Hush Money

By J.C. Arenas

Seniors have come out in droves to town-hall meetings to voice their displeasure of the liberals' ill-conceived concept of health-care reform. Their radical proposals call for unwarranted government interference between patients and doctors and seniors know that reform means an increase in their taxes and a decrease in their benefits. The president hasn't taken their dissent lightly, that's why he's now relying on The Chicago Way to buy their silence.

The New York Post reports:

President Obama yesterday asked Congress to fund a new mini-stimulus package -- billions more for seniors, veterans and the disabled.

The boost will come in the form of $250 "economic recovery payment" checks sent directly to nearly 60 million people.

(snip)

Receiving a second batch of checks will be 49 million Social Security beneficiaries, 5 million Supplemental Social Security Income beneficiaries, 2 million veterans benefit recipients, 1 million government retirees and a half-million railroad retirees and disability beneficiaries.

The recipients will not have to pay taxes on the money.

When the Congressional Budget Office scored Max Baucus's concept of a health-care reform bill, which finally made its way out of the Senate Finance Committee this week, they found that hundreds of billions of dollars would be taken from funding for Medicare to pay for reform. Medicare Advantage would be wiped clean which would send a host of seniors to a weaker Medicare. To add insult to injury, seniors would then find it difficult to find doctors because reform also calls for a decrease in reimbursement rates for Medicare. Ultimately, seniors will lose big thanks to health-care reform, but no worries, the man of peace is here with a suitcase full of cash to save the day.

While Obama's proposed payment is being dressed up as compensation for the fact that for the first time in more than three decades there won't be a cost of living adjustment -- a benefit increase -- for Social Security recipients, seniors are smart enough to see that his resolution is nothing more than a payoff. $250 won't make them grateful for the bread crumbs he leaves them today while he plots to take away the whole loaf tomorrow.

J.C. Arenas is a frequent contributor to American Thinker and welcomes your comments at jcarenas.com