Is this the original "Sandwich Generation" member?

In thinking more about Toni Morrison's book, Beloved, I came upon some new thoughts. The main character of this book is trapped trying to meet the needs of her past and the needs of her present. The returned spirit of her murdered baby daughter is demanding payment from Sethe for the life she missed out on. Sethe's living daughter Denver has immediate needs as well. These all get put on hold while Sethe uses every last bit of her energy in an attempt to pacify the irritated and needy spirit that is Beloved. Sethe is the equivalent of a modern day "Sandwich Generation" Mom.

I think that when we hear that that term it can be difficult to visualize what it means, unless you are in that generation. In a sandwich we have a marrying of many flavors, everyone gets along and you have a cohesive unit that makes for an excellent lunch. I think a better term would be the "Vise Generation." The competing needs of the parents and children can squeeze both the emotional and physical resources out of the adult that finds themselves at the center of this arrangement.

I wonder if we have given much thought to if it is even fair for these parents to expect this type of assistance from their grown children. Our preceding generation at least knows that they have medicare and social security in place to assist them. In most cases their standards of living exceeded that of their parents, and they were able to make a living in many industries that don't exist in the US anymore. With a family today, we have an unbelievable amount of demands on our ever dwindling resources. Food, housing, utility, and child care prices have skyrocketed--and wages have not kept up with the demands. Why are we making additional demands on adult children? What will be the consequences for their children?