I was born and raised in the great state of Georgia, as a matter of fact in Conyers, Georgia where I was born in 1956 and graduated Rockdale County High School in 1974. And as a proud citizen of Georgia, I would like to bring to the attention of the citizens of our great state a problem which has been ongoing for many, many years.

It would seem that our state and federal government officials who claim to be so concerned about our DISABLED and ELDERLY citizens refuse to adopt a program to help care for them in a manner which would save our state and federal governments billions of dollars each month (your tax dollars ). Instead, they prefer to pay on average $4,000 per month (also your tax dollars ) per person for Hospice care to come to the home of these citizens, spend maybe one hour checking on them 2 -3 days per week, depending on the Hospice, and then leave the patient with a spouse or relative who lives with them to care for them 24 hours per day, seven days per week -- feeding, bathing, bathroom visits, dressing, administering medications everyday...things we do without thinking about for ourselves but our relatives who are disabled or elderly must have help doing. I know personally how this works since my mother and stepfather were both under hospice care until the day they died.

The "Fulltime Caregivers," as they are called, receive NO monetary compensation, NO health insurance, NO assistance of any kind, yet Caregivers are not allowed to work outside the home to help financially with their personal bills. These people provide an invaluable service to our disabled and elderly citizens. Most of the Disabled or Elderly receive checks for disability or retirement which equals less than half the amount a worker on minimum wage receives for working 40 hours per week. This leaves nothing for these people to assist the people that so lovingly care for them with their finances. (And the Government wonders why so many people file personal bankruptcy suites each year).

When these people are forced into nursing homes, the nursing home takes every penny that the disabled or elderly person receives and family members are left holding the bag for clothing, personal items etc. and then the disabled or elderly are abused and neglected, and most people overlook this behavior by the nursing homes. Occasionally you will hear on the news where someone has filed a lawsuit, but it continues after the lawsuit is settled.

I personally wrote to the offices of the Governor and the Lt. Governor of the Great State of Georgia proposing that a program be started to give Fulltime Caregivers a monthly income of about $580 per month tax-free and furnish the caregiver with medical insurance paid by the government so as to encourage more people to stop the abuse and neglect being done to our disabled and elderly citizens by becoming a Fulltime Caregiver to those that have given their lives to raising, feeding, clothing and sheltering us as we grew up or those we promised to stand by through good and bad times when we said I Do at the alter.

As of July 2006 I have had no response from the offices of the Governor or Lt. Governor...not even a thank you letter for writing to them on this matter. I come now to you the citizens of Georgia asking you to help me change the system for the better so that our disabled and elderly can be taken care of by people that love them and are willing to give them the loving care they deserve. Write to the offices of the Governor and Lt. Governor demanding that our disabled and elderly be allowed to live at home or with a relative where they are comfortable in an environment they know and love, and that the Fulltime Caregiver for these people be given some financial help and health care so that they can live with dignity while saving you, the tax payer, billions each year. After all, which would you rather see? A bill for $4,000 to a hospice or a check issued to a Fulltime Caregiver for $580 per month coming out of the taxes you pay?

YOU DO THE MATH. AFTER ALL, IT IS YOUR TAX MONEY !!!