智慧人生篇章 第37期:社會救助

Yesterday the Health Secretary announced hissocial care reform plan. The reforms have beenadopted from an earlier commission which grappledwith the soaring cost of residential care. While theState is considering the cost of care for a growingover-80s population, government is proposing afixed lifetime contribution from those with assets.After a year of consultation, plans still seem hazy,but contributions could later be deducted fromproperty sales after the person dies. Every year40,000 people are forced to sell their homes in orderto pay for their care. These colossal issues, which frustrates governments and terrify the old,may also ambush the financial future of the unsuspecting young.

昨天，衛(wèi)生部長宣布了他的社會保障改革計劃。社會服務業(yè)成本激增，試圖克服此趨勢的早期委員會采取了改革。正當年過80的人口日益增多時，國家在考慮給這些人予以補貼費用，然而政府卻打算從擁有資產的老人扣除一筆固定的終身費用。經過一年的協商，計劃似乎還是令人感到迷茫，但當人死后，捐款能在死后的物業(yè)銷售中扣除。每年有四萬人被迫賣掉自己的房子來支付他們的社會服務費。這四萬人巨大的數字，使政府擔憂，令老人害怕，甚至還可能潛伏在未來的經濟上，突襲毫無防備的年輕人。

I have to confess that these discussions leave me personally agitated. Having become eligiblefor a senior rail card recently they're a bit close to home. And I'm wondering what I can nowsay to my children when they make playful innuendos about inheriting the family home "whenwe're gone."It's not hard, it's hard not to feel like a future fiscal problem loitering in thepresent, a burden rather than a blessing. In this kind of environment, it's hard to read biblicalstatements about the veneration of old age with any kind of assurance.

我必須承認這些討論令我非常地焦慮不安。最近，我已經有資格拿到老年人卡。當我的孩子含沙射影戲謔著說“我們去世時”可以繼承房子的時候，我無言以對。不難發(fā)現，這是一個徘徊在當前的未來財政問題，與其說這是一種保佑，還不如說是一種負擔。在這種環(huán)境下，很難去理解圣經中以任何形式來保證關于尊敬老人的陳述。

But in an ancient world without welfare and pension plans, it's easier to see why the currency ofrespect for the old was so vital to the political eco-system and why God himself became involvedin providing assurances for Israel's senior citizens. "Even to old age I am he; even to youradvanced age I myself will support you" said the prophet Isaiah. "I myself have made you, Imyself will carry you". No vague promises here though, because everything about belonging tothis covenant God meant a religious and cultural obligation to look out for the vulnerable andfeeble. Care for the elderly was about attitudes even more than money.

但在遠古時候，雖然沒有福利救濟金和慈善計劃，卻很容易能看到為什么現在尊重老人的想法對政治生態(tài)系統(tǒng)如此地重要，為什么上帝也被卷入為以色列老年人提供保障的計劃。“直到你年老，我仍是一樣;直到你白頭，我依然扶持你。”預言家艾賽亞說道，“我既然如此做了，我必要提攜你，扶持你，拯救你。”雖然這里沒有模糊的承諾，因為所有關于盟約之神的事情，都意味著宗教和文化的職責是照顧弱勢群體。對老人的照顧更多的是態(tài)度，而不是金錢。

Britain has 1.5 million people over 85. In the next decade, care of the elderly will account for45% of some council spending. In economic terms, aging is a growing service industry in whichthe present and future old will need professional care and respect as much as money. But ifwe are to achieve this, we will also need what the old reformer William Wilberforce called, 'areformation of manners' as much as a reformation in our economic structures.

英國有150萬人85歲以上。在未來的十年里，照顧老人的費用將占委員會開支的45%。從經濟方面來看，人口老齡化給服務業(yè)帶來了日益增長的趨勢，但不論是現在還是未來，老年人更需要專業(yè)的照顧和尊重，而不僅僅是金錢。但如果我們要達到這個目標，我們也需要老改革家威廉·威爾伯福斯所說的”形式改革“，而不僅僅是經濟結構的改革。