Ordinarily the politics of pork barreling precede an election as candidates throw out carrots to specific interest groups who, it is hoped, will strengthen their chance of winning. But on Wednesday we saw a curious phenomenon: The pork preceded not an election for public office but a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) primary.
As it happens, the pork in this case is for an honorable cause: increasing the quality of care for invalid elderly Taiwanese to the tune of NT$81.7 billion (US$2.5 billion) over 10 years. Premier Su Tseng-chang (
The "Big Warmth" plan is part of a larger policy agenda that sounds impressive but which will depend on the DPP retaining the presidency to proceed. It therefore seems smart politics for Su to nail his colors to the mast on an issue that not only affects all Taiwanese, but also affects them increasingly year to year.
Aging societies are a common feature of wealthier nations and they throw up challenging questions of priorities and entitlements that have been a given in many countries for decades. One of the political consequences of this trend is the increasing influence of senior citizens on the political sphere. With the demographic numbers as they stand and with Taiwan's new legislative electoral system in place, only a fool would not look upon the elderly as a vote pool. The problem is that democratic trends in themselves do not change things for the better on individual issues.
So when Su appeals to senior citizens and those who care for them by promising that the government would remove their burden of care for the incapacitated, it is hoped that he and his Cabinet understand that the "burden" should not include any assumption that placing old people in government-funded nursing homes will automatically increase their quality of life.
It is essential for the sake of the physical and mental health of the elderly that political pledges are backed by professional implementation. But with the low status of nurses in Taiwanese hospitals and the lack of quality geriatric care evident throughout the public health system, doing so will be a tremendous challenge.
There is no question that a large number of elderly Taiwanese have had to struggle to supplement their meager post-retirement incomes -- the omnipresent aged night watchmen in commercial buildings are testament to this. What this points to is a society that has tolerated pitiful welfare mechanisms even after the ending of martial law, presumably through habit and even selfishness.
The "Big Warmth" initiative therefore needs to look at the greater picture of what welfare entitlements try to do and who really needs them. We do not want to see a situation in which the effective abandonment of the elderly becomes an all too frequent fact of life as it has in many Western countries; likewise we do not support the naive assumption prevalent in parts of Asia that a retiree's children (assuming they exist) are the best equipped carers in each and every case.
The correct path provides sufficient welfare for those who genuinely need it, not a token sum that condemns the recipient to poverty. At the same time, all other Taiwanese should utilize their productivity as long as their health allows. For most elderly people, good health involves support from family and then from government as the case merits. If either party reneges on its responsibilities, it will be the elderly who suffer, and usually in silence.
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