ARE RELATED
I may be a little off the
topic of health today because I have something on my mind that is burning a
hole in me. I am tired of hearing about the fiscal cliff and the nonsense our
legislators on both sides are spewing forth as if we are idiots. The manner in
which they whimsically spew their venom is not the behavior we expect from
grown men. I am not forgetting the many women that also peruse the halls of
congress but they do not seem to be at the heart of the problem. My biggest
issue is the term entitlements.
So far the entitlements
mentioned are Social Security and Medicare primarily. What I am having a
difficult time accepting is labeling these programs as entitlements. Review
your paycheck and I am betting you will find coding that indicates funds were
deducted from your earnings to pay for these programs. So I guess the question
is, “If I am paying for a product, is it an entitlement?” Personally I would
make the argument that it is not an entitlement. The word entitlement has its
own negative connotations as evidenced in Romney’s remark during the election
about the 47% who receive government support feel entitled to it.
Let’s examine who are the
47%. They are elderly (10.3%) and non elderly (6.9%) and may include
ultra rich who pay no taxes due to loopholes. People who Pay Payroll Tax (28.3%), this
group has jobs, but are working for very low pay or part time. They pay into
Social Security and Medicare through payroll withholding, but because their
incomes are so low, they end up owing nothing in income taxes. Others (< 1%) These are probably self-employed individuals who are
suffering business reversals. They file tax returns with the hopes of carrying
backward or forward their business losses. No tax is due if you threw your
money into a business that is not yet giving you a return on your investment.
This information is provided by the Tax Policy Center.
So now does this
sound like a bunch of lazy free loaders who are unwilling to work? I think not
since the bulk of the citizens are the elderly (that have earned our support
and paid for it) and the folks who work hard daily and receive very little pay
and benefits for their efforts. Do we really want to add additional hardships
for them to manage daily? Do we want to increase the number of men, women and
children who go to bed hungry every day? Soup kitchens and public pantries are
overwhelmed currently and it is a remediation to the problem not a solution. We
refer to our country as the most powerful on earth. How is this so if the
axiom, “you are only as strong as your weakest link,” is applied?
These are not
entitlements. They are necessities for many who will not be able to live well
without them. They are not entitlements because we pay for them via our taxes
that so many of the ultra rich including many of our lawmakers are able to
avoid via loop holes created by them for them. In my mind an entitlement is
when you receive something you have not earned. And when we turn our eye
towards these talking heads we see people who receive free health care and in some
cases a salary for life. How about big agriculture and the huge amounts of
subsidies they receive via their lobbyist and cozy relationship with the FDA. Now aren't these entitlements. I believe
they are but no one is even mentioning giving anything back but they want to
take back from us.
My main question
is this, “Why aren't the people who created this mess being held responsible
for cleaning it up?” Why aren't the ultra rich, wall street, big banks, big
insurance, big industrial military complex, big realtors, and all the others
that benefited while this fiscal fandango was dragging us from the black to
the red being asked to pay? Why is it always the middle class and the disadvantaged
who are blamed whenever there is an economic downturn and yet we are never the
ones making the bad decisions or benefiting from them? Something is drastically
wrong with our system and it is evident via; the vitriolic relationships amongst
our legislators; their inability to make decisions that are mutually beneficial
to all classes; and the fiscal cliff still dangling over our heads.
It is stressful,
unnecessary and unhealthy for all of us. It is causing stress for all of us as
the game is played back and forth between the two sides. Why are we taking
sides when if it rains we are all going to get wet? I do not know about you but
I am tired of it and speaking up and out is one avenue to get us back on track
and united. Pick up a pen or use your tablet, laptop or handheld and write to
your legislators and let them know how you feel. Do not sit still and just take
the knife in the back. If we were able to mobilize a nation to elect Mr. Obama
twice aren't we just as capable of putting enough pressure on our elected
officials to stop the ridiculous and churlish demonization of those they
disagree with. It is possible to disagree without being disagreeable and it is
the avenue to producing results through compromise and common sense.
So in the name
of the health of our country I am asking you to demonstrate how you want your
legislators to behave when faced with decisions that will have a major impact
on everyone. Tell them to stop behaving like your toddlers and teens and get
over themselves. Whether Democrat, Republican or Tea Party it is time to stop playing
with my life and the lives of my family and friends. If you are like me and, no matter of your affiliation, want the
juvenile antics of the posers to cease hit like and share with your friends on
social media. Let’s unite and send a strong definitive message that if we
go over the cliff in 2013 they will go over their own personal cliff during the
midterm elections.
Do not wait to
participate. Get up Get Moving and write a letter today to your legislator
letting them know the behavior you expect is responsible bi partisan solutions
and eliminate the posing partisanship which is why we are in this position now.
Get your friends and family involved since…..
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