TheWiseOldFart

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Another member of Trump’s corrupt and incompetent “family” who will be remembered as the worst in history: Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy’s father was a great man who would have become our nation’s 37 th President if he had not been murdered on June 6, 1968. However, his son is a science denier and a practitioner of witchcraft. His policies are opposed to the realities and practices of every medical professional in the United States. Kennedy is anti-vax. If the vaccine preventing Covid-19 had not been developed quickly, America would surely have lost many more lives than the one million caused by Donald Trump’s incompetence and apathy. [More than 1,000 current and former Health and Human Services employees penned a letter demanding Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s resignation. [The anonymous signees, who provided their names to Congress, say that Kennedy’s anti-vaccine agenda and removal of top scientists has continued to “endan...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart You may not think that the subjects of America’s prisons and our nation’s hospitals have anything in common. You would be mostly correct. However, the one thing they share is how they affect our nation’s economy. I begin with one of our country’s biggest problems: incarceration. Currently, there are about two million men and women in our prisons and jails. The statistics, which are of far greater importance, are very disturbing. America has a little more than 4% of the world’s population, and 20-25 percent of all men and women incarcerated in the world. Even more disturbing is the recidivism rate, which is far greater than any other nation in the world. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reports that 66% of released state prisoners were rearrested within three years, and a staggering 82% were arrested at least once during a ten-year follow-up. There is only one reason for this tragic fact. Our nation’s prisons are designed to punish convicted criminals, not ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart In private, Trump refers to his most loyal supporters as “basement dwellers.” As I, and many others predicted, his “people” are suffering from their choice on November 5, 2024. The latest to be harmed for their mistakes are the people of Nebraska. [Farmers’ grievances were exactly what you’d expect: Their farms were short-staffed thanks to immigration raids, tariffs raised costs and shrank export markets, and pricing controls made it harder to sell crops.] The margin of profit is already down six percent, an extreme for an industry whose profit margin is already minimal by U.S. standards. What we will soon learn is how many people from Nebraska and other red states discover that they have no health insurance, and no access to Medicaid. I won’t say, “I told you so.” Fuck it: yes I will. Op-ed by James Turnage Follow my blog and be informed Source: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/8/16/2338197/-Nebraska-is-getting-what-it-voted-for?pm_campaign=front_page&...

In 2024, Kamala Harris said: “Donald Trump would deliver tax cuts to his donors. I will deliver tax cuts to working people and the middle class.” Millions of Americans chose to believe another lie, and ignore Ms. Harris’ warning. Trump made another promise he failed to keep: “I will end inflation on day one.” He offered voters the same lie about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Here’s what Trump’s “Big Beautiful Tax Plan” will do to America. While giving huge tax cuts to the people who need it least, 813 billionaires/oligarchs, it will add more than three-and-one-half TRILLION dollars to the national debt. To offset the nearly four trillion dollars allowing the super-rich to become even richer, nearly six million Americans will lose their healthcare immediately. Millions more will see a decrease in, or the end of Medicaid programs. And SNAP, the former food stamp program, will likely disappear entirely. This is Trump’s plan: give all of the money to his rich friends and fuck the American...

A short list of reasons why America will never be a great country.   In the general election, your vote may not count. As long as the Electoral College exists, states will choose our presidents. The popular vote means nothing. Therefore, if your candidate does not win the majority of votes in most states, your opinion does not count. I believe this is a violation of the intent of the First Amendment. The United States is the only developed nation which fails to provide universal healthcare. At least one-half of all elected officials in Washington do not believe that you should have the same access to healthcare as they do. In support of billionaires/oligarchs, they consistently vote against any measure which would provide the best healthcare available for all Americans. Most developed nations provide free or low-cost higher education for all of their people. Not America. Only the wealthy can afford to attend a college or university in 2025. Each year we lose thousands of our nation...

America is 15 th out of the group of 15 developed nations. Our country is near the bottom in healthcare, and education, but in the most important category, quality of life, our nation is at the very bottom. Most American workers struggle to maintain an acceptable quality of life for themselves and their families. Hanging over their heads is fear: fear that a health emergency will destroy the lifestyle they have worked so hard and long for their family. After United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson was murdered, a poll taken of young voters, age 30 and under, described his killing as “acceptable” by a whopping 41 percent. If you’re surprised, you are old and out of touch with most of our country’s people. A large percentage of all Americans have been forced to battle with an insurance company which denied a claim, directly, or indirectly. Even a larger percentage experienced a lower level of care than expected, depending upon the insurance agency which represents them. A few facts: the U...

