Democrats and Republicans are one and the same. They seek power and money, which they achieve by increasingly grabbing control of our lives and money. They use divide and conquer strategy to shift the focus on inane debates and to make the people think they have two distinct choices. Good luck guys in getting through the coming Depression.

Laws like this are of dubious constitutionality.

I agree with previous posters that these theoretical parents who sacrifice for twenty years or longer are surely not as commonplace as this post suggests. I, and many of my peers, are appreciative of having food and a roof over our heads but consider that the minimum responsibility of someone who chooses to bring a child into this world (I certainly don’t expect my son to repay me for feeding him for the next fifteen years!). However, I, and many of my peers, have been financially independent (not always by choice) for our entire adult lives – I haven’t received a penny in support from my parents since I walked out the door for college!

It isn’t really an issue of money, per se. Had my parents shown any interest in my life or family in the past ten years, I would be more inclined to support them in their later years, regardless of if they had supported me financially. I think that the Boomers are not merely going to have to face the fact of their financial insolvency at retirement, they are going to be stunned to find that a lifetime of self-involvement at the expense of your children’s happiness and stability does NOT translate to your children happily lining up to fund your retirement.

Would I care for my mother and/or mother-in-law if they needed it? Certainly. But it shouldn’t be a legal obligation. As others here have said, you can’t pick your parents, and you (usually) can’t influence their behavior, either.

quite tru: children cannot chose their parents & cannot force them to be functional, rational, responsible.

i may love my parents yet i cannot realistically support them when i have trouble enough supporting my kid, and living in a 2BD apt just where the heck would i put’m?

plus, i’ve done the bail out already & it cost me my marriage & darned near my job.

i’d love to have functional, rational, responsible parents to work out mutual help, but that is not reality for my family or many other’s families.

Not really. They saved a little, but it was never very much. Before SS, parents moved in with their children when they retired. Something to keep in mind if SS is ever cut.

It’s going to be UGLY in about 10-15 years.

And just on a side note, the person who said SSI and such were created to fill a need and haven’t messed things up; the goal may have been to help, but when the government takes control, the proverbial crap hits the fan.

As for whether or not one could/should turn them away, I think that’s entirely situational. But I plan to be responsible (if I’m even a parent) and do my best not to become a burden on my kids. My parents have done the same as my grandfather did…which is good. My grandmother is only a small burden on her kids. Micah’s parents have never had any money. They’ve always flirted with the poverty line and bankruptcy (not spendthrifts, but some bad life decisions). I don’t know how that will play out.