"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
On 10/19/11 11:06 am, Robert Green wrote:

I think many of the Tea Partiers realize that they acheived financial
security in a much hotter market with jobs that provided significantly
more
benefits and they fear redistribution of that wealth to people living in
today's much tougher times. Back then, a man could raise a family and
send
his kids to college without his wife having to work. Those days are
long,
long gone. Retirees starting to draw from their 401K's probably don't
realize that unless they have kids who are struggling. Try getting a
job in
your 50's. Most companies won't admit it, but they know older employees
will cause their health costs to soar so they avoid them unless there's
no
other choice.

Thia is another reason why we need universal health insurance coverage
with premiums dependent on income rather than on employment. Employers
paying health insurance premiums was an accident of US history that has
no advantages and serious disadvantages.

Agree 100%. I think it would have been far more palatable to just lower the
age of Medicare eligibility for people who have worked all their lives and
have the appropriate number of "quarters" paid into the system. They helped
build this country and are now getting kicked to the curb just because they
got old.

Instead, Obama wanted to cover people who may not have contributed very much
(if anything) to the building of America and OF COURSE this raised the
hackles of every hard-working person in America. It was a stupid move and
it may cost him his second term. I've got to say, Perce, I'm a little
embarrassed that you know a lot more about how America works (or doesn't)
than a lot of native-born Americans. (-:

The health insurance mess is a "gift" from WWII, which is just another
reason to be circumspect about engaging in war after war. They almost
always entail "gifts" that keep on giving. The cost for caring for wounded
AfRaq vets is estimated to be nearly 1 trillion dollars over the next 30-40
years. Lots of people want to wage war, but they want someone else to pay
for them, especially when lots of the bills don't come due long after the
wars have ended. As Barney Frank said: "Everybody wants to get to heaven,
but nobody wants to die."

I have a 55 year old accountant friend who's entered a serious depressive
state because he's been sending out resumes, answering want ads and pounding
the pavement for six months since the company he worked for filed for
bankruptcy. He's worked hard all his life but now, nobody wants him because
he's got diabetes and they're afraid to hire him although they never come
out and say it. He's told me that interviewers promise to call back but
never do, he has to chase them to get the bad news. That's sad. It used to
be societies looked to their elders for experience and guidance. Now,
they're treated like a worn out pair of shoes.

--
Bobby G.