In response to the letter published Oct. 14, stating a vote for the status quo is the clear choice for senior citizens, there are many facts in support of the opposite conclusion. Forty million seniors have lived the fact that we did not see a cost of living increase in Social Security the first two years of this administration, and that last year's slight increase was offset by our higher out of pocket Medicare costs. This year will be no different. And so goes the deception.
We listened to the president claim on the campaign trail "federal spending since I took office has risen at the slowest pace of any president in almost 60 years" yet his first legislative initiative, the stimulus bill, was the most expensive in history to that point. That spending bill does not even include the biggest spending bill in history, Obamacare, since most of it does not take effect until 2014. The fact is, that in one term, he has increased the national debt as much as all prior Presidents combined. Let's not forget he started that trend in 2008 as a senator in the democratic-controlled Congress with Mrs. Pelosi. And so goes the deception.
While the letter writer talks about the misleading Romney-Ryan ads and that the current administration will fight "tooth and nail" to protect senior citizen healthcare and security retirement, the last four years tell another story. The fact is "liabilities of the Social Security variety" are not properly accounted for in deficit calculations since Congress is able to alter its liabilities by reducing benefits or raising taxes. The fact is, once your employer withholds your SS taxes the money is no longer yours. The fact is "privatizing" does not make the money any less stable than it already is and in fact may hold for greater accountability. Add to that a 32 percent jump in welfare spending (as measured by obligations)- $563 billion in fiscal year 2008, $746 billion in fiscal year 2011 and you have yet another example of spendthrift behavior further devaluing the very dollar you claim they will protect. And so goes the deception.
Yes, facts can be a funny thing and I find no humor in the behavior of using a misleading argument to paint a false picture. We are not better off four years later. Perhaps looking at this will help-
Do I believe the clear choice for us is "Forward"? A word Wikipedia says "carries a special meaning in socialist political terminology. It has been frequently used as a name for socialist, communist and other left-wing newspapers and publications." Unlike many who are blind to the current administration's calculated deceptions, my memory is still clear and I recall the facts of the last four years. The view from my "first-generation American-of-immigrants-from-a-Communist-country" seat shows clearly that the Romney/Ryan ticket is a better choice for America.
Mary Corsatea
Warren