Study Guide Exam 4 1 How do different cultures respond to death Know specific examples Mexican Life Death then Resurrection part of a continuing process of regeneration Preliterate societies the dead are imbued with special powers and considered potentially harmful to the living Australian dead person is not mentioned by name after burial Ancient Hebrews corpse was unclean not to be touched Native Americans feared ghosts Hinduism transmigration of souls Buddhists do not fear death 2 How has the treatment of death changed in the U S There has been a decrease in the number of childhood deaths The two major causes of death are heart disease and cancer Once an accepted part of life death has become a taboo subject Now the ritual dimensions of dying have been replaced by technological processes that not only can prolong life but sometimes bring into question the very definition of when life ceases Textbook McGraw Hill 3 What are Elizabeth Kubler Ross five stages of dying a Denial b Anger c Bargaining d Depression e Acceptance Living wills A major criticism of this theory is that these stages do not occur in a fixed sequence 4 How can individuals express their desires about end of life decisions 5 What are the trends in suicide by age group Although people 65 or older make up less than 13 percent of the population they commit 17 to 25 percent of all suicides Brant and Osgood 1990 Suicide rates are especially high among men 85 and older 6 What are some of the main psychiatric disorders faced by older individuals Depression is the most frequent psychiatric disorder in the elderly and the reason for most suicides in this age group Mental degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer s often lead to despair 7 How does widowhood differ for men and women Men Totally unprepared to assume the role of a widower lack of food prep knowledge leads to poor health Women Dependent on the relationship with men can lead to poor health usually younger and higher life expectancy than spouse May mean loss of a unique deeply loved person with whom they shared companionship May mean a change in status loss of social position and a couples oriented lifestyle 8 What does hospice care provide Ch 13 pg 312 A central component of hospice philosophy is pain management Hospice allows terminally ill to Die easily and peacefully No pain At home Special units of hospitals Hospice facilities 9 What options are available to preserve the long term stability of the Social Security trust fund Raising the retirement age a raise the normal retirement age which has already been raised from 65 to 67 for people retiring in the future Reducing benefits lengthen the years of work needed for full benefits b c decrease the return for high earners d decouple benefit increases from cost of living increases Increasing revenues increase the present payroll tax rate Means Testing e f reduce benefits only to higher income individuals Privatization g Allow individuals to divert 2 of payroll taxes to private accounts 10 What is the difference between a defined benefit and a defined contribution plan Defined Benefit Plan Typically pays a worker a set amount for life upon retirement based on years of service and prior earnings Defined Contribution Plan The employer the worker and employer or the worker alone pays a fixed amount into an account that is invested on behalf of the worker benefits at retirement are based on the amount that has accumulated in the account 11 What are some of the causes of gender inequality in income security in old age Women are less likely to receive pension because historically many of the jobs that women held did not receive pension 12 What are some of the causes of racial and ethnic inequality in income security in old age The largest source of racial disparity is income from assets stocks bonds and rental property Whites are more likely than African Americans or Hispanics to receive income from pensions Although they depend on social security more older minorities generally get lower benefits due to lower lifetime earnings 13 What do the spouse and survivor Social Security benefits provide Spouse Benefits Under the law today a woman or man who has been married for at least a year to a worker who retires at 65 can receive a spouse benefit at age 62 The spouse benefit is equal to 50 percent of the worker s benefit Survivor Benefits If a retired worker dies his or her survivor loses the spouse benefit but receives a survivor s benefit The survivor s benefit is equal to 100 percent of the worker benefit 14 What is bloc voting Do older people engage in bloc voting Bloc voting occurs when people vote on the basis of age Prospective voting giving of votes to candidates based on promises made Retrospective voting withholding of votes based on a judgment of past performance Like most other Americans older people don t engage in bloc voting Indeed most older people can t vote as a bloc because like most Americans they don t know how their representatives vote on most issues 15 What organizations represent the interests of older people Save Our Security SOS a coalition of senior citizen organizations was formed to protect Social Security benefits from being cut Main interest groups that represent older people a AARP b National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare c National Council of Senior Citizens d National Association of Retired Federal Employees 16 What is an entitlement program The core social insurance programs of the American welfare state are Social Security and Medicare see Chapter 5 These programs are entitlements In budgetary terms what distinguishes entitlements from other programs is that entitlements are governed by formulas set in law and not subject to annual appropriations by Congress Congressional Budget Office 1994 In other words entitlement programs are on automatic pilot If people meet the eligibility criteria they automatically receive the benefits Entitlements stand in distinction to two other federal budget categories discretionary spending which includes domestic and defense spending and net interest on the debt McGraw Hill 17 What is the generational equity debate about CH 16 pg 391 The idea that the older generation is going to be financially more stable due to the real estate crash in 2007 and the stock market crash in 2008 The baby boomer generation is going to possibly be the wealthiest retirees The argument is that the elderly have been the beneficiaries of an unfair