Please read all of the following to understand my concern before responding.

Saying up front, I’m not a lefty or a righty. I want the best person for the job at whatever level in politics. So, I’ve been getting started on my research. While making dinner last night, I heard something disturbing on TV. The subject was about how Newt Gingrich went against his party and his quote about “right wing social engineering” or something like that. Then a picture of a Republican who was head of something, I didn’t catch it, followed by an audio of him saying “….Medicare as we know it has to change or it will go bankrupt by 2024.” Later, I went on the Internet for info on this issue and became acquainted with the terms “right” and “entitlement”, as they relate to these issues. “Entitlement” was used in the same context as welfare or a gift. Then I began to consider these facts:

1)My sister, who is retired and disabled, worked for over 30 years and paid into Medicare via mandatory FICA deductions
2)I worked for over 30 years and did the same
3)Neither my sister nor I were given a choice. We were forced to pay.
4)Just because the Republicans say Medicare will go bankrupt by 2024, does that make it so?

I then read that Republicans think that what my sister and I were forced by the government to pay into for over 30 years, with a promise that we’ll be covered after age 65, is NOW somehow the equivalent of us asking for welfare? They want to change it later so that my sister and I will get a “voucher” to go buy our own insurance from the insurance company of our choice, but we won’t be able to afford the difference between what the voucher allows us and what the insurance company will charge for the same coverage. Seems to me, we should be guaranteed the same or better coverage for no additional financial burden on us, since the government made us pay for 30 years without asking us if we want to or not.

On the other hand, I’m reading that the Democrats are saying no to Republicans on changing Medicare, saying to the people, “You have worked and paid into it, you deserve it, and you will continue to receive it.”

If the above is true, then label me what you want: liberal, lefty, whatever. I’m about fairness. In this issue, if the Republicans, or “conservatives”, were successful in this, then for me, the “conservatives” would be bullies, and the “liberals” would be their victims. The fox was allowed into the chicken coup by dropping regulations for Wall Street, corporations, and the banking industry. Greed ran rampant and unchecked, creating an economic crisis. The American people as a whole already bailed out banks and corporations. Now they want to rape Medicare, and senior citizens, to make them all richer. How low down and dirty is that? Do you think this is right or fair?
@John: Given what I wrote above then reading your "contribution", I was about to call you an @$$ Hole of the highest order. Then I realized you’re just jealous, bitter, and ignorant, and you deserve my pity.

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Medicare went bankrupt last year. Social Security will soon be bankrupt.

Yet, our "representatives" in Congress and the latest president who has failed to keep his oath of office (to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic; no president has kept this oath in at least 80 years, if not longer), have decided to propose an expansion of Medicare rather than making the necessary cuts to this insolvent program (think about how the socialists would react if private insurance companies and pension companies ran their finances like Medicare and Social Security, but of course socialists never apply the same standards to government that they do to the productive sector).

Social Security and Medicare are insolvent. Furthermore, they are undesirable programs that are a relic of a time when socialism was considered the wave of the future and the idea of economic freedom was considered outdated. Of course, these programs are considered politically sacrosanct and no politician wants to challenge them. This is why the ridiculous attempt by President Bush to "privatize" Social Security failed (I’m personally glad it failed, as it was an expansion of government power, but the way it failed says alot).

What I’d suggest as a solution is to change the laws so that the youth can have the option to opt out of these programs. I expect that you’ll see a substantial opt-out rate, even among the numerous young socialists. I’d also suggest repealing Medicare Part D, the expansion of Medicare that was passed by the Bush administration. To fund these programs, I’d suggest selling off federal lands and also cutting wasteful spending elsewhere (one great source of spending cuts would be the bloated "defense" budget, which includes foreign military bases, a few wars of aggression, programs to attempt coups against foreign governments; I’d also suggest privatizing Amtrak and the Post Office and requiring these businesses to survive on their own merits; we also should probably end the Department of Energy and stop wasting money on "energy independence," which we have not attained after 3 decades of trying). If we slash spending elsewhere in the bloated federal budget, we can probably find enough money to keep Social Security and Medicare running for those dependent upon them. However, the long-term goal ought to be the restoration of the free market economy that once made this country great.

We need to face reality and recognize that we can no longer afford the welfare-warfare state and that the welfare-warfare state would be undesirable even if we could afford it. If we restore the free society that was abandoned in recent decades (enthusiastically by the socialists, but also less enthusiastically by the conservatives as a result of their greater desire to wage war against "godless communism" and "Islamo-fascism" and to promote "family values").

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The number of people filing for bankruptcy protection in retirement has soared in recent years — even before the recession.

In fact, people 65 and older are the fastest-growing segment of the population seeking bankruptcy protection, according to a recent study from the University of Michigan Law School.

