Normally I'm a big advocate of free market capitalism and the idea that the markets will work out the true value of assets; stocks, bonds, houses, oil, gold, the dollar...everything. In the long run, we have ample evidence that this is true. So this economic shock we're experiencing right now will work itself out without government intervention.
BUT, our elderly cannot rely on 'the long run'. They cannot simply 'weather the storm'. Severe inflation, a sharp decline in the value of the dollar, the dramatic reduction of the Fed funds rate all have immediate, drastic impact on our nation's elderly - the majority of whom live on fixed income.
When your income is fixed, but the price of food and heating oil is increasing, and the value of your home, your primary asset which you've paid for over 30 years or more, is decreasing right at the time you need to sell it to pay for non-optional elder care...well the long run just isn't any consolation.
While there are urgent economic issues in the US that will require tough choices, we MUST remember that our senior population does not have the option of 'working more hours' to compensate for higher prices. Our seniors cannot 'hold out for the long run'. Thier economy is NOW.
We must find a way to protect our seniors, our parents, from the healthy but sometime destructive forces of free market capitalism.