ThinkProgress has a compilation of highlights from several of the town hall meetings we’ve been talking about:
It’s nice to see people equipped with actual facts and willing to challenge their representatives to be truthful.
Tags: Medicare
Yesterday, Susan wrote about the tough reception Republicans who voted to gut Medicare and Medicaid are getting at town hall meetings in their districts. The representatives mentioned in Susan’s posts aren’t alone in hearing from angry constituents.
Charlie Bass, my former and Susan’s current representative in New Hampshire:
WOMAN: Despite all we’re hearing about Ryan and Medicare, there’s a 10 percent reduction in the taxes for the wealthiest Americans. My feeling is this whole thing about saying 55 and under or under 55 is a way to divide and conquer because their benefits will be cut and then we as older people will, there will be anger fomenting against us. A generational gap will start where the younger people are told you’re playing for these Cadillac plans these older people how is that fair. Because we’re older the thought is we won’t speak up and won’t tell congress this is not acceptable. All generations have to stand together and say we need this social safety net. The bigger part of the problem is the commercial insurance industry.
BASS: Well first of all the tax part of the budget is revenue neutral. [...] The tax reduction is not a reduction in taxes on the wealthiest Americans, it’s a reduction of corporate tax rate so that we’re competitive around the world [...]
WOMAN: No, this is –
BASS: Very few companies, we tax foreign income, companies keep foreign income offshore. [...] The quickest way to turn this deficit down is to turn this economy around [...] off this federal system, so that the deficit goes down. We’re in this situation now here we’re bumping along unless we do something to stimulate real growth in this economy […] Who’s going to pay the bills? It’s going to be the younger people, that’s the real generational war, they’re going to say we’re not gonna pay 50, 60 percent of our income to subsidize the rest of the population older [...]
WOMAN: I agree, you guys are setting it up! [laughter from audience]
During a town hall in Orlando earlier today, Rep. Daniel Webster (R-FL) faced a barrage of questions from outraged constituents about the Republican budget. The Orlando Sentinel accurately described the scene as “bedlam.”
For nearly an hour, Webster was peppered with one question after another about his support for ending Medicare, his desire to see tax breaks for the wealthy extended, and his vote to repeal health care reform, including its protections for people with preexisting conditions. For his part, Webster didn’t just avoid the questions by resorting to talking points, as most politicians commonly do. On numerous occasions, Webster simply declined to give an answer to contentious questions altogether, moving on to take a new question instead.
“I would like to know: Did you vote to eliminate Medicare as it is today?” a man asks Berg during his library appearance in an exchange caught on video by PlainsDaily.com
“No,” Berg says, before the audience contradicts him.
“You voted for every Republican issue and that was part of the issues that went out there,” the man says.
A woman interrupts to ask how much the elderly will be asked to pay out of pocket for health care costs under the new system.“I want you to tell me how much it’s going to cost us when we’re 65 years old after you give us a voucher,” she says.
“Fifty-five or over, absolutely no change, absolutely no change, in this Medicare program,” Berg promises.
“As long as you are over 55,” the woman responds. “If you’re 54, to hell with those people.”
West’s town hall in Fort Lauderdale was interrupted by hecklers, one of whom shouted at the beginning of his remarks “How about our Medicare that you’re stealing?” The Palm Beach Post reports that that West took written questions submitted before the meeting, prompting another man to yell out that questions should be allowed from the audience.
You may recall that when tea partiers (often bused in from outside) showed up at town hall meetings to argue (often in monstrously inaccurate terms) against health care reform, it made national news for weeks. But here, though constituents are asking questions that are based in fact, it’s still a relatively low-profile story on a national level. These representatives should be sweating the fact that it is getting coverage in their districts, though.
