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Health & Fitness

Feeling the Ted Kennedy Loss

Analysis of the reasons for reductions in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; Kennedy's role in keeping these programs safe; why is Pres. Obama putting them "on the table?"

So, will August 2nd come soon enough for you? Have you heard enough bluster and balderdash from each side? Is it the Democrats or Republicans who are getting the best deal of what has been presented so far? Inquiring minds want to know. In some cases, inquiring minds will never know!

This mishigas has been going on now for weeks if not months. One day there’s an announcement: “Yes we have a deal!” Only to learn the next day that some one or group has an objection and the ‘deal’ goes down the toilet in a flush.

You know what is really bothering me? (I bet you do want to know!) Why has a Democratic Party President placed “on the table” what the press has dubbed the “Big three”: Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid?

For the most part these programs provide help for the most vulnerable and poorer citizens of the country. In the case of Medicare, by far the recipients are older than 65. In the case of Medicaid the recipients besides the poorest of the elderly, include the disabled, mentally ill, intellectually disabled and poor children and their parents.

Who has been the great champion of these programs for 53 years? The Democratic party. Within the party, who was the voice for these vulnerable people? Yes, indeed: the late great senator from Massachusetts: Edward M. Kennedy. Sen. Kennedy had his marker on these programs, so to speak. No one in the Democratic Party would venture to change or ‘improve’ on these programs without knocking on Sen. Kennedy’s door and seeing what “HE” had to say. This isn’t to say no changes occurred while Ted was alive. However, the changes were made so as not to affect the benefits to the recipients.

Now I wonder if Sen. Kennedy is rolling in his grave as he discovers the person he endorsed and supported to be the next president, Barack Obama, is proposing a reduction in benefits and a scaling back of the program?

To be fair, in fact President Obama hasn’t placed anything in writing on any table or website or desk since these negotiations began. This seems like one of those Ripley’s Believe It or Not claims. I can hear the reaction now: “He’s said this in speeches everyday now since way back when.”  Check it out for yourselves.

In fact, the Republican House leadership, Boehner and Cantor haven’t placed “on the table” anything either. They say they’ve given all they can by just talking about raising the debt ceiling. (That always makes me laugh and then get angry--Author’s note) As for putting that statement in writing--well, they haven’t done that either.

Each side is waiting for the other to blink. Obama is waiting for the Republicans to accept revenue increases, (taxes). The Republicans want the president to present all his cuts in writing first. Someone in this group has an ace up their sleeves. I do hope it is the president.

Moving down this ”sad and lonely trail”, we come to the central question in this discussion of the increase in the debt ceiling. Ask a Republican this question: “How many times was the debt ceiling increased during the time George Bush was president?” Bush requested and was given it without any of the current mishigas eight (8) times. Yup: 8 times.

And how many times did the opposing party insist that he cut the budget by 2 trillion dollars? Not once. President Clinton asked and got the debt limit increase approved 11 times. Recall, how many years was there divided government between the House, Senate and President in the Clinton years? The answer is: six years. Thus for six (6) years a Republican majority in either the House or Senate or both approved requests for debt ceiling increases by a Democratic president.

I am not advocating we do nothing about the debt. Those who know me well know I want the US to eliminate all foreign held debt especially by China as quickly as possible. This ought to be considered a national security issue. All the money to repay the debt ought to come from a repeal of the George Bush tax cuts and annual reductions in military spending. Other cuts of course can be included.

Yet, the question arises: why is there a seeming refusal to pass the increased debt ceiling bill for this particular president? I mean, for most purposes, he’s fiscally a Republican anyway--or so he seems now. Why is the Tea Party, basically a Republican party doppleganger, so emphatic that there is to be no slack in the line on this issue?

The reason is that as a step-child of the Republican Party, with Independents who generally vote Republican, the Tea Party mad hatters are doing the wishes long desired and hoped for in Republican circles. Like a religious group awaiting the arrival of their Messiah: long have the Republicans waited for the opportunity to rid the nation of the horrendous and costly Social Security safety net, the Big Three.

You ask: “Why?” The answer is that the dreaded FDR established it, and it was further advanced in size and scope by horrible Democratic presidents-- unless you include Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, oh and even protected by Ronald Reagan. Now why would these Republicans do this? Some did it for political interests; some for altruistic interest but all of them did it because to make any change in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid was to touch the “third rail” of an electrically powered subway train: political suicide.

So, why has our fearless Democratic president and leader gone down this road himself? We don’t know. Could it be a strategy to get the Republicans to give something and then Obama takes it off the table? Could it be that he feels the social security checks are just too high in their amount?

Maybe if you called him he’d change his mind?

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