Paul Ryan sank Romney’s campaign
Mitt Romney needed “huge margins among white voters” to win, says Noam Scheiber in the New Republic, and Paul Ryan’s proposal to “de-fund Medicaid, and hack up Medicare” turned off older voters, “one...
View ArticleHow much welfare are we entitled to?
“In 2011, payments for individuals, including health care, constituted 65 percent of federal spending,” says Robert Samuelson in The Washington Post. We live in a welfare state, he says, and we need to...
View ArticleA path away from the fiscal cliff
Our opinion: Both Democrats and Republicans have some giving to do in fiscal cliff and federal budget talks. In renouncing the anti-tax pledge he made to Grover Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform,...
View ArticleGood start, D.C.; now, keep going
Our opinion: The fiscal cliff deal on taxes is all well and good, but unless Washington addresses the spending side of the equation, too, this isn’t a balanced approach. For all the sturm und drang,...
View ArticleLong story short
We weigh in on bad Medicare rules, a registry for animal abusers, and a nice gift for Park Playhouse. Talk about falling through the cracks. A cruel technicality sends thousands of elderly people home...
View ArticleRyan’s budget plan could save Medicare
Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare reform proposal increases competition and reduces costs by allowing seniors to choose a health care plan while still ensuring they get the same guaranteed package of...
View ArticleSky is falling, GOP warns
By admitting America doesn’t “have an immediate debt crisis,” House Speaker John Boehner reveals how the GOP manufactures “fiscal alarmism” to justify cuts to Social Security and other social programs...
View ArticleObama’s biggest budget issue? Entitlement programs
Back in March after sequestration took effect and no one seemed particularly thrilled with the solution that they’d forced upon the government, President Obama surprised Democrats and Republicans alike...
View ArticleReining in Medicare cost
Our opinion: Rochester’s lower-cost Medicare model may be worth emulating — if it’s in the interests of taxpayers and patients. It certainly was surprising to learn the Rochester metro area has the...
View ArticleIt’s generational warfare
The young are no longer “clueless about how shifting demographics threaten their future government services and taxes,” as they balk at paying “artificially high insurance premiums” to subsidize the...
View ArticleOffer variety of insurance options
I would like to respond to the commentary from Dr. Danielle Laraque and Judy Sheridan-Gonzalez, a registered nurse (“Patients should be bottom line of care,” Feb. 14). When Medicare was established by...
View ArticleApp accesses help for seniors
I read the article, “Japan’s seniors to get boost from using iPads with apps,” May 1, and wanted to let the Times Union’s readers know that seniors and caregivers in New York are benefiting from a new...
View ArticleSocial Security insecurity
The next tax increase for millions of Americans who can least afford one is brought to you by a Congress that claims to abhor tax increases. It may not be a tax hike in the strict sense of the word,...
View ArticleMedicare Part B deductible to rise
I represented NY StateWide Senior Action Council at the Town of Colonie Senior Resources Department’s One-Stop Session. The most prevalent concern was the implications of the decision that Social...
View ArticleNo Social Security hike erodes lower deductible
Since my letter “Medicare Part B deductible to rise,” Nov. 2, was written, Congress has come to an agreement to avert the expected jump in Medicare rates for 2016. The budget agreement addresses the...
View ArticleKudos to Schumer for Medicare fight
Every year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services tries to cut coverage and benefits from seniors’ Medicare Advantage plans. Our benefits are sliced away, and soon there will be nothing left....
View ArticleMedicare for all a practical plan
The choice: Keep unchanged the percentage of middle-class income taxed or keep unchanged the percentage of middle-class income paid in medical insurance and bills. Hillary Clinton chose the first....
View ArticleDon’t trust those who spout reform
Why is the Republican establishment against Donald Trump? It may not be what you think. Is it because Trump cannot be controlled by the Republican elite? Trump is talking about the millions of jobs...
View ArticleCandidates need to discuss Medicare
As more American seniors struggle to cope with chronic illness, the more apparent the holes in the Medicare system become. “It is essential to update the Medicare guarantee,” writes Ron Wyden in Vox,...
View ArticleLong story short
Canal dredging must not be delayed any more Delays have added millions to the estimated $180 million cleanup of the Champlain Canal along the Hudson River. Now, 36 years since it was last dredged,...
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