A heartwarming story about an elderly veteran, Larry, who was working as a delivery man to make ends meet, went viral on social media, but it has also sparked criticism about the lack of welfare support given to some American seniors.
Larry’s story, which was shared by Action News on 6abc, caught the attention of Twitter users, who expressed their concern about the fact that veterans and seniors like him have to work in their later years just to survive. One user, @RealPWoodland, tweeted, “Wt* are we doing that this Veteran has to do this in order to get by?”
This is not the first time that a story like this has gained attention. In September of this year, Derlin Newey, an 89-year-old man from Utah, went viral on TikTok after a family posted videos of him delivering pizzas to them. Newey had returned to work after retirement as his fixed income was not enough to meet his bills. He works about 30 hours a week and provides a valuable service in his community, but his life is limited due to his financial situation.
The Valdez family, who enjoyed Newey’s interactions with them, started asking for him by name and, after capturing several videos of his pleasant exchanges with them, reached out to their more than 50,000 TikTok followers to help raise funds for Newey. They were able to raise over $12,000 for him.
These stories have led to criticism about the lack of support given to American seniors by the government. According to The Daily Dot, Twitter users pointed to these stories as evidence of a flawed system where seniors have to rely on personal kindness from strangers just to make ends meet. It raises important questions about the level of support given to the elderly and the need for more comprehensive welfare programs to help them in their later years.
