# Another Obama Giveaway **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 15, 2009, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-obama-giveaway/513911 "2009-10-15T15:58:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-obama-giveaway/513911/81 "2009-10-20T00:43:21Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I think the level of credit card debt devoted to medical expenses shows that the existence of Medicare has not eliminated the problem of health bills. Lots of things aren’t covered, such as home nursing care. > I agree that there are plenty of people in need, which is why it is important to increase unemployment benefits. Not that seniors are immune from this: > [Link](http://www.urban.org/publications/901210.html) > It is lower than the national rate because of the many people who would like to work and drop out. How many of these people are not getting the investment income expected when they retired or planned to retire. I’ve seen some information that says one of the problems with employment are the number of seniors staying in their jobs longer than expected because of the value of their retirement accounts. > > I’m not saying that a couple of hundred bucks is going to fix all these problems. But stimulus like this will help. Do you think cutting back on deficit spending is going to do anything to cut the unemployment rate? I don’t think anyone will disagree that the economy affects seniors but in the big picture, they are the most secure of any demographic. Those who are sucking air will fall into whatever category the other air suckers are in. As I pointed out earlier, if you take the money assigned to this proposal and gave it to the unemployed it would be a $1,500 check. I think that would be a better use of the money. It’s the Economy Mr. President (and Congress). ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-obama-giveaway/513911/82 "2009-10-20T01:14:13Z")
Heath insurance is about 1200 dollars a year. They take 100 a month out of your check. Then prescriptions cost money. It is not just the donut hole. They drain your income. Them you have to buy a supplemental policy to pay for what Medicare does not. Every doctors appointment costs money. Dentistry of course is expensive and uncovered. Seniors who have health problems can drain their bank accounts.Reality for seniors is not what you people think it is. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-obama-giveaway/513911/83 "2009-10-20T23:36:52Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Heath insurance is about 1200 dollars a year. They take 100 a month out of your check. Then prescriptions cost money. It is not just the donut hole. They drain your income. Them you have to buy a supplemental policy to pay for what Medicare does not. Every doctors appointment costs money. Dentistry of course is expensive and uncovered. Seniors who have health problems can drain their bank accounts.Reality for seniors is not what you people think it is. The reality is that seniors, as a demographic group, are better off than the unemployed who have nothing but debt and are losing their houses. These are people with children who are starting out and don’t have the advantage of accumulated wealth. Senior citizens get a consistent check plus Medicare, people on unemployment do not. Senior citizens have the advantage of a lifetime of work to save for retirment. Their children are grown and out of the house. Again, nobody doubts Seniors are affected by the economy but they are a demographic group most able to weather the storm. The money should go to people who have no job. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-obama-giveaway/513911/84 "2009-10-21T00:05:27Z")
> [@](#): > > About 18.7 percent of Americans 65 and older, or nearly 7.1 million, are in poverty compared to 9.7 percent, or 3.7 million, under the traditional measure. That’s due to out-of-pocket expenses from rising Medicare premiums, deductibles and a coverage gap in the prescription drug benefit. [47.4M in Poverty, Revised Figures Show Alternative Government Formulas on Medical Costs, Geography Raise 2008 U.S. Poverty Rate to 1 in 6 Americans](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/20/national/main5400945.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-obama-giveaway/513911/85 "2009-10-21T00:35:25Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > [47.4M in Poverty, Revised Figures Show > Alternative Government Formulas on Medical Costs, Geography Raise 2008 U.S. Poverty Rate to 1 in 6 Americans](http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/20/national/main5400945.shtml) Then those people fall into a different demographic and are addressed by other programs. President Obama’s proposal is a check for being old. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-obama-giveaway/513911/86 "2009-10-21T00:43:24Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Then those people fall into a different demographic Yet they also fall into the _same_ demographic and would be addressed by _this_ program. Whether, as you say, they “are adressed by other programs” remains to be shown. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-obama-giveaway/513911/87 "2009-10-21T01:39:46Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Yet they also fall into the _same_ demographic and would be addressed by _this_ program. > Whether, as you say, they “are addressed by other programs” remains to be shown. We have a plethora of welfare programs. Seriously, it’s amazing how much money is spent on housing, food, medicine, training, transportation…… It doesn’t make sense to take a demographic group such as the elderly and cut a check just because the cost of living didn’t go up. The function of COLA is to match economic situations to help maintain retirement levels during times of inflation. We don’t have inflation right now but we do have a serious unemployment problem that could use the money. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-obama-giveaway/513911/88 "2009-10-21T01:54:44Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > Seriously, it’s amazing how much money is spent on housing, food, medicine, training, transportation…… Bombing other countries into submission and setting up torture prisons so our political elite can get their jollies… It is indeed amazing, yet do any of these ‘welfare’ programs cover seniors who are being beggared by our rapacious healthcare system? That other programs _might_ help is a possibility, that Obama’s giveaway _will_ help is a slamdunk.\* \*which is not to say that I approve of the program, but it will target a group of people who’re disproportionately impacted by the rapid rise in healthcare costs. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-obama-giveaway/513911/89 "2009-10-21T03:06:52Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > The reality is that seniors, as a demographic group, are better off than the unemployed who have nothing but debt and are losing their houses. These are people with children who are starting out and don’t have the advantage of accumulated wealth. Senior citizens get a consistent check plus Medicare, people on unemployment do not. Senior citizens have the advantage of a lifetime of work to save for retirment. Their children are grown and out of the house. > > Again, nobody doubts Seniors are affected by the economy but they are a demographic group most able to weather the storm. The money should go to people who have no job. 250 won’t help them. extending benefits will. But there is a push back against that. Are you flush for your retirement? I personally lost a ton on the value of my house. My equity got wiped out. I lost 120 grand in equity without lifting a finger. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-obama-giveaway/513911/90 "2009-10-21T03:49:55Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > 250 won’t help them. extending benefits will. But there is a push back against that. > Are you flush for your retirement? I personally lost a ton on the value of my house. My equity got wiped out. I lost 120 grand in equity without lifting a finger. As I posted earlier, it would be $1500 if the same funds were put toward the unemployed. I’ve made back most of my investments and my house is paid off. But to the point, the reason Seniors have a greater insulation from the current economy is that they’ve had a lifetime to prepare for it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-obama-giveaway/513911.md?page=4)