Comments on: Alarm Sounded On Medicare, Social Security

Payouts For Medicare Projected To Exceed Collections This Year; Social Security Gets 2017 Threshold

[b-easy63]

3 TRILLION down the toilet. It''''s time to flush the Republican crooks.

Posted by mascarponi at 11:38 AM : Mar 26, 2008

Not just Republican. Everything you have written is spot on, but with one small problem--you see this as partisan. They are all in on it. The raping of SS has been going on for over 25 years from the first time that Congress decided it could partake of the surplus for other things (saying they would pay it all back, of course) that was under a Democratic Congress.

If you think in partisan terms, you clear the way for the feeding frenzy to continue-but now among Dems. Which may make the Dems in power feel better, and will let the neo cons point and blame Dems too for all this mess, but will not change the reality of this situation. IN the new paradigm--see the game. It is not one party against the other party. It is the elite against the rest of us--and you make a mistake if you think those elite are really interested in helping you.

Some are--but they usually lack the power or consensus to really help us. A president has little power to move legislation unless the Congress wills it. Individuals have little chance of moving leg. unless there is consensus and the parties will it.

[b-easy63]

Posted by mascarponi at 11:28 AM : Mar 26, 2008


I agree with you and am surprised by your analogy since I have been using the exact same one for the past few years. In Brazil, the economy is split between the very rich and the extremely poor who live in trash heaps and beg every day. The rich live in gated communities and even have armed escorts to take them everywhere. Where you and I might diverge is that I have been observing the raiding by indiv and corps for years and have concluded that in the past 7 years, the shift in Washington has been away from idealism and every man for himself--making sure they pad and get there''s. What this means is Hilary is NOT your friend, neither is McCain and probably not Obama--nor is the Congress. They each are trying to get theirs for the well being of themselves and their families before it all goes kaput. Note how Obama and Hilary became millionaires pulled from near bankruptcy within the past 8 years. See who controls or who they protect. Remember how Hilary recently refused to condemn retro immunity for telecom companies illegally wire tapping us? wonder why she did not?

Americans need to know that for the most part, the present crop of politicians are in it for themselves--oh, they may paint a pretty picture of how they want to help us--but if you dig deeper, you will find the help to each of us is minimal, while the rewards to each of them is huge.

[b-easy63]

NAFTA, outsourcing, SS, enormous deficit, a dollar for the first time in history lower than the Canadian one--watch, stock up on food and STUFF--because bartering is coming back--and for those of you who scoff at the doom prophecy---to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Enough said.

[b-easy63]

What nobody mentions is that current Social Security surpluses are used to fund other current government activity (and don''''t count towards the deficit) so when there is no surplus the strain will be a lot more than just on Social Security. You think that deficit spending is bad now, just wait. Posted by timetrips1 at 11:26 AM : Mar 26, 2008


Now we know one of the many reasons why many GOP Congressmen are retiring regardless of whether they are up for reelection: They know the ******* is about to hit the American economic fan in so many ways--and they do not want it known or said they were in charge when it all goes to hell in a hand basket.

We think it is the Iraq war? Uh uh. Somebody has told Bush that the shell game is up and we are about to find out that there never was a ball and we have all been cheated--so he has to pretend just to keep the game going until he leaves office or we will all blame him and the GOP. The Dems are being set up--I said this in 2006 I am saying it now and McCain, Obama and Clinton are fighting over the right to see who will get to sail the Titanic on her maiden voyage. Little do they know the iceberg scenario is already discerned and more savvy political criminals are bailing out--cuz they already know there are not enough life boats.

[timetrips1]

What nobody mentions is that current Social Security surpluses are used to fund other current government activity (and don''t count towards the deficit) so when there is no surplus the strain will be a lot more than just on Social Security. You think that deficit spending is bad now, just wait.

[b-easy63]

Posted by b-easy63

b-easy of course you are right about big pharma being in bed with the politicians and current plans to mandate coverage through the for profit industries isn''''t going to address the underlying issues. Still, the insured are paying for the uninsured through higher premiums and taxes. CEOs are getting rich while hospitals close at an alarming rate. We as a nation must decide if we have a moral mandated to care for all of its citizens or if we are willing to let those unfortunate enough to be unable to afford it go off somewhere and die. The current system, as the article alludes to, is in big trouble.

Posted by omega39 at 10:00 AM : Mar 26, 2008


I agree. Something must be done and soon. But the HOW is the big issue. I don''t trust mandates that have no maneuverability or negotiating room and I don''t trust Congress to be good stewards of any programs regarding our health. Besides all the potential spending abuse, experience indicates that many needs will not be covered or abused and there will be no recourse. How far do most people get when they try to sue the government?

[ghostcommand]

Amazing, utterly amazing that the Bush/Cheney mis-administration is subtly blaming Social Security/Medicare for the present economic woes.The simple truth is that the right wing version of ''invisible hand'' unregulated capitalism has created the economic woes. Restore those taxes on the rich, cut government spending by kicking out all contractors with their no-bid and inflated contracts and put the civil servants back in every department. They can operate the departments for 2-3% operating cost''s versus 12-14% for private contractors. Get the cronies out! Every department in the mis-government of Bush/Cheney has increased dramatically--the largest robbery in history of present and future taxpayer dollars. It is cowardly to attack those on Medicare, Social Security, and Veterans drawing disability. Yes, Fascist''s are always COWARDS-the right wing.

[omega39-2009]

Posted by b-easy63

b-easy of course you are right about big pharma being in bed with the politicians and current plans to mandate coverage through the for profit industries isn''t going to address the underlying issues. Still, the insured are paying for the uninsured through higher premiums and taxes. CEOs are getting rich while hospitals close at an alarming rate. We as a nation must decide if we have a moral mandated to care for all of its citizens or if we are willing to let those unfortunate enough to be unable to afford it go off somewhere and die. The current system, as the article alludes to, is in big trouble.

[tomanyt]

The government can''t run SS and Medical effectively. Why on earth would we want UHC?? If they pull it off, it will end up being abused just like every other program run by our government. What a waste of time and money.

[b-easy63]

The government could have used its collective buying power to lower the price of prescription drugs (a huge part of Medicare cost), Instead, they let the lobbyists for big pharma write their own bill.

Posted by omega39 at 09:17 AM : Mar 26, 2008


and they will still do it under UHC. Know why? Because many of the legislators are in bed with those companies--take a good look at donors even to HRC and Obama. Who are they getting money from? They don''t get money just to be President, they will be fielding and sheparding their interest. I would bet that Hilary is the darling right now of the Health care and Big Pharm industry--because with her UHC that is supposedly for all our goods, she can deliver a captive consumer base and all the graft and stealing that comes with massive government spending accounts--enough at least for her and them to become amazingly rich before the country realizes they really must cap the industries. Note she is not talking about caps right now--she is just talking about a magic system where everyone is covered and it is paid for by mandate--from your pockets. Very few people see the really big picture, they are too consumed and overwhelmed by their small part--but the big picture could herald the collapse of ANY system in this country. We are not Europe or Canada, imposing a system by force on top of an already strapped economy could be the recipe for a revolt of almost an entire nation.