Unfortunately the fools perpetrating this virulent assault on common sense are not confining themselves to a single month. No, this complete disregard for reality has marched steadily through the halls of Congress for the past 9 months and from all appearances will continue its disastrous trek unabated with guiding support of a president who obviously has no grasp of economic reality.

The latest attempt at redefining ridiculous is the Obama administration’s call for Congress to approve a special $250 payment to all seniors on Social Security. $250 may seem like a paltry sum to get upset about, but when you multiply this 2010 midterm election vote incentive by 50 million Social Security recipients it becomes a much more ominous total at just shy of $13 billion. The insanity driving this madness is so profound that I fear some form of medication may be in order.

By the rules that govern Social Security payments seniors will not be entitled to a cost of living increase this year. AARP CEO A. Barry Rand said, “For nearly 35 years, millions of Americans have counted on an annual increase in their monthly Social Security checks to make ends meet.” With idiotic statements like that I can only assume what the A. stands for.

The problem with A. Barry’s statement is that in 2008 seniors received the largest percentage increase in their Social Security COLA since 1982. That 5.8% increase was driven largely by skyrocketing energy prices. Inflation figures this year have turned negative thanks to the equally dramatic reduction in energy costs. By law Social Security payments cannot be decreased, but taking last year’s increase versus this year’s negative inflation into consideration seniors are already money ahead.

Sure it’s nice to get free money and there will be a plethora of camera hungry Democrats and their supporters like AARP’s A. Barry Reid to say that seniors “deserve” this money to help offset other expenses. But the money isn’t free and it isn’t being given to help offset anything but negative poll numbers for the 2010 election.

Democrats know they are in hot water for the $1.4 trillion national debt they have amassed thus far with absolutely no positive impact on the economy. They also know that Republicans will resist this attempt at bestowing yet another stipend of Obama Money and further increasing the already untenable deficit. What better way to attempt to get back into the good graces of 50 million senior citizen voters than to send them more “free money”.

Seniors, for the most part, are only looking at their entitlement and will not look at the overall impact this senseless spending will have. Very few will even attempt to understand the ever tightening choke hold this exponentially expanding debt will place on their grandchildren and great grandchildren and beyond.

This use of the national checkbook to garner favorable results in the midterm elections borders on a criminal abuse of power. While it may prove to be a defining moment, Republicans must expose this sham for what it is and oppose it at all costs.

While the country languishes in the abyss of a near economic depression, NASA spends millions to hit the moon with rocket ships. While the streets of our major cities are strewn with the lifeless victims of gang warfare our government sends hundreds of millions to countries like Ireland to help keep the peace in their streets. And while millions of able bodied Americans continue to struggle to find employment in an economy that is forecast to remain inhospitable for at least the next 12 months our Democrat led Congress and community activist President wants to add even more to the debt by sending bribes to the elderly.

Social Security is scheduled to pay out more this year and next then they will be taking in thanks to the huge increase in unemployment. If the President and Congress truly want to help seniors they need to focus on that issue rather than continuing to inflate the debt and delay the recovery.

I would say that the Democrats are spending like drunken sailors, but drunken sailors spend their own money.

President Barack “Pants-On-Fire” Obama continued his dog and pony road show of nationalized health care with a stop to discuss his Medicare cutting health plan with members of AARP. Obviously hoping the seniors he encountered still had their deductive reasoning numbed from trying to install their digital TV converters; Obama gave them a well rehearsed histrionic explanation of his plan that was equally as confusing.

He attempted to assure those present that the massive cuts in Medicare that his ObamaCare plan calls for will in no way reduce the care provided. The current US House version of the plan calls for over $246 billion in Medicare spending cuts. Obama attempted to reassure his audience that this money could be cut by cutting out waste and limiting payments for governmentally deemed “unnecessary” hospital readmissions. But he may have lost their confidence when he followed that explanation up with a suggestion that seniors need to make plans for end-of-life care. He may as well have said funeral arrangements.

Seniors at this event and those previous have stated serious concerns about their right to choose what medical treatment will still be available to them. Things like orthopedic joint replacements, cardiac and other surgeries and advanced drug therapy are all slated for far greater governmental oversight, weighing the benefits of treatment against the overall life expectancy of patient. While it truly will come down to an actuary numbers game, Obama tried to comfort those attending by saying “Nobody is talking about cutting Medicare benefits”. Does that mean it won’t happen or just that nobody is talking about it? This attempted mollification is in direct conflict with his previous explanation that pain medicine may be the government mandated course of treatment for many seniors rather than expensive life-saving surgery.

The ObamaCare plan calls for reduced payments to doctors for Medicare patients and reducing or eliminating payments to hospitals for Medicare patients that must be readmitted after being sent home. It is reasonable to assume that doctors, who are in the business of providing healthcare, will be forced to limit their exposure to Medicare patients just to stay in business. It is also reasonable to assume that hospitals will be far less likely to allow senior patients back in after they have been discharged for fear of not getting paid at all. Even if “Nobody is talking about a reduction in Medicare benefits” the outcome of these cuts will have that exact effect.

The House plan also foolishly calls for barring private insurance companies from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions. The obvious effect this will have is a dramatic increase in insurance premiums and reduced benefits for everybody to cover these patients. It is just another example of how this administration plans to nationalize what was once private business.

For their part, the always liberal AARP is a strong supporter of Barack Obama and his smoke and mirrors health plan, which the White House has called a milestone. But AARP was also a strong supporter of the Clinton healthcare plan in the mid 1990’s and suffered a huge backlash from their members in that failed attempt. Once more details of this ObamaCare redistribution of healthcare are made clear they will likely suffer the same fate again.

The entire H.R. 3200 bill currently under consideration in the House is 1017 pages long. The President spoke only briefly to the AARP audience considering the massive implications this $1 trillion behemoth proposes. But it is fitting that he ended his comments with suggestions to seniors about aligning proper end-of-life care and living wills. This nationalized health plan does provide consultations aimed at reducing costs for people deemed to be near death.

ObamaCare – Where the death of seniors is always an appropriate option in redistributing healthcare to the poor.

Soylent Green anyone?