[/caption]Carol Forsloff - Robert Jordan is one among millions of senior citizens who could be impacted by a government default, and he points the finger of blame where many are sending it these days: straight to the right flank of the Republican Party.
Jordan works part-time for the Veterans Administration as a mental health counselor. He is retired in Louisiana and supplements his income, as many seniors do, with part-time work. Still Social Security income is part of that retirement plan, that promise he and other seniors were given for income after a lifetime of earnings contributions. Now it hangs in the balance if Congress does not pass the budget. He says he will blame Representative John Fleming of Louisiana, one of the House Republicans considered on the right wing of the plank. Fleming has been on Fox News discussing his position which is in line with the newest members of Congress, for no new taxes yet massive cuts in spending for programs like Medicare and Social Security. Fleming is also on record against the health care programs and at one time agreed with someone at a forum in Natchitoches, Louisiana that the nation reconsider federal banking, something that was part of the civil war agenda.
Most Americans agree with Jordan, that it is the Republicans who are taking the most extreme position by listening to their most rightward flank. These are the 80+ freshman class, many supported by the Tea Party, who took a pledge not to raise taxes for whatever reason. This means no negotiation. No negotiation, experts tell us, means a budget impasse and a debt crisis in less than a week.
Jordan is one of the lucky ones, however. For 26% of senior Americans Social Security is their only source of income, according to the Council on Aging. Then there is the ugly spectacle of seniors unable to get medical care during an economic catastrophe, as they may not have the means to pay for it. While many seniors have already been impoverished in the downturn of the recession, they face even more devastation financially from the possibility of losing Social Security and Medicare at a time when they are most vulnerable.
As some people say, it is playing chicken with the ones who can’t get in the game at all because they no longer have the ability or the social recognition to play as well.
The media present the politicians point of view, but few ask those seniors how bad it is for them now and how much worse it can be. Jordan sent the media an email, as the impetus for this article.
As for the blame? Jordan has followed through with President Obama’s request. He has pointed the finger at his Representative, John Fleming, a man who ran against Obama even though he was only running for the House of Representatives and whose word for social support systems is “socialism,” a term used frequently by the right-wing plank of the Republican party.
What Jordan hopes, and millions of others of his certain age do too, is that Congressional members will put their ideological views on hold in favor of what surveys of Americans want now: raise the debt ceiling so seniors don’t suffer more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article is in response to a letter from a reader, as this site has no specific political category but addresses the issues. Jordan is concerned about an issue that faces the country, specifically senior Americans, and like millions of seniors asks for a voice in the debate. This article is in recognition of that voice to raise the debt ceiling and prevent a crisis.