by James Turnage, author of “Down from the Mountain”
If you are a millennial, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid may not seem important to you today. As you age, and your parents begin to rely heavily on programs they paid into all of their lives, you will see things differently.
First, lets discuss Social Security. The ‘people’s president,’ Franklin Delano Roosevelt, signed this universal retirement bill into law in 1935. It remains the most perfect piece of legislation ever written and passed by our nation’s congress.
Here’s how it’s supposed to work. Employers and employees place funds into the Social Security program with contributions to every paycheck. When the employee reaches age 66, he or she begins to receive the money they and their employers contributed over their lifetime. The amount is based on wages and contributions. Americans can begin taking funds at 62, although the cash amount received is a lesser amount, and other restrictions apply.
Social Security did not require government funding, and there is no record of any individual collecting their full amount. So, why do politicians claim that it is costing too large a percentage of the national budget? Why is there not a surplus? Since 1935 our government has embezzled huge amounts of funds from Social Security for personal projects, or projects which had cost overruns. This money belongs to the people; not to government.
Medicaid is a healthcare program which assists low-income and impoverished Americans. This is a social program which gives back to the American people directly. Without Medicaid millions of children would not have access to medical care.
Medicare was originally designed to aid America’s aging population with their healthcare needs. American workers contribute to Medicare, which is also partially funded by our government. Multiple ideas have been floated for decades about how to make Medicare more affordable.
One of the greatest burdens on the Medicare program is the cost of prescription drugs. The Medicare prescription drug plan House Speaker Nancy Pelosi introduced Thursday coincided with the release of an Axios analysis showing that the health care industry “continued to rake in record-level profits in the second quarter, with its year-over-year earnings increasing by 23%.” Not at all shockingly, Mitch McConnell wants big pharmaceuticals to keep every penny.
Bluntly put, big pharma is raping the American people. Life-saving drugs which cost dollars to produce are frequently sold for hundreds of dollars for a single pill. In addition, those prices increase every year.
Moscow Mitch refused to allow a vote in the senate as he has more than 200 times before. Meanwhile, the truth is that Moscow Mitch is again protecting big business at the expense of the American people.
“Big Pharma remains the cash king,” says Axios. “Drug companies collected almost half of all health care profits despite generating less than 20% of industry revenue,” and comprise 12 of the 16 most profitable health care firms.
It has often been said that there are two Americans; one for whites and another for minorities. I believe there are three in 21st century America. We must add the fact that low-income and poor Americans live an entirely different nation than the 10 percent of Americans who control 90 percent of the nation’s wealth.
Real change will not come as long as capitalistic Republicans control our nation’s government. Please vote on November 3, 2020 and encourage everyone you know to do the same. This will be the day we celebrate the second American Revolution. People before profit will become the new normal.
“The truth lives here;” spread the word.
Op-ed by James Turnage
Image courtesy of DonkeyHotey
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