[rodguy911]

Exactly, we have 10,000 yuppies a day retiring and going on SS.That should ring a few bells for someone. Waiting until its too late is poor planning. Its what our congress is famous for.Time to stop the madness and plan ahead a little.

[kabar]

True enough, Rod. Medicare and SS are both unsustainable. I get a kick out of Gibbs on Fox about "extending" the life of Medicare (Part A) by 8 years with Obamacare. The reality is that Medicare is a pay as you go system, just like SS. Medicare Part A has been running a deficit since 2008. To make up the shortfall, IOUs from the Medicare Trust Fund must be cashed in from the General Fund, which borrows 42 cents on the dollar. The 2016 or 2024 dates are when the IOUs run out. The fact is that Medicare is in the red and sucking up General Fund dollars.

And the premiums for Medicare Parts B and D cover only 25% of the costs. The remaining 75%, by law, must come from the General Fund. With 10,000 people retiring every day for the next 20 years, is it any wonder that we are in big trouble? By 2030 one in five in this country will be 65 or older--twice what it is now. And by 2030 there will be only two workers for every retiree.

I wish the GOP would go beyond the $716 billion raid on Medicare and emphasize the immediate impact of IPAB, which Sarah Palin described as a Death Panel. This part of Obamacare will affect seniors immediately. They will decide what treatments can be reimbursed or are acceptable. This will have a much more visceral connection to seniors who are just being assured by the GOP that they won't be affected. Once you start throwing around numbers with claims and counter claims, most people's eyes glaze over and tune it out. It is time to resurrect the term Death Panel, which is part of the existing law. It is not a plan, but a fact.