It is a given that Medicare is on life support.
It can stay "as is" and run out of money" in a geezer's lifetime.
It can be sustained by adding taxes on the middle class who pay the most taxes.
It can be revamped for those less than 55 years old.
I am a geezer.
My children are in the under 55 group.
I used to be an honest newspaper reporter - like Jack Webb and Dragnet, all I wrote were "just the facts." Not always popular or politically correct, but accurate and unbiased. (I won't, however, claim responsibility for some of the headlines over my copy.)
Paul Ryan is chair of the House Budget Committee (see bio at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Ryan).
He made a presentation to POTUS that compares the Democratic approach to Medicare funding vs. Ryan using Congressional Budget Office (CBO)figures; the presentation is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPxMZ1WdINs&feature=player_detailpage .
The GOP is proposing to revamp Medicare.
The Democrats seem to be in favor of a tax increase, albeit not under the "Medicare" label, but by shifting tax revenues from one fund (e.g., Social Security) into Medicare.
MY personal opinion is to dump Medicare and raise taxes to provide a universal healthcare for all LEGAL citizens. But then while I am a fiscal conservative, I am a social liberal.
The bottom line as this geezer views it is that "The Republicans will eliminate Medicare" is a Democratic untruth and scare tactic. It - along with all negative ads from all parties - should count AGAINST the party placing the advertisement. (OK, a PAC placed the ad and the party in theory but NOT in fact has no control over its supporters. I don't hear any candidate denouncing an ad denigrating the opponent.)
I'm not sure I like either candidate; perhaps I'll vote "for the lesser of two evils" or, maybe, I'll vote for all races BUT the White House.
Unlike some - perhaps many - I am not a single-issue voter.
I am concerned about health care.
I am concerned about illegal immigration.
I am concerned about sending jobs across our borders and bringing in people to do jobs Americans are well equipped and willing to do.
I also am concerned about foreign affairs - political, financial (gifts), and military (mis)adventures. Have we STILL not learned that we can't BUY "friends?"
And for me, the last campaign's "It's all about the economy" still is an issue that concerns me.
As a social liberal I should be concerned about women's rights.
I am, but I know a president's powers are limited - by congress and by the courts. I don't believe a president can, by fiat, overturn a court decision (Roe vs. Wade) or any education-related decisions from Brown vs. Board of Education onward. In other words, if the GOP prevails, women's rights hardly are likely to be curtailed.
I'm glad presidential elections only come once in four years, and I'm glad to live in a country that can survive even 8 years of any presidential fool - Democrat or Republican.
Perhaps Diogenes the Cynic can loan me his lamp as I go in search of honest politicians willing to consider compromise.
