SS and Medicare Not Effected by Debt Ceiling Bill (house of representatives, dollars, financial)

[Editorialist]

I have just finished talking with a staffer in John Boehner's office and he has assured me that if the debt ceiling bill is not passed that such action will have no effect on senior citizens receiving their Social Security checks and Medicare benefits. Thank goodness and now I can join with many others to push that the debt ceiling should not be raised

[malamute]

As long as those programs are limited to those who qualify for them -- retired Americans over a certain age who paid in -- there should be no problem.

The programs like food stamps, Medicaid, and so on have no natural limits. Any able bodied individual from anywhere in the world or from here can jump into those programs simply by getting or being here and giving birth.

That's why the Medicaid and other welfare programs are so out-of-control, there are no natural limits on how many can get on them.

[wxjay]

Originally Posted by Editorialist

I have just finished talking with a staffer in John Boehner's office and he has assured me that if the debt ceiling bill is not passed that such action will have no effect on senior citizens receiving their Social Security checks and Medicare benefits. Thank goodness and now I can join with many others to push that the debt ceiling should not be raised

Did Speaker Boehner's office assure that if the bill is not passed that your 401(k) and other financial instruments would be safe too?

Here's the problem - I am for having spending caps implemented where appropriate. However, not passing the debt ceiling bill will also shake the stock market, whether appropriate or not. Did you see what happened in 2008 when the HoR first didn't pass the TARP bill? The stock market plummeted almost 700 points and we started heading toward recent record lows for the market. People's wealth evaporated. The value of the dollar is also devalued. And once that happens, the price of commodities rises (including oil), which is measured in dollars.

There is a whole chain of reactions that are tied to this debt ceiling bill, whether justified or not.

[Editorialist]

No, he did not mention those plans as the only question I posed to him concerned SS and Medicare benefits. I would suggest you call his office whose number can be found on his website by typing in U.S.House of Representatives in your browser window and then click on Speaker of The House to secure this information and maybe post your findings on this thread.