Election Year 2012: This could be the year senior Americans are duped into allowing the Republican Party to finally destroy Social Security and Medicare.
I am writing this column to warn other seniors about this partisan attack on Social Security and Medicare, disguised as “deficit-reduction.”
Fortunately, there is still time for us to look at honest facts about how Social Security and Medicare protect and will continue to protect Americans of all ages and in all walks of life.
First, Social Security is not on its last legs, no matter what anyone would lead you to believe. There are wealthy financiers connected to Wall Street that have, for years, been promoting the myth that Social Security is about to go belly up, and it won’t be there for those just entering the workforce.
Another claim is that Social Security is an “entitlement.” Dispensers of this claim would have you believe that Social Security payments to you and me have caused the United States to go deeply into debt. In fact, the Social Security checks we receive at retirement (or earlier if medically disabled) are an “earned benefit” after both our employer and we have paid into the Social Security Trust during our working years. In fact, there are several proposed minor adjustments to Social Security that will ensure its ability to meet all obligations now and forever.
Yet another myth is that Social Security is only there for people age 62 and older. Social Security Disability Insurance is there for everyone who qualifies if you become medically disabled. It is also there for your spouse and dependent children if you die young. So why are some people trying to put an end to the Social Security Trust? It’s simple! Wall Street can’t wait to privatize Social Security and get its hands on the billions of dollars coming into the Trust Fund.
As you know, many Republicans are adamantly opposed to Wall Street regulation. Basically, they want to let their buddies play with our money so they can continue to reap huge bonuses, make sweet deals for themselves and gamble with our safety net. Buried in the Ryan budget that recently passed in the U.S. House along party lines, was the Ryan Trigger, which creates an unprecedented new fast-track procedure to ram through Social Security benefit cuts and ensure privatization.
Fact: The Social Security Trust fund is backed by U.S. Savings Bonds that are the world’s most stable and reliable investment vehicle. No, the returns are not astronomical but they are safe and secure. Given the roller coaster nature of Wall Street and loss of trillions of savings with the market crash in 2007-2009, where would you want to deposit at least some of your savings for retirement?
Now some important facts about Maine seniors, keeping in mind that Maine has one of the oldest, most vulnerable populations in the country. In 2010, 94.2 percent or 199,200 Maine seniors received Social Security benefits. The average yearly Social Security benefit was $12,800. For middle and low-income seniors, 76.6 percent of their income came from Social Security and that percentage holds through 2012.
About 8 percent of Maine seniors are currently living at or below the poverty level. Without Social Security, an additional 41 percent of older Mainers, or 84,500 seniors, would fall into poverty.
Medicare does provide guaranteed health coverage and peace of mind for 99.7 percent of all Maine seniors over age 65. Again, it is a program that you and your employer have contributed to over your working years. It is not an “entitlement” but an “earned benefit” as well.
However, Medicare only pays 80 percent of health care costs so seniors still have potentially high out-of-pocket costs. From their average $1,000 per month Social Security payment, Maine seniors on Medicare spend on average $425 per month on out-of-pocket health care costs that Medicare does not cover. Taking into account all seniors receiving Medicare, out-of-pocket spending for health care averages 21 percent of seniors’ income.
If you do not believe those statistics, just look around you and talk to others. Maine seniors are proud people – they will never admit outright that they are hungry, cold and ill because they cannot afford food, fuel, health care and medicine.
Romney’s claim that President Obama robbed Medicare to fund care for younger Americans without health insurance is simply an outright lie. It’s a shameful attempt to turn the old against the young. The Affordable Care Act has actually increased the stability of Medicare by no longer overpaying private for-profit insurance companies for Medicare Advantage plans. But most importantly, that savings has gone to providing well-adult health care screenings like mammograms, colonoscopies and prostate cancer screening without any co-pay for any senior.
In addition, the donut hole that traps so many seniors with debilitating drug costs is slowly closing. No health-care benefits whatsoever have been taken from Medicare or away from seniors. Please – when you hear that outrageous Romney lie, check the facts with reliable and unbiased sources like the Southern Maine Agency on Aging or AARP-Maine.
Seniors, make no mistake about this: the Tea Party Republican agenda is the destruction of America’s safety net. Unless exposed, they will get away with it.
Maurie Hill is a resident of Standish.
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