Will Bush Talk About the Real Crisis in Iowa?

[MissCatholic]

Trustees, Rep. Leach, Iowa Seniors Agree: Fix Medicare

As President Bush visits Iowa today to sell his scheme to privatize Social Security, he continues to ignore what the Social Security Trustees label the real crisis: Medicare. Last week, the 2005 Annual Report of the Social Security board of trustees confirmed the dire financial outlook for Medicare, concluding that Medicare will become insolvent in the year 2020.

INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES: MEDICARE "MUCH WORSE THAN SOCIAL SECURITY"
The two independent Trustees, Republican Thomas Saving and Democrat John Palmer, wrote in the report "Medicare's financial outlook has deteriorated dramatically over the past five years and is now much worse than Social Security's." [Washington Post, 3/24/05]

REP. LEACH (R-IA): MEDICARE "IN GREATER TROUBLE THAN SOCIAL SECURITY"
Congressman Jim Leach (R-IA) has agreed with the trustees, saying on Iowa Public Television that Medicare is "…in greater trouble than Social Security…one might apply the word ‘crisis’ to Medicare." [Des Moines Register, 2/5/05]

IOWA HAS HIGHEST PROPORTION OF SENIORS
Today, President Bush will travel to a state that has a higher proportion of seniors than any other state. More than 460,000 Iowa seniors rely on Medicare to protect their access to quality health care. In fact, the state ranks 1st in the percentage of seniors over 85 and 4th in the percentage of seniors over 65. [US Census Bureau; HR 1743, 4/10/03]

Question is, will he use this opportunity to address the most significant crisis facing seniors in this country?

[Jake]

You're right, Medicare has to be slashed, if we don't, we can't fix that deficit you people are always crying about.

[Blue Rectangle]

It's a tough call.  Is FDR's legacy worse than LBJ's?  I'm really torn as to which Democrat did more long term damage to the economy.