Legislation

The counteraction of present day legislation and policies constitute an adverse effect on the “War on Poverty” and its mission to reduce this social problem because it prolongs the creation of a workable solution.

“Government By People Who Hate You” was published by Dean Baker on Truthout Organizations’ website as an article discussing the House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and his recent proposition. Ryan’s budget proposal involves cutting Medicare which will directly effect future retirees because citizens would have to pay nearly half of their income to purchase a package of equivalence. The “punditry” supported the proposed activity, agreeing that it would tackle the serious problem of runaway entitlement spending and remedy the enormous deficit . Baker asserts that the underlying action of Ryan’s plan aims to redistribute money into the accounts of the already wealthy at the expense of the masses. Thereby, illustrating the United States’ political system as being run by a few officials and elites who are “completely removed from the bulk of the population.” Under this proposal, it would cost more than $60,000 dollars for each person to purchase a health care package which will, in turn, create an added cost of more than $20 trillion dollars over the next 75 years. The money would essentially be transferred from the income of ordinary workers to pharmaceutical companies as well as medical specialists. Health care reforms are not a novel issue or debate because the Obama administration has made efforts to control the cost, but Baker claims that Ryan’s proposal disregards cost control boundaries and basically ensures unaffordable health care. Baker describes Ryan’s plan to be as serious “as a robber with a gun pointed at your head.”

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SOURCE: University Hospital of Cincinnati

Both Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965 as two entitlements that grew rapidly, but Medicare was primarily federally funded for senior citizens (Roskin 2010). The political economy displays a division in the federal budget into two categories: discretionary and mandatory (Roskin 2010). Mandatory spending consists of another division inclusive to interest payments on national debt and entitlements such as Medicare.

The impact of Ryan’s proposal lies within the potential drastic moderation and alterations that Americans, mainly the future retirees of the current working population and my generation, will experience in reference to our standard of living and the security of it thereafter. According to political science, Robert Michels’ “Iron Law of Oligarchy” states that any organization, regardless of how democratic the intentions and claims seem to be, will always be run by a small elite in power as reflected in this current debate (Roskin 2010). The importance of this legislation is that it can potentially privatize the health care and insurance companies. This will compromise the economy with concentrated funds in the hands of the top percent of the population. Monetary gains to the already wealthy will further the gap between rich and poor by creating a breeding ground for high poverty rates to soar. It is up to the masses and the citizens of this country to mobilize, deviating from an elite driven society, and refer to the greater good of the common and majority people.

"Power of the People: We as individuals acting together have the power to influence this process, but we must engage early and decisively to make this happen" (End Poverty 2015 Campaign).

SOURCE : The Buffalo News 2006, Adam Zygus

A skeptic may propose that the Medicare and Medicaid programs are specific to the elderly which equate to a limited significance for that particular group when children are the majority living in poverty. There is truth in this statement, but it does not take into account a trickle down effect. The policies proposed and passed were designed to alleviate the problem in the short term of that specific period and the long term of the future, which is now. It has lasted 46 years now and has also clearly been used as a buffer to prevent the lack of insurance which will ultimately lead to an unhealthy demographic of the population. Due to the age of senior citizens, there will be an increase is their susceptibility to illness without insurance and they will also be victim of slipping into poverty. If some of the senior citizen still work, they will not be suitable to complete jobs if they happen to fall sick which will in turn lower their income and standard of living. Many of the people that benefit from Medicare and Medicaid thrive on its assistance so much so that without it most would not be able to function properly. This is sure to ensue if measures are completed to eradicate such policies, and therefore contribute to this social problem.

Resources

 Baker, Dean. “Government by People Who Hate You.” Truthout.
    Truthout Organization. 11 April 2011. Web. 12 April 2011.

Roskin, M.G. Political Science: An Introduction.

    11th ed. Boston, Massachusetts: Longman. 2010. Print.

“Messaging.” Stand Up and Take Action.
    End Poverty 2015 Millennium Campaign. Web. 20 April 2011.