A compromise long overdue
Dear Editor:
The partisanship in Washington has caused leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties, pressured by powerful special interests, to become so polarized that our political system has ceased to function. We have lost our capacity for collective action - for compromise. Our situation is dire!
Both parties need to put their agendas on hold and meet on middle ground. Their common objective must be not only to reduce the deficit and balance the budget, but to do so while ensuring the country's prosperity. Solvency is vital, but not enough. To regain the level of leadership our nation once enjoyed, we need to spend more, not less, on some things such as our dangerously neglected infrastructure, as well as research and development.
In order to compete in the global economy, our education system may require an infusion of funds as well, in order to bring out students from the middle of the pack back up to the pinnacle. We need better teachers and teaching methods, more parental involvement and more disciplined students.
The absolute refusal of the Republican leadership to agree to any tax hike is unconscionable! The average salary of the CEOs of our 200 largest corporations is in excess of $11 million. The profit that they make on stock options should be taxed as regular income, not at the lower capital gains rate. "Golden parachutes" should be subject to a special tax surcharge. The 200 highest paid professional athletes may approach, if not exceed, the same $11 million level.
Raising the tax rate on these folks and the tax rate of others making over $1 or $2 million a year by 10 percent isn't going to kill many jobs! And seniors (including myself) should also make a contribution. When the Social Security system was established, the "income" wasn't supposed to be taxable, but now up to 85 percent of it is taxable for taxpayers over a given income level. Let's make that 100 percent. That wouldn't affect folks who are largely dependent on Social Security, who pay no tax on such "income" now, and it certainly won't kill any jobs!
And the refusal of the Democratic leadership to offer proposals for reductions in entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is incomprehensible! Such reductions should be made now, not put off for several years. Due largely to pressures from special interests, such as the AARP, the cost of entitlements continues to drain our treasury, at the expense of future generations. One of the Medicare changes which is long overdue is elimination of the $1,056 per year "rebate" of the Medicare Part B premium received by retirees (again, including myself) who are covered by a so-called "Medicare Advantage" plan, which reduces to zero the premium for health care coverage!
And the actual cost of our health care, the highest in the world, needs much scrutiny, particularly expenditures incurred for the elderly. Of all medical expenditures covered by Medicare, 30 percent are devoted to the last year of the lives of seniors. At the risk of seeming to promote health care rationing for the elderly, there should be realistic limits placed on coverage provided by Medicare. Costs incurred above such levels should be born by the individual or the individual's estate. Perhaps consideration should also be given to having some portion of expenditures by Medicare, for care given during the last 6 to 12 months of a person's life, reimbursed to Medicare, in certain cases, out of that person's estate.
It's not too late for the Tea Party, Occupiers, and Independents to get together to form a viable Third Party that could break the gridlock! They may not win the Presidency or many seats in Congress in 2012, but they could be a meaningful positive influence on those who do, and in 2016....who knows?!
Frank J. Yanacek
Sun City Center, FL
fyanacek@tampabay.rr.com
