Justifying the Unjustifiable, Looking into the Abyss

            The current standoff in Washington has seniors, retirees and many others here in the North Valley worried.  A few days ago, a checker at my local supermarket, John Brooks, at 12^th and Candelaria, called me over as I was buying some fruit for a potluck I was going to that afternoon.

            She recognized me from my campaign walks through her neighborhood. 

            “Senator Dede, What are you doing to us?” asked Maria Soderstadt, a cashier who has been working at John Brooks for as long as I can remember.  “Retirees can’t take this anxiety. Social Security---that’s our money.  We paid it and now we depend on it. 

            “I am 70 years old,” she continued. “ I work everyday.  Every part of my body hurts, but I work.  I’m not so much worried about me, but my sister…she gets $500 a month I Social Security and she lives on that.  It’s not fair to take it away. “

            There are millions of Maria Soderstadts out there across the country wondering how their leaders deserted them, and how they could possibly play this risky game with the lives of America’s most fragile citizens.

            And I had a tough time explaining. I am often called upon these days to justify the unjustifiable.

            I’ve always believed  (and I’m in the Democratic mainstream here) that the greatness of any society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens.  So it’s a particular affront to me, too, to see huge program cuts going forward, with nothing gained in return, except maybe a temporary hike in the debt ceiling.

            I hope that’s not where we end up—and so do the majority of the American people.  Polling data from almost every source shows a majority people want a balanced approach, with tax increases on the wealthy along with program cuts, and that a plurality will blame the Republicans for any default.  But no matter, that still leaves seniors, people with disabilities, children, as well as ordinary folks like you and me with checking and savings accounts holding the bag. 

     Federal Medicaid Cuts Loom

            If we use the Ryan budget as a guide, the biggest bite may come out of the hides of Medicaid recipients—and states who would have to pick up the pieces for nursing home residents and the disabled, especially.  Rep. Christopher Van Hollen, of Maryland, has a good take on this at in yesterday's Baltimore Sun at http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-medicaid-20110725,0,1063569.story             

Families USA recently put out a report, which quantifies the jobs, lost in New Mexico with federal Medicaid cuts.  It is not a pretty picture.  They even have a Medicaid calculator where you can calculate the economic loss to the state at www.familiesusa.org.  

 

Comments

[Jill Gatwood]

Cut the military. Large American military bases exist all over the world in areas that are not strategically located to protect our security. And when we're done with those cuts, withdraw from the wars in the Middle East.