Tags: Health Care, Medicaid, Medicare, Retirement, social security
It seems that Congresscritters are facing a lot of tough questions, and some outright hostility at town meetings in their home states. From The Nation:
Congressman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, continues to be confronted with tough questions on his listening-session tour of southeastern Wisconsin communities. He’s been forced to move several of the events to bigger venues to accommodate the crowds—after things got tight and tense in places such at Milton, Wisconsin, where the crowd in a small venue was challenging him at every turn.
and
One of Ryan’s Republican colleagues, Wisconsin Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner, shut down a town hall meeting in a suburban Milwaukee community when he was challenged on economic issues in March.
This sounds a lot like the Tea Party invasion of town halls in 2009, only these folks have serious questions. The Tea Partiers intent was to disrupt, and get a lot of media attention. These folks are voters who have been suffering in this economy, and know very well when they’re being trickled down on.
The core issues that are bringing people out to the GOP town meetings are opposition to Medicare and Medicaid cuts (a real hot-button issue) and support for tax hikes for the rich. This fits with those national polls shows that show Americans are very opposed to developing voucher programs to replace traditional Medicare and Medicaid and would prefer tax hikes for the wealthy.
There is no solid, factual rationale for the proposed destruction of Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security for that matter. No wonder these guys are having such a hard time. How do you explain that you want to destroy essential social programs because of your political ideology without actually saying that’s the reason?
One guy has an idea for how to deal with this:
Newly elected Illinois Senator Mark Kirk has an idea. Instead of hearing what the people have to say, the Republican senator is suggesting that members of Congress should hunker down in DC.
Brilliant! If you don’t go home, you won’t have to answer any pesky questions.
Tags: Medicaid, Medicare, social security
Asked about that Republican budget, the one that privatizes Social Security and Medicare, House Minority Leader John Boehner didn’t know quite what to say.
Since he was sort of all over the place, I think we better just translate. Shorter, more direct John Boehner: “I don’t disagree with anything in the budget, but I know it’s terrible politics, so this is me distancing myself from it.”
True, this plan was not officially THE single plan from his party. No, it was the plan of their top budget guy, and one said top budget guy says has a lot of support from his party’s leadership. But if Boehner’s response is any guide, don’t look for anyone else to release specific proposals anytime soon. Because specific proposals have a nasty way of being really unpopular when they’re issued by Republicans, what with all the cutting and privatizing of very popular programs.
Tags: budget, Medicare, social security
Meet the new Republican budget plan, same as the old Republican budget plan.
Privatize Social Security.
Privatize Medicare.
Raise the age of Medicare eligibility to 70.
Freeze nonsecurity spending until 2019.
All that, and a budget surplus at some point in the late 21st century.
We won the Social Security fight in 2005, the last time Republicans tried to privatize it. Since then, we’ve watched the stock market—the source they want people to rely entirely upon for their retirement—collapse. Imagine if Social Security had been privatized in 2005 and America’s retirement security had been shifted into the stock market by fall 2008. What would that have looked like?
Yet they’re back for another crack.
Medicare won’t just be privatized, either. It’ll be privatized with vouchers that grow more slowly than insurance costs. So that’s fantastic policy, too, and should be very popular among senior citizens and people who hope someday to become senior citizens.
This is nuts. It’s also what the Republican party wants, even when they try to pretend otherwise.
Tags: budget, Medicare, social security
Last week, Nicholas Kristof found some more opposition to health care reform.
Critics storm that health care reform is “a cruel hoax and a delusion.” Ads in 100 newspapers thunder that reform would mean “the beginning of socialized medicine.”
The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page predicts that the legislation will lead to “deteriorating service.” Business groups warn that Washington bureaucrats will invade “the privacy of the examination room,” that we are on the road to rationed care and that patients will lose the “freedom to choose their own doctor.”
Have you figured out the punchline yet?
Those quotes, familiar as they seem, were actually from the 1960s, when the reform being debated was Medicare.
