Plymouth Residents Rally Against Medicare Cuts
A group of Plymouth residents joined thousands in Boston to rally against proposed cuts in Social Security and Medicare.
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A group of AARP members from Plymouth recently joined thousands of Massachusetts seniors and workers to rally against cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
Packed into the Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre in Boston, their message was straightforward: “We’re not budget numbers on a spreadsheet, and we’re not pushovers. No cuts!” The rally was organized to put pressure on the congressional Super Committee, which is charged with reducing the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion over ten years. Massachusetts Senator John Kerry is part of the 12-member, bipartisan group.
AARP Massachusetts State Director Deborah Banda addressed rally participants, saying, “Medicare and Social Security aren’t luxuries; they aren’t fat to be trimmed. These benefits are the backbone of support that allows older Americans to live with a modest level of dignity and peace of mind in retirement – benefits earned through a lifetime of hard work.” AARP represents more than 800,000 members age 50 and older in the commonwealth.
About a million Massachusetts residents rely on Social Security and Medicare. The average annual Social Security benefit for middle and lower income Bay State residents is $13,900, while their average out-of-pocket cost for health care is $6,800.
Release courtesy of Rhiannon D'Angelo of AARP Massachusetts.
Carly EngageAmerica
10:44 am on Wednesday, November 16, 2011
In order to reduce the deficit there must be some take from all areas of federal government activity. If entitlements are to go untouched there will be nothing left for younger generations and all other activities funded by the government will cease to exist. Currently Social Security and Medicare use 8.5% of nonentitlement revenues (federal revenues dedicated to all other programs besides the two). By 2020, the deficits will grow to almost 25%. This means that within 9 years, in order to pay projected benefits to retirees and the disabled, the federal government will have to stop doing about one out of every five things it does today. If the government would like to prevent that from happening it will have to raise taxes by about 20%, significantly cut benefits or make beneficiaries pay for substantially more of their benefits.