Issues Affecting My Money And My Health

Senator Barack Obama has promised that he will not raise taxes for 95 percent of us and that some of us will see lower taxes, particularly seniors, like me, who make significantly less than$ 50 ,000 a year. Senator McCain says we should not believe Senator Obama. Why should we believe what Senator McCain says? He says that it is “socialism” to restore the tax structure to the way it was under President Clinton when those making more than $250 ,000 a year were paying higher taxes. Nobody thought it was socialism at that time. These are the only people who would see higher taxes under Senator Obama’s tax plan.
Senator McCain promises to balance the budget in his first term of office. To do that he will institute a :spending “freeze”. He will use a “hatchet” to cut expenditures. You can be sure that one of the first victims of the “hatchet” will be Medicare. Senator McCain has already voted to cut Medicare funding, in 1995, and again this year he voted to reduce the fees paid to physicians. How would this affect me and other seniors? Our Medicare premiums would rise, there would be more “out-of-pocket” payments at the beginning of each year, and later in the year when more and more procedures that our doctors felt necessary would no longer be covered. If the physician fees were lowered significantly we would find ourselves with less choice of available doctors.
Senator McCain says that we should improve education in this country. That is the popular thing to say. But you can be sure that money for early childhood education, and for needy school districts would also fall under his “hatchet” and budget “freeze” But big corporations that moved their plants and jobs oversees would not have to worry. They would not be affected. Their taxes would go down. That is a promise that Senator McCain would surely keep.
Remember, Senator McCain called Social Security a “disgrace”. He would allow privatization of a portion of the money that would go into Social Security. That would produce less available money to pay recipients. He could then say that Social Security was not working and strive for its elimination.
Before I vote I must think about what each candidate really stands for. I must decide what will happen to me personally and to my friends and family if that candidate is elected.