The Senate Committee on Finance begins hearings on this topic next week. Seniors made this country great. Seniors deserve respect.
Legislative protection is the most important form of respect.
Medicare, Mather claimed, is little more than a government boondoggle that cannot survive, given simple mathematical principles. According to Mather, the growth of the U.S. population, and the fact that the Baby Boom generation is nearing age 65, are facts enough to prove that Medicare has to be canceled or the government will go broke simply trying to maintain even a skeletal version. Throughout its existence, Medicare has been both highly popular and highly controversial. Until the Republican sweep in 1994, Congress was unwilling to make major cuts to Medicare benefits, especially since the elderly population is a significant force in U.S. politics. Exit polls repeatedly demonstrate that the older a citizen is, the more likely he is to vote regularly.