Indeed, these same arguments we hear today against health reform were used even earlier, to attack President Franklin Roosevelt’s call for Social Security. It was denounced as a socialist program that would compete with private insurers and add to Americans’ tax burden so as to kill jobs.
So apparently, a strong public health insurance option would lead to gloom, doom, and the enduring popularity of Medicare and Social Security.
by Jackie Lima—Pennsylvania
Three years ago this man went through a divorce and was awarded custody of his teenage daughter. A consistent worker all of his life, he kept losing his jobs as he struggled with health issues. Each time he lost his job, he would lose his health care. He was eventually sent for a stress test at a hospital and was found to have a bad heart with a string of other problems.
He applied and was accepted for medical assistance BUT because his daughter was receiving cash assistance from social security, he was disqualified and taken off. He could receive assistance for medications but was told he must be on Social Security for two years to qualify for the health care program. Even with a pacemaker, he had no doctor care for those two years. Luckily, his daughter was covered by SCHIP (the State Children’s Health Insurance Program) during this time. Now he is old enough to receive Medicare and all seems to be resolved at this time.
Tags: Health Care, Medicare, SCHIP
by Rachel Colyer—Pennsylvania
One evening recently I was out canvassing in a very nice neighborhood. It was a newer area and I was unsure how many of the new homes were inhabited, but we took our chances and it was a great experience. Within one hour of canvassing there I have three unique examples of the critical need for a national health care policy that includes coverage for everyone.
I met a woman who opened the door with a child in her arms and two behind her, as well as a beautiful dog. I introduced myself—Working America, community affiliate of the AFL-CIO as usual—while telling her we wanted a national health care policy in this country. She hesitated briefly and then said step inside. (It was bitterly cold and windy this evening.) She indicated that she didn’t normally agree with the unions but that something had to change and she told me her story.
Her husband had recently switched careers and was in between health care coverage when all three of the children got sick. Ear and throat infections were passed among the three and none were covered. This family is not the “typical” family in need- I could tell from the chandelier in the foyer. Yet, this family had to drastically alter their budget in order to provide their children the necessary medical attention and they are still paying for it. This is a fortunate example because they have the luxury of being able to rearrange their budget.
Just down the street, there lived a middle-aged woman who teaches at an independent school. She was telling me that health care when she retires is a major concern in her life because the small school that she works for doesn’t provide health care benefits past employment. She is concerned that Medicare will not provide all of the coverage she needs and that the system will be too complex or restrictive when it is available to her. I told her that was a valid concern because of the complexity of Medicare Part D and the supplemental policies that exist now.
The closing story I’ll share with you was from a nice lady who really understands the rising cost of health care. While on a cruise ship this woman’s husband fell very ill and had to be airlifted off of the cruise ship and sent to the nearest hospital. At the hospital two major surgeries had to be performed and her husband then had to be monitored in the facility for a short time. Think folks, how much do you think this would cost? $100,000+ easily, right? This is a devastating scenario emotionally and financially. Because this couple was on a European cruise and were flown to Denmark there was not a single bill to be paid. Think of the amazement and relief this couple shared when they realized their life would be pretty much the same after this scenario—they were not going to have to sell their house or drain their retirement to keep him in good health. What a relief—I’m sure that helped during recovery.
Tags: Health Care, Medicare, membership
by Kim Andrews—Pennsylvania
I was canvassing in an area where I used to work nearby. In the past I worked in a large retail store where I socialized with our frequent customers. Tonight I knocked on a house where one of my old customers actually lived. We used to talk about her two kids who were very sick and who she cares for. Strangely enough, the woman herself is 87 years old and her children are in their sixties. Neither of her children have health care although she herself is covered by Medicare. Her son is a Vietnam vet and he still cannot get proper medical care.
She was excited to see that I was now at her door fighting on these issues and providing her a chance to also join with us. We had gone from having weekly conversations about our health care frustrations to working together through Working America to reach a solution.
Tags: Health Care, Medicare, seniors, veterans
