalization of elders and just like it happened in the mid 70s when individuals with mental health challenges were de-institutionalized, we will see elders now residing in nursing homes being moved out to a community setting whether or not the families are ready or able to deal with them in this new setting. This de institutionalization of elders will happen as part of much bigger Medicaid reform plan.

More will follow… Stay tuned.