In the wake of Mitt Romney's vice-presidential pick, Mike Rogers (MI-08) and his Republican cronies have some explaining to do.
Because of Romney's witting or unwitting choice to push Congressman Paul Ryan and his budget proposal further into the national spotlight, Mike is going to have to explain to his constituents why he supports a budget plan that would completely eliminate Medicare for our children and grandchildren, and increase our Medicare costs by an average of $6,500, effectively doubling the cost of health care.
It's not surprising that Mike would want to pad the pockets of insurance companies by turning a very effective government-run health care system into a corporate money-making voucher scheme, seeing as, this election cycle alone, he's taken close to $500,000 from health insurance industry.
It doesn't surprise me, but it's still disgusting.
Medicare is not an entitlement. We're not spoiled because we want to be able to live our lives after we retire with dignity. Medicare, Social Security, and all the other programs Rogers, Romney, and Ryan want to disembowel are part of a safety net that every American has earned.
Right now, all across Michigan's 8th District, we already have seniors signing up for government benefits because of tax increases imposed by the State of Michigan. What happens when they have to start making up the difference on Medicare as well?
My mother taught for 37 years in the Waverly Public Schools. She is currently on a Medicare plan. If Rogers, Romney and Ryan passed their budget, the cost of her prescriptions and medical care would skyrocket. For someone on a fixed income, any increase in medical costs is crippling.
Susan works at Lansing's Grand River assembly plant. She is 53 years old. She has been paying into Medicare and Social Security her entire adult life, and is planning on retiring in a few years. But under a Rogers-Ryan budget plan, Susan would pay an additional $6,500 a year out of her own pocket for health care. Rogers and Ryan would also repeal the Affordable Care Act, keeping the Medicare Part D donut hole open and forcing Susan to pay more out of her own pocket for any prescriptions. The Rogers-Ryan budget would prevent Susan from retiring with a shred of basic dignity.
There are stories like this all across the district, the state, and the country.
Don't let Romney, Rogers, and their wealthy cronies fool you - this is what class warfare looks like.
Rogers, Romney and Ryan don't stand for the values that made America great. America is at its best when we reach out and support the least among us - our seniors, the poor, the disabled, and our veterans - and extend a hand to help those who have fallen stand back up.
This is why I am running to represent Michigan's 8th District in the United States Congress. This is how we can make America great again.
Change is coming.