get what they want...you hope they get it good and hard! And, you know what, if Romney is elected, they will get it good and hard because of the funding cuts for Medicare and Medicaid. Somewhere in their families there is a disabled child receiving SSDI, or a parent or grandparent in a nursing home paid for by Medicaid...and a lot of that will GO AWAY.
Several excellent diaries have been recently wriiten on this topic, but I want to reinforce how much this matters. Follow me below the orange squiggle...
Ask your republican friends and neighbors if they've set aside enough money to care for their parent's (or their own) skilled nursing facility (snf) needs at some future point. Ask if they can handle the average of about $7000 a month a snf costs. Ask if they're prepared to bring Grandpa home and devote 24/7 to his care so banks and corporations and the super-wealthy can get away with not paying their fair share of tax.
Politics needs to be personal because it is personal. And, nothing is more personal than caring for a loved one who needs help that either is unaffordable or impossible without sarificing on's own life to that cause. Having cared for my father in our home for the seven years preceding his death, I know what I'm talking about. The 3+ months he spent in a snf for rehab was paid for by a combination of Medicare and his private insurance. If he hadn't the foresight to have long term care insurance, it would have been costly...not devastating for us...but costly. What would happen to people who don't have the $$$$$ resources or insurance?
My wife and I didn't want my father to be in a snf. Regardless of the cost, Skilled Nursing Facilites are generally awful places. We used home health services as much as possible (again, about $7000 monthly) to get some help with his medical and physical needs...but it's not 24/7 care. And, we changed many an adult diaper, and did other things that, over time, taxed us mentally, physically, and emotionally. Had he not finally entered into hospice care at home (paid for by Medicare...but still only a small amount of the care needed) I think we would have had to go the snf route because we were exhausted.
I'm not telling this story well because it would take pages and pages to tell it in it's completeness. But this I know...my father got good care and love because we were retired, had the time and money, and because even with his difficulties he was not mentally impaired. He knew, and appreciated, what was being done for him...and he was capable to some extent of helping himself until near the end.
If the Romney / Ryan vision of America comes to pass, the drastic cuts in just this one area (medicare/medicaid funding) will devastate many families. And some of the dummies that vote for them will get what they wanted...and they'll get it good and hard. Unfortunately, so will those who were paying attention.
Vote. Vote for Obama. Vote as if your life depends upon who wins. It does....