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Great points Mary Ann, as the elderly population has ballooned while the younger work force popultation has not kept pace. But, this debate will probably end up being partisan in Congress. My two cents Now, I know most folks on this list are in the liberal camp, and I am not a liberal. I am not sure I am a conservative either, since I really do like to examine new ideas and how they could benefit society. It will be a tough road, and the more programs that are created or the larger they get, the more tax dollars it will take. Too heavy of a tax take away from the individuals (if it's income tax). This hurts the family and if you increase business taxes tooo much, you hurt the work force and job creation. To increase tax on consumables, you hurt consumption and productivity suffers. I think I pay way too much in taxes as it is. Perhaps a flat tax of some kind would be something to look at. Get rid of the IRS tax code, and loop holes, keep the mortgage deduction though. So, when politicians start making promises of this and that, I am very suspect, and Sen Kerry is the most liberal of the lot. Liberal with giving away my hard earned money. Kerry is more liberal than Gore. At least Gore was a fiscal conservative, more or less. So, to me, it is like a huge math puzzle, and when folks like Kerry promise affordable health care for everyone, a HUGE RED FLAG should appear if you own a business, or have an income. The whole US population demographics have drastically changed over the last 15 years, and the ratio of folks paying into programs (soc. security, etc.) has changed so much that the work force will not be able to support us old folks anymore. Now, if you do not own a business or have an income, but have social security and medicare, then your point of view is different. I most certainly DO NOT want my kids tax burden to increase because their Dad needs his meds, or an MRI. My kids should not be paying for my treatments through their tax dollars. The bottom line is simple: Watching Kerry and Bush will be very interesting, and I am thankful for the democratic process in this great Republic. Jeff Bayard Help Fund the Cure! http://dialforacure.com Mary Ann Ryan wrote: >>> I went to hear Senator Kerry at the Portland >>> >>> >>Boys' and Girls' club. He emphasized the >>need for increased long-term home health care being >>funded to prevent unnecessary institutionalizations >> >> > >I hope that this can be a non-partisan discussion because it is imperative >that we look realistically at this issue. > >I'm very, very concerned about health care spending. As a nurse I have seen >a radical increase in sophisticated procedures and tests.. Many on this >list have had MRI's, CAT scans, and, in a few instances, PET scans. Some >have gone through DBS surgery, angiography, and bypass surgery. All of >these tests and procedures are extremely expensive. Add to this list even >newer blood analysis, medications, intensive care costs and rehab costs and >it is no wonder that Medicare is in trouble. > >Medicare will be supplementing medication costs this year. From where I'm >sitting, I'm very concerned that we may find Medicare dollars shrinking at a >pace no one has anticipated. Already, there is discussion about decreasing >Medicare home health care subsidies. In light of all of this, my question >is.......how much should we expect the government to spend on health care?? >Please let's not talk about how health care spending could be increased if >we just stopped our presence in the middle ease - all of us know that is not >going to happen, right or wrong. > >While the elderly population needs more medical care, it is also true that >young families are being severely impacted by extremely high insurance >costs. What is to happen to them?? How can dollars be allocated in such a >way that everyone gets a piece of the pie? And, more importantly, do we (as >a population dealing with a chronic disease) have have a right to expect >that even more dollars be spend on the care of our loved ones in the face of >decreasing dollars for health care? >------------ >Mary Ann Ryan (CG Jamie 64/24) > >---------------------------------------------------------------------- >To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] >In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn