The Nature of the Often Cited “Adult Conversation” Is Politically Impossible: It’s the Medicare, Stupid: A Memo From Uncle Sam To Baby Boomers

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The Nature of the Often Cited “Adult Conversation” Is Politically Impossible:

It’s the Medicare, Stupid:

A Memo From Uncle Sam To Baby Boomers

 

All the politicians of both parties have been using the phrase “adult conversation,” as in last week’s headlines of “Obama Asks for ‘Adult Conversation’ on the Budget” and “Boehner Calls on Obama to Have ‘Adult Conversation’ about Wisconsin.”

But the reason why neither party is willing to start that conversation is because of the instinct of political self-preservation.

Baby Boomers were “promised” something they aren’t going to get, and boy are they going to be pissed off. And Baby Boomers vote. Here’s the nature of the “adult conversation,” in the form of a “corporate memo-

Memorandum

To:       Baby Boomers

From: The United States Government

Re:       Necessary Reductions In Health Insurance Benefits (aka Medicare)

The purpose of this memorandum is to inform you that, due to unforeseen circumstances, the United States taxpayer can no longer afford to provide you with state-of-the-art health care services for the rest of your life.

Because of your failure to have enough kids, there just aren’t enough people in the generations that follow yours to support paying for all the health care you were promised during your working years.

We’ve known we couldn’t keep the promise of devoting unlimited resources to you for your health care for a long, long time. But we really didn’t have the heart to tell you that you’ll probably need to take care of your heart on your own dime, so to speak.

Wasn’t it nice to think that you’d be able to get the same kind of health care services as your parents? We thought it better to hold-off on telling you we couldn’t keep the promise for as long as possible. So we did. But time’s up.

To reduce the risk of a war between generations and until further notice, here are a few key realities that you will now have to accept:

• Everyone who qualifies for Medicare should not expect unlimited health care services at little cost to you;

• The availability of advanced and proven medical technology no longer means that you will be eligible to have your access to that technology paid for by the Federal Government; and,

• Since Medicare no longer covers the cost of the most advanced medical technology for every eligible beneficiary, some beneficiaries will be able to afford health care that most beneficiaries probably won’t. In other words, people who have financial resources will get more advanced medical technology than people who don’t have the money.

The United States Government regrets any adverse effects of the new policy defined in this memorandum, and there’s really nothing you can do about it anyway. Please accept our apology for breaking this promise.

Thank you.

CC: Your kids and grandkids (who you previously expected to pay for this stuff)