To all those who have been telling us for months . . .

[CTyankee]

209. The problem with the drug benefit was that it wasn't paid for, not that it existed.

Benefits don't by their very existence spell doom. There is an obligation on our lawmakers to be responsible for making sure such benefits are funded properly.

The reason I find these types of conversations online is that for some arguing it is a question of whether we can afford adequate health care for the people of our nation. If you reduce taxes on those who are at the top but make a major expansion in costs for seniors all across the spectrum of wealth, what do you expect? To me, the answer is not denial of vitally needed health care, but a truly progressive tax code that is economically just. "Means testing" on social programs is a good way to get rid of them since they become "poverty programs" which are notoriously short-lived since the poor have inadequate representation in the halls of power. Highly progressive taxation is the way to go. Everyone pays in to have a more just economic system. Even the working poor are contributing a share of the burden through payroll taxes.