Thanks and The Fight Goes On

I would like to extend a thank you and appreciation to all who made this recent election a success for seniors and the middle class. Any efforts, including those of talking to family members, friends and neighbors, made a difference. Many SOAR members dedicated hours and days getting the message out to voters.

I know it wasn’t easy. The Republicans and their big money donors out spent us 10 to 1. Overcoming the lies, myths and misleading propaganda was a challenge, especially in face of the folks at FOX news. But, we did it, and it proves that money and the influence of the millionaires and billionaires can be overcome by the strength of the seniors, the young, minorities and the working-middleclass and their unions.

Our fight is not over. As I write this I hear talk about the “fiscal cliff,” the federal budget and what the President and Congress may do about it. I also hear that the Republicans expect and are demanding that entitlements must be addressed.

What they are referring to includes Social Security and Medicare. The fact is that neither of these programs has any immediate impact on the budget. Social Security is in good shape for the next 23 plus years, and has no impact on the budget (except for what the government owes it). Medicare is funded for the next ten years. Any financial issues with these programs can effectively be addressed long after the immediate problems with the federal budget and, therefore, should not be part of the scare tactics. And further more, these social programs have been and are being paid for and should not be viewed as entitlements, but earned benefits.

Bill Gibbons, PACE Representative