The problem is simple math, said Johanna Sweaney Salt, a CPA with Kaufman, Schmid, Gray & Salt in Claremont, Calif. Their medical expenses, taxes and other costs keep going up, while their income is going down. Social Security hasn’t had a cost-of-living adjustment in a long time and pensions and retirement accounts took a huge hit during the recession. Reverse mortgages and other alternatives presented to them as "solutions" often just dig them further in the hole.

"Most people think ‘Oh, I have Medicare — I’m covered,’" said Jean Setzfand, director of financial security at the AARP. "But in fact, there are quite a lot of out-of-pocket expenses — and those continue to rise." The biggest one, she said, is long-term care costs. Plus, a lot more people are going into retirement carrying a mortgage. So it is not so good as we think

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy protection, claremont, cost of living adjustment, cpa, fastest growing segment, filing for bankruptcy, financial security, johanna, kaufman, medical expenses, medicare, michigan law school, pensions, pocket expenses, recession, retirement accounts, reverse mortgages, schmid, university of michigan, university of michigan law school

First, we used Massachusetts as a lab rat for health care reform. Look how that turned out: the program went bankrupt and many doctors fled the state. We also had many warnings from Europe and Canada. Canada implemented the same kind of "single-payer system" and look where that got them, the same situation Massachusetts is in. Even though we were warned, America voted for President Obama whose political agenda revolved around this topic and now our government has taken several more steps in invading medicine.

I just don’t understand any of this. My father is a doctor and I have seen what this health care system is like from his time in the military. For instance, the doctors in the military get paid the same amount no matter how many extra hours worked or how many surgeries were performed in that time, so the doctors and surgeons lose the incentive to work harder and in fact, seem to work less. I have also worked at an Ophthalmologist clinic and Optic shop for two years and I have been to an Ophthalmologist convention and saw proof of what was to come.
Ezz- The insurance companies have to stay afloat somehow. Remember, the insurance companies are competing with the government and the government’s help is free of charge to most. Also, see this: http://smartgirlnation.com/2009/06/popular-ranking-unfairly-misrepresents-the-us-health-care-system/.

Firstname Lastname- Don’t assume things that were clearly not stated or implied within my question. Also, if your medicine was not covered on medicare before, why didn’t you switch to a more reliable insurance?

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When we broke up she took me to court. My lawyer said there was no way that the judge was going to do shared custody even though the mother had mental problem and was an inpatient for two weeks during our breakup. The court then ordered me to pay 700 a month which I cant affordl. I was looking into bankruptcy before she and I broke up so but was told it wouldnt help because most of my debt in not dissovable? Her aunt works in the child support collections office and they already filed on me after two months with out giving me a chance to figure things out. During our breakup it was suggested to me by my supervisor that I put in my resignition because I was on my final warning so I did. I have yet to find another full time job. So far I am working in between two part time jobs and am looking for a third. I need this 700 a month reduced to something more managable until I get on top again and dont know what to do. I have been giving her 0 a month so far but know I need to give her more than that. I get my baby 11 to 12 days every month and she gets her the other 18-20 days a month so I take care of her a third of the time. I love her and want whats best for her and the best of things for her and her mother but she has to eat when she is by my house to and they are not making it financially possible for me. They did they support calculations assuming the mother has to make zero dollars and calculted it on a year when the company I was working for was severly understaffed and I worked lots of overtime ever month and nighttime shifts and weekend shifts. They also calculated before taxes and deductions were taken out of my check so the number they used to calculate the payment was about 35% higher then the amount that I actually take home after deducting state,federal, medicare, fica, and what ever else the payroll department comes up with. They also was taking out medical insurance and cafeteria food used for work. The courts also dont even care about how much it cost to continue to work such as car insurance, car notes, and food for the day. How do they expect you to work if you cant afford to get there and back? This is all to crazy and doesnt seem fair, I know thats my babys best interest isnt the court system running me into the ground until I cant do anything for her, ruining my credit until I cant get any loans, and losing my car and insurance because i cant afford to pay them. I know I have to eventually file for a reduction but I am not sure they will give it to me any more because I put in my resigination rather than let them fire me. Everyone said I should have let them fire me and collect unemployment but I told them you dont get unemployment if you get fired for showing up late or calling in sick. They then say well you should have been on time and not called in sick. I say it was a very hard time in my life, I was breaking up with the mother of my child and a woman I loved more than life itself and didnt know what to do. They then say you should have filed for custody when she was in the psyhc ward, and I say I didnt because I couldnt do that to her I just couldnt do it because I still loved her. Then they say you are stupid and theres nothing you can do now. I need help, some advice, someone on my side to see that all I want is a chance to be in my daughters life and a chance to make things better for my daughter than they were in my life. Once again running me into the ground I seriously do not believe is going to make that happen.

