Dependence Day, Medicare Edition! Or, Let the Attacks on Ryan Begin!

It seems only seconds after Mitt Romney chose Paul Ryan, that Ryan had come under fire because of his attempts to reform Medicare. These attacks have struck a nerve, and I have decided that I need to respond to them.

And what better time to do so, than on Dependence Day, the anniversary of when Government Dependence was established for the American Middle Class?

Now, I'm not going to defend Romney or Ryan here. They are politicians, and so I have little faith that they can change things for the better. Even the best-intentioned, most-determined politician--or rather, the politician who is right--cannot do much, when trying to go against the Will of the People.

Instead, I am going on the attack: I'm going to try to slaughter these sacred cows of Medicare and Social Security. In order to understand where Ryan is coming from, we need a good, hard look at what these institutions represent--we need to face the ugly truths associated with these institutions.

First. Social Security and Medicare will destroy us financially. Between Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid obligations, these three institutions take up most of the budget; if they continue to grow without reform, in just a few years they will exceed our government's income. Thus, reform is necessary for our survival as a nation.

Second. Social Security and Medicare destroy our freedoms. When we accept these things, we are required to observe restrictions on how much we can earn, and who we can donate money to; we also commit ourselves to a substantially lower quality of life. Indeed, Medicare is the greater offender of these things: while we are forced to pay into these things, whether we accept their goals or not, Medicare requires everyone of a certain age to receive its services.

Third. Social Security and Medicare destroy our character and our individuality. These institutions deaden our desires to save and to provide for ourselves, and thus destroy our individual initiative. Why save for disability, or save money for retirement, or spend money on insurance, when we "paid into" a lousy system, and expect to "get" our money back from them? Of course, the answer ought to be "because I can do better than what Government does", but because we're forced into lousy systems, that answer loses its potency.

Fourth. Medicare has wreaked havoc on our medical infrastructure. The excuse for passing Obama-nable-Care was that our medical institutions were failing us. But no one ever examined the question, "Why are our Medical Institutions failing us?" While not a complete answer, Medicare is a major portion of the answer. Through policies of forcing doctors to only accept a maximum amount for services rendered, and forcing doctors to accept a minimal amount from Medicare, requiring doctors to "man up" and accept the loss in difference, and then prosecuting doctors for fraud, when they chose to charge a different fee for Medicare patients, and one for non-Medicare patients, Medicare has literally forced higher prices on us all, in both services and insurance premiums, just to maintain the illusion that they are helping the elderly with their medical expenses. And because of this rise in premiums, wo be to the poor soul who has to see a doctor, but has no insurance!

Fifth. Social Security and Medicare are based on a false premise: "We pay money in, and we get money, with interest, out". The reality is that what we pay into these institutions are taxes, pure and simple. As such, they can be, and are, used for other purposes, from building roads to paying for wars. Furthermore, this false premise has developed an entitlement mentality: "I've paid all my life into these retirement and health programs, you had better pay me back." Since this is a tax, this money was taken from us by gunpoint; the Government has no obligation to make sure we get a return on this "investment".

Besides, as investments go, when we make a bad one, it is important to learn to cut our losses, and to put our resources in places that would better benefit us.

Sixth. Senator Paul Ryan is accused of trying to destroy Medicare. Oh, if only this were true! Medicare, and its Sister Institution Social Security, are blights on our character, chains on our ankles, and millstones around our necks. They weaken us, enslave us, and will prove to be our financial destruction, if we allow them to continue to exist. Thus, these institutions ought to be destroyed! Or, at a minimum, they ought to be phased out of existence, over the next decade or two.

Instead, Ryan has merely proposed minor reforms, to allow the abomination we call Medicare to continue to limp in existence, wounded, but nonetheless lurking in a cave like a giant, greedy spider, continuing to grow bloated as it consumes unsuspecting souls, and as it continues to destroy our liberties, and the medical institutions that we once held dear.

So attack Ryan, if you will, for working to alter Medicare. Just don't claim he is trying to destroy it!

Oh, and happy Dependence Day. May God have mercy on your soul!