Bothwell: Shuler Joins with Tea Party – Votes to Kill Medicare

By Cecil Bothwell

On July 19 Heath Shuler voted for “Cut, Cap and Balance.” Sponsored by the GOP and Tea Party, this bill would slash Medicare. Only five so-called “Blue Dog” Democrats voted for it.

The bill, which enacts Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) far-reaching budget outline by slashing Medicare was shunned by nearly every other Democratic representative in Congress. Nancy Pelosi has blasted the vote, saying: “It ends Medicare, making seniors pay more while giving tax breaks to Big Oil.”

Medicare works. Instead of killing the program we need to extend it as the public option for all Americans. And we can afford to do that if we end our endless warfare and slap a 30 percent tariff on Chinese imports.

The ongoing effort by Republicans and their allies to eliminate Medicare and Medicaid is nothing less than appalling, and their success in dragging Blue Dog Democrats over to their side of the debate is frightening. As a man who believes that we have a moral obligation to care for the least of our sisters and brothers, I could never vote to undo the hard-won progress we have made toward addressing the common good embodied in the U.S. Constitution. I challenge Heath Shuler to explain his vote to kill Medicare.

As guidance in our treatment of others we tend to fall back on the moral teachings of our religious faith. The Golden Rule has rung down through the ages in various forms. However it is phrased, the idea is that of reciprocity.

When I look at our nation’s history, I see that we have struggled to extend help to the helpless. Before Social Security was introduced in 1935, old age meant abject poverty for many. The organized collection of a payroll tax and distribution of benefits created modern retirement, where those who have paid their dues are rewarded with a far kinder and gentler sunset than our ancestors.

Yet still, the extraordinary cost of some medical care meant that even with a government retirement plan, many seniors and many with debilitating illness or injury were sentenced to a life of poverty. So in 1965 we implemented Medicare for all, and Medicaid for the very poorest in our midst.

If we would simply eliminate the income cap on payroll withholding, Social Security and Medicare would be solvent far into our future. To those who say that increasing that tax on the rich is unfair, I ask “What would you do if you were in their shoes?” I would gladly pay. If I do not lay myself out in service of mankind, whom shall I serve?