Higher Medicare Premiums in Store For Some Retirees

Let us know now what the premiums will be in 2012 thru 2015 for ordinary folks under $25,000/year.

Jim O'Brien of CA 4:02AM September 02, 2011

We baby boomers have paid into social security all our lives to pay for our elderly. Now it's the younger generations turn. That's the way the system works. Do not let naysayers tell you the system is going to be out of funds. We baby boomers outnumber our children of voting age and will for a long time. WE HAVE THE VOTES. It may seem unfortunate for our kids, but they must pay higher social security deductions because of increased costs in the system.

If a better system can be devised for the younger people, fine. But in the meantime we must insure they pay the necessary premiums to support our retirement as we did for those who retired before us.

Remember, WE HAVE THE VOTES. Stay on top of your congressmen and senators and VOTE!

Danny Boatman of OK 9:07AM July 25, 2009

Just think, this ill conceived notion of providing health care to the "elderly" back in the LBJ era when all that was available was a stethoscope and "exploratory surgery" to find "the problem" is running into fiscal problems in an era of CT, MRI, Ultrasound, robotic surgery, etc? Are we all so naive to think the Government has any clue what is involved in the care of a patient in today's age or how much it costs or how to administer those costs? LBJ and his administration was looking at Medical COLA of 2-3% when in reality it has been three times that since the inception of Medicare. Now, faced with situation, where it has become an entitlement to the "elderly" do you think they are going to pay more or give up when they are "entitled" to it? These same people who are "entitled" never paid the taxes to the "system" we who still have to work find ourselves paying. For those of you who fail to remember, Mr. Clinton did away with any Caps on Medicare Tax. So the poor schlep and his wife who are self-employed, trying to make ends meet, now find themselves being hit with a 2.9% tax for an ill conceived government failure that provides essentially free health care to the richest segment of population; namely those who are retired. A poll conducted shows retirees are the ones least worried about the current recession-why do you think that is? Because they have the highest net worth and continue to receive government entitlements such as Medicare and Social Security, of which they only paid of fraction for while us working class carry their burden to allow them to spend their "disposable" income in nice homes.

Don't get me wrong, I am all in favor of taking care those elderly, who cannot take care of themselves. This is what entitlements should go for and not to ensure that a retirees legacy is left in the form of hidden cash at the expense of the working class paying higher and higher taxes for programs that are failing or programs that the government continues to rob or worse yet programs that outlived their usefulness.

It is time to unplug and and see the light people. 65% of private net worth is owned by those over the age of 65, who make up only a fraction of the total population. So keep paying those Medicare and SS Taxes, because WHEN IT IS YOUR TURN, IT WILL ALL BE GONE and since these burdensome taxes interfere with you ability to save, you will be lucky to have anything in your personal accounts as well. So when it will be most needed, by the most needy, IT WILL BE GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!

hbutler of FL 9:17AM May 20, 2009

Bill Clinton "borrowed" from Social Security? That's funny - just like he "borrowed" from the Defense budget in order to fund his liberal projects, leave a budget "surplus", promote his LEGACY (which consumed his attention for the most part of his last two years in office). Oh, by the way, when he gutted the Defense budget was when our soldiers in Somalia wer butchered and their stripped corpses dragged behind Jeeps in Mogadishu - because there wasn't any more small arms ammunition there for them to defend themselves in battle against the Somali warlords. Clinton's a total A.H. who deserved to be impeached and was just protected by morons like Sen. Spector. Read up on it.

MAJRDAD of CA 7:22PM May 15, 2009