And this is not the only poll showing this phenomenon. Poll after poll has shown the same thing. And frankly, I don't understand it at all. If there is a specific age group that would be hurt more than any other by the Republicans returning to power, it would be the elderly.
Most of the elderly, except for a fortunate few who were lucky enough to retire rich, must depend on Social Security for an income, and it is Social Security that is keeping them from dropping into poverty. In fact, Social Security has been one of the most successful of all federal programs, reducing the percentage of elderly people in poverty from a majority down to under 10%. And what do both Willard Romney and Paul Ryan want to do to Social Security?
They want to privatize it, putting retirement funds in the very risky stock market (and letting rich bankers get even richer by taking their cut of those funds). They completely ignore the fact that small investors (which most Americans would be with their retirement accounts) lost trillions of dollars in the 2007 stock market crash. They would take a program that has provided a dependable income for seniors for decades (and could easily be fully funded far into the future by just raising or eliminating the cap on FICA taxes) and gamble those funds in the stock market. This should scare the hell out of the elderly -- if not for themselves, then for their children and grandchildren.
And the same thing is true for Medicare, the program that provides decent medical care for all seniors. Both Ryan and Romney want to actually abolish Medicare and replace it with a voucher program that puts seniors at the mercy of private insurance companies (companies that show no mercy), which would cost seniors many thousands more dollars out of their own pockets for medical care. The Republicans claim this would only affect people under 55 years old, but that is not true. It would affect all age groups, including current seniors, by deflecting money from the current program. Once again, if seniors aren't worried about themselves, they should be terrified at what this would do to the medical care of their children and grandchildren.
For seniors, voting Republican in the coming election would definitely be voting against their own best interests (which lie in protecting both of these excellent programs). And what makes it even worse is that they have a real choice. The president and the Democrats have pledged to protect Social Security and Medicare. Here is what the president has said:
“And I will never turn Medicare into a voucher. No American should ever have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies. They should retire with the care and dignity they have earned. Yes, we will reform and strengthen Medicare for the long haul, but we’ll do it by reducing the cost of health care – not by asking seniors to pay thousands of dollars more. And we will keep the promise of Social Security by taking the responsible steps to strengthen it – not by turning it over to Wall Street.”
Why are so many seniors willing to vote against their own interests? I have thought a lot about this, and I can come up with only one reason. It is the generation that was alive during the years of segregation and many of them went along with the racist laws in effect at that time. Is there still too much lingering racism among the elderly? Are they unwilling to accept that an African-American is in the White House? Are they willing to put their own health and financial security (and those of their children and grandchildren) at risk, just to satisfy their own racism (whether overt or latent)? I believe this is true -- not of all seniors, but of far too many.
NOTE -- In the interest of full disclosure, I am over 65 myself.
I agree with your assessment. I am in that group and cannot for the life of me figure out what these "boomers" are thinking. Of course I am also a "military brat" and experienced being of the "other race" when living abroad. When I moved back to the US from Japan in the early 60s, at the height of the Civil Rights movement, I was struck by how virulent racism was here. And not just against African Americans but Asians and Latinos too. I was thrilled when Obama was elected because I thought we had finally put racism behind us. I guess not! How sad for one of the most ethnically and racially diverse countries on the planet to be still so 19th century.
ReplyDeleteRemember that the Republicans keep promising that if you are presently on Social Security and Medicare you will not be affected by any changes which they propose, so they do not believe that they are voting against their own interests.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I am opposed to the whole concept of voting for one's own personal interests. I believe that it is the responsibilty of the voter to examine the spectrum of the candidates' views and proposals and to vote in the best interest of the nation as a whole. The nation is bigger than one person and social responsibility requires that one put group safety ahead of personal comfort and even personal safety. Only a small percentage of modern society does this, by joining the military or similar endeavors, the rest vote for the candidate who promises to give them what they personally want.
Everyone votes primarily for their own personal interests. I do not, for one minute, believe that the Republicans will honor their promises to leave SS and Medicare alone. Anyone who does is dreaming.
ReplyDelete