There are two sides to the story about the murder of an insurance company executive. I am not condoning violence. In fact, it would be fair to label me a ‘pacifist.’ However, most Americans find themselves in a battle with an insurance company when a healthcare emergency becomes a reality. I am 78 years old. During a discussion at a party in my 20’s, I proclaimed that if I were to commit a crime, it would be against an insurance company. They charge outrageous premiums and when a situation arises and they are required to pay for a claim, they fight to deny that claim. They are the most corrupt businesses in America. Millions of Americans continue to survive without any healthcare insurance today. They simply cannot afford it. America’s current “healthcare system” is primarily dependent upon the profits of one industry: the insurance companies. The reason healthcare in our country is the most expensive in the world, and the primary reason for that situation is the greed of the entire ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart I began working in 1962, at the age of 16. The owner of a gas station across the street from my church hired me for one dollar an hour. I was scheduled to work 13 hours on Saturdays. No such thing as overtime. I pumped gas, checked the oil level, made sure the batteries were filled with fluid, washed windows, and made our customers feel welcome. Inside the bay I changed oil, lubricated the undercarriage of cars and trucks, and repaired tires. I was never without a job after that first day at the gas station, with the exception of time spent in the U.S. Air Force until I was let go in 2008 from my job in a warehouse as America experienced the “great recession.” I looked for work for a while, but at the age of 62, no one offered me a position. Then, early in 2009 I saw an ad seeking individuals to work in the 2010 decennial census. I won’t bore you with the details, but my time in the working world ended before the last two months of 2010 became history. I had wor...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart Republicans continue to cost our nation billions and possibly trillions of dollars every year. Their allegiance to the super-rich and large corporations saves them money but wastes hundreds of billions of dollars by preventing changes in our healthcare system which continues to fail as many as 80-90 percent of our nation’s people. Republicans want to reserve the best healthcare in America for their wealthy supporters and themselves. Remember, you pay for theirs. FACTS REPUBLICANS DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW [ The United States spends more on healthcare per person than any other high-income country, and more than the governments of six countries with universal healthcare combined: In 2022, the U.S. spent $12,555 per person on healthcare, which is more than $4,000 more than comparable countries. The U.S. government also spent more on healthcare than the governments of Germany, France, the U.K., Italy, Spain, and Austria combined.] Taking into account both the costs of ...

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart In the United States, a single night’s stay in a hospital will cost $2607. A normal birth of a child, $14,768. The least expensive heart surgery: angioplasty: $28,200. Open heart surgery with a highly rated surgeon: $200,000. Care for Leukemia: annually, $156,000. And the list goes on and on. These are all costs to patients like me who have no healthcare. When my wife and I were eligible for Medicare, healthcare we paid for all of our working years, we could not afford the monthly cost and keep our home. Now we cannot afford the penalties because we couldn't afford it several years ago. Is Medicare a viable option for all seniors? I don’t think so. I believe that no senior American should be required to pay anything for healthcare. I fail to understand politicians when they claim that America is the richest country in the world. I don’t live in that country. If this is true, there is no excuse why the United States is the only country in th...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   I was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure. All that is needed is for me to take a single five-milligram pill every morning.   My wife and I cannot afford Medicare part “B” and belong to a group wh ich finds medical services for people without insurance at a reduced cost when we pay for services rendered in full.     A Perfect Example of how F**ked Up our Healthcare System has Become   I picked up my prescription at a loca l, large, chain, pharmacy. I paid $25 for a one-month supply. We are also Costco members. We called their pharmacy and inquired about their prices. The y do not have an agreement with our medical services company. However, a three - month supply of the same medication would cost me only $8.99 if we did not have insurance . We picked up my new prescription on Friday.   The Moral of this Story is “ Don’t Trust Government Sponsored Programs”   There is some hope in America that some of our corpor...

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Grocery prices, up more than 30 percent: Energy bills raised by more than 50 percent: Tickets for movies increased by 100 percent or more: Tickets for sporting events and concerts higher by as much as 1,000 percent: Amusement Parks have increased they prices to a level completely unaffordable to the average family: and Restaurant prices have become too expensive, preventing anyone from enjoying the experience more than once or twice a year. The Social Security increase for 2024 was a meager 3.2 percent. All these facts are the result of corporate greed and their arrogance which allows them to believe that their bloated profits will continue to increase. Capitalism and its extension, a plutocracy, cannot exist if the nation’s citizens lack an income which allows them to purchase goods and services. Both the 2010 and 2020 Decennial Census exposed one fact which could end corporate dominance in America. Accounting for inflation, the average Ameri...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   My wife and I each paid into Social Security for more than 40 years. When we became eligible for Medicare, we would be required to pay about 150 dollars per month for part “B,” each, and that didn’t cover everything we might need including vision care and prescription medicine. People half our age are now receiving comprehensive healthcare under the Affordable Care Act, “or Obamacare,” for as little as 20-30 dollars per month without contributing any additional funds to Medicare. What’s wrong with this picture? With a fixed income from Social Security of about $3,000 a month, we make too much money to qualify for assistance from any agency. Our food bill has increased by more than 30 percent. Gas and electric bills have increased by more than 27 percent. We cannot afford Medicare part “B” and continue to pay our monthly bills, all necessities. We do not have food delivered or go to restaurants. All of our money helps us maintain a meager lifestyle. We’re n...