Help…

Technorati Tags: bankruptcy, cafeteria food, child support collections, collections office, federal medicare, fica, final warning, full time job, insurance, lawyer, medical insurance, medicare, overtime, part time jobs, payroll department, resignition, supervisor, weekend shifts, zero dollars

I know you are dying for those great Republican leaders to return to office, but hop on my magical carpet ride and let’s revisit the days of President George Walker Bush:

–Fraudulent, needless invasion of Iraq off cooked intelligence
–hijacking of the surplus Clinton left him
–Medicare reformed that fattened the pockets of Big Pharma (and drained our Treasury of billions)
–Silly idea about reforming Social Security (hilarious how the markets collapsed right after his tour)
–complete collapse of the global economy
–car companies going bankrupt
–insurance companies going bankrupt
–banks going bankrupt
–airlines going bankrupt
–torture
–military procedures ruled unconstitutional by Supreme Court
–unfunded occupation in Afghanistan (because he was too busy looking for those fairy tale nukes in Iraq)
–lied to America about the purpose of TARP (his 700 billion dollar bailout program)

Need I say more?

Technorati Tags: bailout, bankrupt airlines, billions, car companies, collapse, economy car, fairy tale, george walker bush, global economy, insurance companies, invasion of iraq, magical carpet, medicare, nukes in iraq, pharma, pockets, reforming social security, republican leaders, silly idea, social security

Seeing as to how Obamacare is heavily debated and let’s be honest the GOP haven’t put a viable alternative so what are your thoughts on some reform

What should be the main goal of health reform in the US, should it Decrease the cost of health care, Improve the quality of health care, Improve the access to health care or make most Americans receive at least basic free public care. What would it be like for the US if an Australian system like the Medicare service is implemented where all taxpayers pay a 1.5% income tax levy (with exceptions for low-income earners), an additional levy of 1% is imposed on high-income earners without private health insurance. There is also a private health system where people pay for health insurance to go to a private hospital if they wish for quicker service. Bankruptcies from lack of funds to pay for medical bills is the largest reason for personal bankruptcies in the US accounting for over 60 % of all bankruptcies, while in Australia it is almost negligible.

Check out these videos for some information:

http://www.newscientist.com/articlevideo/dn17512/30590602001-the-scientific-arguments-for-us-healthcare-reform.html

So what do you guys think?

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To proof social security when filing bankruptcy–do they have to have your social security card or will your Medicare card be accepted as proof?
I am an american citizen–born here 45 + years ago….just misplaced my card.

Technorati Tags: 45 years, american citizen, filing bankruptcy, medicare, medicare card, social security, social security card

Okay so I live in Australia, and we’ve had free public healthcare for ages. Its really good quality, you get more services than private healthcare. Although waiting times are longer.

The majority of the Australian population is on the public healthcare system, Im on it, My family has health insurance though.

But Im not entirely fussed about my healthcare, I just want to know that if I get run over by a car, Ill be taken to hospital, fixed up and that’s it.

But in our medicare levy, if you have private healthcare, you don’t have to pay taxes for public healthcare.

But its only 1.5% of your income tax to pay for, 1.5% is HARDLY anything.

And you don’t even have to pay for it if you already have private healthcare.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicare_(Australia)#Program_funding

1.5% thats hardly anything! Expecially if it means poor people don’t have to die from lack of healthcare, or go bankrupt.
You DONT have to pay for public healthcare if you get private healthcare.

I dont think 1.5% is much.
@Good for Australia. But this is America and we don’t want government run anything. We like having choices and competition. That is what free people do. When the government starts making choices for you, those freedoms are taken.

Your gun laws are a great example.
_____________

Our gun laws are an amazing example, You have a 5x lower chance of being shot and murdered in Australia than you do in the USA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence#Homicides_by_country

Australia –

% homicides with firearms – 16%

Firearm homicide rate
per 100,000 pop – 0.31%.

USA

% homicides with firearms – 65%

Firearm homicide rate
per 100,000 pop – 2.97%

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My fiance recently got his credit report and has about ,000 in debt that he was unaware of. He’s been drawing disability for several years and has medicaid and medicare. The majority of his debt is medical bills that he thought the insurance paid for, but obviously it didn’t. About ,000 of it is basically identity theft. His former roommate opened up two accounts in his name and ran the bills up. We know he did it, but we have no way to contact that person. Well, my fiance decided his only way out of this is to file bankruptcy. However, he doesn’t have enough money to get a lawyer. Would he just totally be screwed if he filed himself? He doesn’t have any assets. No car. He rents his house. So, I’m assuming it wouldn’t be as complicated as it would be for someone with assets. However, I’m sure it’s no easy task either. Yes, I’ve heard the saying that if you represent yourself, you have a fool for a lawyer or whatever.. but we just don’t know what else to do. We have to get this taken care of before they start getting his pay check. He just started working again and isn’t drawing disability anymore so we’re really tight on money. Is there any way a lawyer could help him file bankruptcy and then we just pay the lawyer payments? I’m sure that seems pretty contradicting, but we could afford payments for the lawyer if we didn’t have all this other crap that we’re paying on.

Technorati Tags: assets, bankruptcy, credit report, disability, enough money, fiance, fool, identity theft, insurance, lawyer, medicaid, medical bills, medicare, other crap, roommate