A new poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press makes clear what politicians already know: Americans, including Republicans, don’t favor reductions in benefits for recipients of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Respondents were asked which is more important, “Taking steps to reduce the budget deficit” or “Keeping Social Security and Medicare benefits as they are.” Sixty percent favor the status quo, compared to 32 percent who favor reducing the deficit.
The problem with not touching Medicare and Social Security is, that’s where the money is. The government can cut everything else but entitlement spending and still not be fiscally viable in the long-term. Americans don’t want to raise taxes, either, so something has to give.
Unfortunately, it’s going to be our children and grandchildren doing the giving.
My Arkansas News Bureau column takes a break from politics to talk about the best comeback made by a Ryan this year. Not Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett. Not Ryan O’Neal. (That’s a famous actor for those of you under 30.)
I’m talking about my neighbor, until recently, who also is named Ryan. Ryan moved next door to my house a few years ago, and of course we got to know each other. He was a dad with a wife, two sons, a job, college classes to attend – and with a past.
Ryan had been in jails in Mississippi and Arkansas for drug convictions, but he had turned his life around and was seeking a pardon from the governor.
He did get that pardon – and is about to get his college degree, in geology, which he’ll use to work in the natural gas industry.
I thought it was a story worth sharing about a guy who has made the most of his second chance. Here is the column.
One of the most important decisions of the 20th century was also one of the loneliest.
On the evening of June 5, 1944, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, had a choice to make. Thousands of his troops were poised to begin the assault on Normandy, France, the next day. If it worked, it would lead to the end of World War II in Europe.
But the weather wasn’t cooperating. Winds and rain would disrupt the airborne operations and naval and air bombardments that were critical to the success of the mission. The weather officer expected somewhat of a clearing, but this still was no time for an invasion. Eisenhower knew that without effective bombardments, many of the invading forces would be slaughtered by the Nazi machine gun nests when they hit the beaches.
Ike would have preferred to wait, but the invasion had already been postponed once because of the weather, and the tides would not be favorable again until June 19. That was a long time to keep the finger on the trigger. The men would go crazy spending that much time locked up in camp, and delay increased the likelihood that the Germans would learn of the planned invasion.
One by one, the generals gave their opinions. In a variety of accents, some said go and some said wait. And then it came to Eisenhower. He paced, struggling with the decision. After a moment, he said, “OK, let’s go.” His subordinates cheered and then left for their posts, living Eisenhower alone.
It was a firm decision, but not one made with certainty. The next day, he penned a press release to be made public if the invasion failed. “My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”
We now know that Eisenhower was correct – correct to decide to invade, and correct that some of the invading forces would be slaughtered.
World War II produced its share of legends – blood-and-guts generals like George S. Patton and the regal and glory-seeking Douglas MacArthur, and all deserve their place in history. But when it came time for that fateful decision on June 5, I’m glad it was Ike, the humble common man, who was making it.
Now the United States faces a different kind of enemy – its own fiscal irresponsibility. Unlike World War II, which started with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the national debt is an enemy that attacks our freedom and prosperity from within, slowly and undramatically. It can be ignored for decades, as it already has been.
But instead of confronting this enemy, America is at war with itself. If Republicans and Democrats were Allied armies, then the United States and Great Britain would have killed each other instead of the Nazis.
This time, thank goodness the country doesn’t need soldiers willing to charge through machine gun fire across a foreign beach. What’s needed are statesmen willing to make tough choices – to reduce spending on popular programs, and to raise taxes for the purpose of balancing the budget so that our children and grandchildren don’t have to do it for us.
It needs leaders willing to listen to diverse points of view, to make their decisions based on the best information available instead of relying on rigid orthodoxy, and who accept that it’s OK to be uncertain. We need elected officials who accept that any decision they make will be painful but that delay is unacceptable. We need people in Congress and the White House who are willing to accept responsibility for their decisions and to blame no one else when things go wrong.
Peacefully, and no, not as a result of assisted suicide.
He was right to shed light on the issue of how America prolongs the suffering of the dying. He was right that people have a right to end their own lives. He was right that there should not be a stigma attached to that act.
I don’t know if physicians should be involved in that act. I hope he never convinced any of his patients to do something they otherwise would not have done.
The bigger picture than assisted suicide is the way America treats the dying. For moral and financial (which are also moral) reasons, terminally ill people are treated far worse than dying dogs and horses – poked, prodded, and hooked up to machines in a sterile, soulless, frightening hospital environment. When possible – and often it is – people should die at home with their families.
Here is a highly informative 60 Minutes report about the issue. In addition to its big picture analysis, it follows an elderly woman in her last days subjected to test after tests, even pap smears, at great cost to future taxpayers, since current taxpayers have decided not to pay our own bills.