OUR TIME\Out of sight, out of ... are they out of their minds?

Byline: Jane Glenn Haas Orange County Register

Relax, boomers. Bill MacQuoid is single-handedly lifting the burden of elderly care from your collective filial shoulders.

Fret no more about future expense, time and emotional yin-yang watching Mom or Dad reach life's end in a costly American elder-care institution.

Shuffle those annoyingly dependent old folks to Mexico, MacQuoid says. Latinos will gladly care for frail gringos at a pittance of what it costs for U.S.-based care, he believes.

MacQuoid shared his amazing concept with me after reading an earlier column that pointed out tax money for elder care is running dry just as the aging population increases.

But send them all to Mexico? Well, don't scoff. Stick with me on this because it's an idea that deserves - demands - exposure.

People have been retiring comfortably to Mexico on small Social Security and pension checks for years, MacQuoid says. A little bit goes a long way in Baja, he points out.

"Why not take that one step further and provide an all-inclusive retirement community like Sun City or Leisure World in Baja?" asks MacQuoid, 48, of Aliso Viejo. He figures the sick, tired old folks can trade their Social Security checks for super-duper care in some ocean-edging institution.

He goes further. Create an American elder ghetto "that provides all levels of assistance as needed, up to and including convalescence and, yes, even burial."

Now don't think MacQuoid is selfish. While he admits long-term care in Mexico would be cheaper for taxpayers, he also says Mexicans will be better off. They won't have to leave home to come here to work in our institutions, he says. U.S. taxpayers will gleefully provide aid to Mexico to build employee housing and needed facilities in support of care centers.

Ah, MacQuoid rhapsodizes about the life feeble old Americans will enjoy south of the border. He sees these centers - his suggested name is Casa de Amor - as surrounded by "small but neatly spaced employee housing and single workers' apartments."

The grounds will be "alive" with gardeners tending many acres of gardens. Colorful electric shuttles will transport people around the area and "several young ladies in brightly colored dresses" will escort visitors to the family resort hotel and recreation center on the private beach.

And what fun is in store for families who take the time to visit! Mom and Dad and the kids can grab some rays and scarf lobsters while they check out their tax dollars at work by visiting some poor, old relic of a grandparent.

Who are these gringos sent south to die? Residents of Casa de Amor, MacQuoid says, are those seniors who have requested admission or who are supported by taxpayers.

About 70 percent of the people living in nursing homes and board-and-care facilities today receive most of their support from taxpayers.

To his credit, MacQuoid says, "I have noticed a strong guilt reaction to the idea."

But before you snort and turn to the funnies, MacQuoid is not the first - and probably not the last - to suggest shipping old people to Third World countries.

In 1991, Daniel Montano, chairman of VTN Corp., told a meeting of the Senior Housing Council that international retirement centers are the future. He hoped to develop a 100,000-acre retirement community in the Republic of Senegal in West Africa, primarily designed to cater to Japanese, Scandinavian and German retirees.

Out of sight. Out of mind. Out of the way.

If it ever comes to that, I hope my kids just shoot me.