Letter: Bush proposal should strike fear in seniors

Monday, April 2, 2001 | 10:09 a.m.

Well, it seems as if President Bush has managed to pull the wool over at least one senior citizen's eyes, in light of the March 11 letter from Joseph R. Kane. I will attempt to tear the wool away from his eyes with the following facts: In the first place, just saying something doesn't make it so, and so far Bush has done nothing but talk about Social Security, so we will have to wait and see. But what I have heard him say either scares hell out of me or strikes me as a "red herring"!

For instance, is Mr. Kane aware that Bush's "contingency fund" is none other than the Social Security and Medicare trust funds, so "his promise to keep Washington from raiding seniors' retirement and health care programs" is a big lie right off the bat. This contingency fund makes these trust funds available for borrowing to spend in the general budget (in essence providing funds available for tax cuts)!

Where does Mr. Kane think Bush is going to get the money to partially privatize Social Security if he doesn't cut his and my benefits? Does Mr. Kane have the resources to buy his own health insurance (if he can find a company that will insure an 80-year-old) with the help of an inadequate voucher, or can he afford the much higher premiums to stay in regular Medicare? Is he poor enough to receive a prescription drug benefit that is only for the poorest seniors? I hope that sound I hear is wool tearing!

DANIEL F. OLIVIER