I'm 54 and disabled with a spinal cord injury. I got lucky in so many ways. One way is that I've never been affluent but never dirt poor, either. The second way is that I inherited my family home (all 600sq. ft. of it!) and a tad bit of land. Nothing so grand that $300 per year won't take care of the taxes. Now, the part about being poor is tricky. If one can live within that little sliver of income that is neither too poor nor too well-off one finds themselves with $0 co-payments on their medicare (not medicaid), $0 premiums, and super-cheap pharmaceuticals (average around $1 each). The trick is to assess one's personal situation early on and only operate financially within this little sliver. Any other moneies need to come under the table. My home is in a life-trust so if I ever need end-of-life care the house remains untouched and my insurance is good enough to afford a decent place.

Now, having said all that, I must say that this is one messed up way to live in such a rich country! Had I pursued a career and money the way most people do, I would be homeless and derelict for sure, with my savings and home being sold to pay for surgeries, but thankfully I had foresight. When I became disabled, I had no credit card bills, no loans, etc. Credit, I learned early, was best used by those who don't need it.

As far as the elderly not being revered in this country - that is a major problem in my book. But, keeping the young and inexperienced from the old and wise is a smart move if the goal is domination and manipulation.

I've rambled enough. Thank you for posting as yours was a very important post and I hope it has many readers!
Many smiles,
AR