Saturday December 1, 2012, 9:53 am
A lot of conservatives are poor. They really need medicare benefits. If they want to cut off their noses to spite their faces so be it.

Saturday December 1, 2012, 11:10 am
noted

Saturday December 1, 2012, 11:54 am
The fiscal cliff is just another ploy to cut services and decrease spending in the public interest.

Saturday December 1, 2012, 3:57 pm
I am disgusted with my conservative congressman and with privileged members of congress that have no concept of living with pain on an insurance system that is spotty at best (Medicare), threatening it every year so that corporations can make billions.

Saturday December 1, 2012, 4:14 pm
I too am disgusted with all of the politicians. This crap about raising taxes for everyone and cutbacks to health and other important issues is a bunch of garbage. They need to cut back on the war spending, their payroll increases and also make the rich pay more for taxes. No "ifs" or "buts" about it. Thanks Cal

Saturday December 1, 2012, 11:05 pm
This appals me. Which is more important : profits or lives?

Sunday December 2, 2012, 1:23 am
I agree with you Rudolf, but unfortunately the answer seems to be profits... too bad U.S. health care is so profit driven.

Sunday December 2, 2012, 6:44 am
A 1997 law instituted, but apparently without oversight (how rare), allowed to deteriorate without addressing the ever-growing negatives, to these final weeks and the need for a "quick fix"? Amazing how the interest, involvement and call for help has suddenly evolved into the awareness that was needed from the beginning.

Question: If elected officials work for us, then WE are the EMPLOYERS and THHEY are the EMPLOYEES. Why are their benefits any different ... and most assuredly better ... than ours?

Sunday December 2, 2012, 7:51 am
You know I have a BIG problem with articles that are only "sort of true". And in this case one must really stretch "sort of" to stay close to true. The Fact is that the cuts to Medicare Providers in Sequestration Is Only 2% not 27% and 25% is well out side margin of truth. The other 25% in provider cuts comes from an unrelated Repug attempt to kill Medicare by linking Provider Payments to GDP growth, the US GDP growth by the by was dropped by the Bush/Repug enhanced Economic Catastrophe of 2008 by more than 18% down to a negative 9% as in GDP shrank. Now while it is great fear mongering the fact is that only 2% of the cuts to Providers are actually related to the Sequestration(Fiscal Whatever you want to call it). Now granted that the Repug/Tea Bagged Majority in the House have given themselves another 20% raise for 2013 on top of the 30% they gave themselves for 2011 and 2012 working only 2 of every three weeks. As in 2013 they will only work 50% of the days in 2013, including January 2013 there are at least 3 months in which they will only work 8, EIGHT Days period. I mention this as not only do all fiscal bills have to originate in the House but eventually all bills must pass the House and they plan on only working 126 days in 2013.

Sunday December 2, 2012, 9:29 am
No they aren't. Never listen to financial shills. They want you to think that nothing's wrong.