There's something wrong with the math

This kind of cold calculation really sets my teeth on edge.

About 34 million caregivers provided unpaid help valued at $375 billion to family and friends last year, up from $350 billion in 2006, according to a report being released Thursday by AARP, a large advocacy group for older Americans in Washington, D.C.

The typical U.S. caregiver is a 46-year-old woman who works outside the home and spends more than 20 hours a week providing unpaid care to her mother, the report says. Those tasks include personal care and everyday tasks as well as health-related interventions such as administering medications.

Last Sunday friends picked us up for Bible study; Friday night our neighbors drove and we all went out to dinner. Are they unpaid taxi drivers? Is there a value there that someone needs to be calculating? Last week my husband raked leaves at our summer home. Yesterday I prepared birthday dinners for my children. Is he an unpaid gardener, and am I an unpaid cook? Where do I turn in my time card to the government or academic tracking this?

How many additional hours would that 46 year old need to work in order to pay someone for 20 hours to provide nothing close to the care she is giving her mother? How many hours of work to put Mom in the nursing home at $5,000 a month?

WSJ article