As a senior with modest financial means, the upcoming election could not be more important to me. With our votes, we will decide who controls Congress and with what might happen to Social Security and Medicare. Unable to fully retire with inadequate Social Security benefits, I am still working. Medicare does not cover my dental (I am facing upwards of $10,000 for an implant), massage or acupuncture — the latter two for pain management. Democrats want to expand both programs and make them stronger.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Don Bolduc wants to cut $2 trillion from Social Security, saying it is bankrupting our country. “We raise the age limit by two years and over time we have no more Social Security” Bolduc says. He wants to slash COLA (cost of living adjustment) and cut $1.2 trillion from Medicare. For Medicare and Social Security, “The privatization is hugely important,” Bolduc said Aug. 2.
Taking away Medicare from 307,000 Granite Staters (one-quarter of New Hampshire population of 2020) would be devastating for our seniors and our economy. Privatization would destroy our cost-effective 7.75 percent program, with private health insurance costing 26 percent to operate. Some in Bolduc’s party want Congress to vote every five years on whether Social Security and Medicare should even exist.
Sen. Maggie Hassan has my vote because she will protect our earned benefits, not privatize, cut or extinguish these lifesaving programs. Voters need to vote to protect these necessary financial and health care plans for current users and future enrollees.
Kath Allen
Peterborough
Kath Allen is New Hampshire coordinator for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.