Let'em Eat Cake - Citizens Ripped-Off Big Time : LA IMC

Let'em Eat Cake - Citizens Ripped-Off Big Time

By Judith Moriarty

NoahsHouse@adelphia.net

11-26-3

"Let'em Eat Cake", that's the message from Washington/AARP, now identified as, American Association of Repugnant Pimps; per the Bill written-of, for, and by the pharmaceutical companies.

I take exception to the fact that we are paying the salaries of legislators and for the upkeep of the marbled halls of corporate government. The executive board rooms of the pharmaceuticals, oil, gas, electric etc., would be better suited to the privatization of government on all levels. Let them pay for the heating, lights and perks.

It was ten years ago that the Hillary's health-care plan was revealed to to the world. The plan was quickly endorsed by AARP. Six months later the Clinton health plan was the butt of jokes on late-night talk shows rejected by the voters-turned down because of its complexity, high costs and over-reliance on government.

No matter the issue; be it waste, electric utilities, water privatization, or medicare; rest assured that the language is so layered, convoluted, and tortured that those voting on it have little to no idea of the consequences, let alone a senior citizen, suffering chronic illness, neurological impairment, or a terminal condition. And that's the whole idea. Keep'em all in the dark like mushrooms and feed'em manure.

Why should you care? Simply, because the poor will die, which appears, despite the mantra of, "let the good times roll, the economy is improving," will be the majority of us; excluding of course, the rich and the political hacks ( all with their own plans). "The Medicare reform bill will create a huge tax increase for working Americans," says Sue Blevins, president of the Institute for Health Freedom.

"The prescription drug benefit will increase government spending by $409.8 billion dollars between 2004 and 2013, and young taxpayers will have to foot the bill". In addition to massive increases in direct government spending for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, income and payroll taxes are going to be increased by $7.2 billion over the first 10 years. That increase is more than the $6.7 billion in tax breaks for Health Savings Accounts that proponents are touting."

Without all this mish-mash of news speak, corporate speak, pig speak, what does this mean in Simple Simon language, to those suffering and many on fixed incomes, not fortunate enough to vote themselves a raise or see their pensions (our politicians) with an automatic cost of living increase, YEARLY?

The best explanation, outside of the usual esoteric political babble, is that of Shirley Jacques, a writer for the Portsmouth Herald in NH, who lives in Eliot Maine.

"I did the math. My husband and I would both lose money under this Medicare prescription drug bill. I'm 72, he's 68. We may be very fortunate, right now we each have only one prescription. I think of mine as very expensive, $182.50 for three months, $730 a year. The proposed Medicare prescription benefit would pay 75 percent of that, $547.50 annually. To SAVE that money, I would pay a $275 deductible, $420 in new premiums ($35 each month). And I would also pay 25 percent myself, $182.50."

"I FIGURE THAT IS SPENDING $877,50 TO SAVE $547.50 A YEAR ON MY PRESCRIPTION! LOSER!"

"Bill's prescription test strips for diabetes cost $42 for 100 which last him three months, $168 a year. Medicare would pay $126 (75 percent) annually. To SAVE that amount, he would PAY $275 deductible, $420 in premiums plus $ 737 annually to SAVE $126.00!"

"WHAT A DEAL! HE'S PAYING $737 ANNUALLY TO SAVE $126.00. LOSER!"

"Read the fine print. For the first time in 38 years, what you get, the benefit, depends on what you earn."

This plan will dump roughly $ 2 trillion in added unfunded entitlement liabilities into the laps of our children and grandchildren, on top of the $21 trillion in unfunded debt already in the pot. As Rep. Pence stated on the House floor, "Our children will never forgive us for this act of financial malpractice". President Bush thinks its great as does AARP, who get approximately $123 million a year in royalties from the insurance companies. Compromised? Nah.

This plan could cause as many as four million (what does Washington care-they have their own cushy plans) seniors to lose their private-employer drug coverage and be THRUST unwillingly into a Medicare program that offer WORSE benefits than they already have. This plan will erase billions of dollars in liabilities from the balance sheets of Fortune 500 companies and shift them onto the books of Uncle Sam (us). There are NO real cost-containment features to the bill, and as Rep. Pat Tooney of Pennsylvania says, "almost no one in Congress really believes this plan has any chance of holding cost to anywhere near $400 billion".

And there you have it. Cutting those pills in half now? You'll soon have to quarter them. For each Senator voting on this bill there were 6 industry lobbyists. And so we need to ask ourselves-Republicans, (there are some poor ones), Democrats, Independents, just WHO is minding the store? This is about serving corporate masters and the people be damned. "Let'em eat cake".

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