2013
I got this picture from Facebook. It was supposedly posted by the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee in an effort to have people sign a “PETITION: Don’t let right-wing extremists dismantle Medicare! Sign: http://bit.ly/10dKCfG”
I have never heard of any relevant group or politician proposing to dismantle Medicare and frankly I am as concerned about left-wing extremists at least as much as I am right-wing extremist.
However, I am most concerned about politicians and others who portray us seasoned citizens as down trodden, pathetic, gullible, uninformed morons who need to be guided and protected in everything from picking up the phone to buying a prescription or handling our money. Frankly, it is insulting.
Given the state of the country it would seem to me the pathetic, gullible, uninformed morons are those among us considerably under age 65 who think they know everything and who blindly believe all the promises contained in insulting rhetoric – Change -Yes we can!
Help, I’m too stupid to think for myself. I need a politician to tell me what to do.
Allow me to note that I just toured a 16th century castle in Copenhagen. It was equipped with WiFi and in each room there were QR Codes so I whipped out my iPhone, tapped on my QR Code reader app and downloaded the information about each room in the castle we visited. Not bad for a pathetic 70 year old eh? Take that Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee!
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
Dick, obviously, such solicitations have the support of Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reed.
Go back 20 years. “We” were working on changes to Social Security and Medicare within the Clinton Administration. At that time, you were age 50 and I was age 40. And, of course, Monica got in the way, attention was diverted, and nothing was accomplished… So, more blue ribbon committees, etc. No results, except perhaps the creation of a fallacy that is the “Sustainable Growth Rate” process – that, as repeated and expanded in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, we can continue to “save” money by arbitrarily tamping down on provider reimbursements. .
So, the D’s continue to use the SS/Medicare issue as a wedge issue. Just “google” “Reid and Social Security” or “Pelosi and Medicare” for examples.
What makes you think, in 20 years, when you are 90 and I am 80, that this will be any different … even if the Medicare Hospitalization fund and Social Security trust funds are exhausted other than current employment tax revenues? There will simply be a call to source added funding from general revenue (similar to how we finance Medicare Part B and D), and we’ll just continue to run $1T/year deficits.
The exhortations are simple minded … “don’t tax you, don’t tax me, tax that guy behind the tree”. Others have money that we can tax to fund your benefit entitlements.
How can such solicitations be emasculated … or, will they continue to be as effective as they were in the past… and, as a result, will we continue to see Pelosi and Reed or their protege’s in office 20 years from now?
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