this post was submitted on 11 Aug 2024
13 points (100.0% liked)
Melbourne
1842 readers
70 users here now
This community is a place created for the people of Melbourne and Victoria. We are a positive, welcoming and inclusive community. We might not agree about everything, but we always strive to stay civil and respectful.
The focus of our discussions is based around things that effect Victoria, but we are also free to discuss our local perspective on wider issues. Or head to the regular Daily Random Discussion thread to talk about anything.
Ongoing discussions, FAQs & Resources (still under construction)
Adoption Certificate for Nellie, the Daily Thread numbat (with thanks to @Catfish)
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Each time I get my tax info from the ATO, there's a breakdown of where the money is going.
About 30% of my paid taxes goes to aged care. I'm not saying we shouldn't take care of the elderly and we have an aging population, but imagine if we actually invested a chunk of that into our future and education.
I know that aged care employs a lot of people and provides good services, but the proportion just seems massive.
Honestly, I think I vent about this every year.
My concern is more if THAT much is going into it why are some of them living in such squalor? I've 0 issue looking after the aged care, they should live like kings after paying taxes all their lives. But I have a massive issue with paying that much for what were getting. Imagine you spend 100k on a new BMW and the dealer delivers a MG and pockets the rest.
The mixed model of private and public aged care has a lot of answer for.
Midsommar cult has the solution
That would have to include pensions and other welfare instead, I think actual aged care is about 8% of govt. expenditure.
A lot of the problem is that aged care is just really expensive, especially as we are able to keep people alive for longer with higher needs. We also have a system which sucks a lot of money out into the hands of private providers, which is not something I can see changing as long as the dominant cultural opinion is that Govt. services = expensive bureaucracy, and that private providers = efficient, competitive services. The reality is generally the opposite, especially when services are being provided to vulnerable people who are not able to advocate for themselves. A system where elderly people who are struggling to manage on their own are expected to compare providers and shop around for the best deal is ridiculous, but that is what we have. And instead of the scams and rorting by providers who overcharge and mismanage the care packages being addressed, they are adding in more restrictions on what elderly people can actually receive. A top level home care package can provide $60k a year in funding - about $21k of that goes directly in management fees to the package management company, then more gets sucked out through fees with the agencies that actually provide the staff, high profit margins on supplies and equipment etc.