Today is a historic day for our nation because President Obama begins a new term with high hopes and goals for our country. Although many of us voted for the President, we are avidly watching what this second four years will hold for Baby Boomers. Many of us are uneasy with the political talk of entitlements being cut. Programs like Social Security and Medicare are at risk as the President and Congress plan to try to balance the budget and cut our fiscal debt. The seniors in this country are holding their collective breaths while we await our fate. Programs that we paid into with each week, month, and year that we worked hard for could be forever changed if some have their way on Capital Hill, and this would be a disgrace to seniors.
What happened to the days when you worked for thirty years at the same company, got the gold watch, and retired to a comfortable lifestyle collecting pensions and Social Security checks? That seems to be "gone with the wind". Now, as our nation has undergone what might as well have been a second Depression, we face the future of uncertainty. When banks sold mortgages to people who couldn't afford them, and we got involved in two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, we began a downward spiral in this economy which has caused rabid unemployment and dire consequences.
President Obama has been resolute at maintaining that the rich pay more in taxes to relieve the middle class. What a great idea. The problem is many Republicans got elected by wealthy Americans who contributed a lot of money to these re-election campaigns. Therefore, many senators and representatives wouldn't vote to raise taxes on the wealthy few. I don't think our Founding Fathers had this vision for our country. However, a compromise was reached not long ago avoiding the fiscal cliff. Those making over $400,000 will be taxed more,as they should be.
As seniors, we need to take some action to protect our entitlement programs from being cut while budget negotiations are under way in Congress. Write your senator and your representative and tell them your concerns. Point out that they won't get your vote if they neglect to consider and preserve our right to collect Social Security and benefit from Medicare to make our journey into old age rewarding, and not filled with fear and overwhelming financial challenges. This should be our time to enjoy the fruits of our labors, not worry ourselves into an early grave.
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