The Great Exodus: BoomerYearbook.com
Health care policy reforms continue to outrage baby boomers; the potential unwitting sponsors of health treatment for many who have not paid taxes for years. As the new health proposals unfold, each grisly new detail seems to be worse than the last and American baby boomers and senior citizens brace themselves for the effects of what appears to be a health plan package from hell.
1% of the country is targeted to subsidize the bulk of expense required, to provide health care for the rest of it, in a bizarre Robin Hood scenario designed to rob the rich to fund the poor. Many of the worst affected tax payers and those deemed to qualify as the 1% ‘rich’, required to fund the fancies (and possibly foibles) of a government intent on supplying health at any cost, in fact represent the cream of the country’s intelligentsia: they also comprise the most effective managers and promoters of industry.
Those in charge of reform imagine that the wealthy minority has no choice but to carry the burden of cost for those who cannot or will not provide their own private health insurance. Not so: the reality is that this well-heeled handful of citizens destined for financial victimization in the form of dramatic tax increases are more than adequately equipped to fund a hasty exit to countries offering more attractive tax levels.
In the late nineties, British Prime Minister Tony Blair imposed the notorious IR35 tax law. It was credited with being directly responsible for the IT brain drain in the UK which saw thousands of independent contractors flow out of the country in search of more hospitable tax environments. Predictions are that an exodus of the cream of American professionals will follow a similar but faster trend, with some electing to relocate to other States to benefit from less aggressive taxation on offer, such as Florida and Texas. In short, the smart people are planning to pack their bags and ‘Get out of Dodge’. And who could blame them?
Cap and Trade restrictions pose further financial problems for the professional sector, forcing companies at the cutting edge of industry and commerce to raise consumer prices, resulting in a higher cost of living for average American families. Adjustments at the top, as always, result in a domino effect and hardship at consumer level; in our own back yards.
The finest talent of America’s professional sector waits and watches with dread while Mr. Obama pushes through his Stimulus Package at the helm of one of the most ambitious social reforms the country has ever seen, predicted to cause serious unemployment and further financial mayhem in an already unstable economic climate.
Senior baby boomer health sector professionals are forecast to be the first of the smart guys dusting off their matched luggage and heading for the hills…
The Cunning Plan
Additionally, it is not only the tax feature of the health plan that will hurt older citizens as if Obama gets his wishes it seems that savings will be squeezed from Medicare and Medicaid. Regarding Medicare, Mr. Obama has expressed his disdain for giving advanced treatment or new (read expensive) drugs to older people (OUCH), older being defined as the aging boomer and seniors, the people who have been paying social security taxes all our lives. (For instance, those of us who began working somewhere around the age of 16, continuing to the age of 65, and wishing there were employment opportunities available to us today so that we could remain part of the productively employed workforce.)
Mr. Obama, just a suggestion here. Instead of squeezing us older citizens how about squeezing the ambulance chasers, who regard an auto accident as a lottery ticket? Nah! Those appear to be the people who give vast contributions to election campaigns, along with causing mal practice insurance premiums to rise so much that it is hard to find an Obstetrician in some communities, as well as causing doctors to practice defensive medicine and order lots of unnecessary tests which add to waste.
If this Health Care Plan is approved it seems likely that it is going to cost lots of money, lower the quality of health care to the lowest common denominator (except Congress, of course), ration care, define some surgeries as optional, thereby adding real risk of a worsening condition. Yikes. This is certainly not what we hoped for in our senior years.
This Psychological Article on Will Obama’s Health Plan Cause The Great Exodus? is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of articles exploring and in some cases poking fun at politics and current events in the hopes of shedding light on baby boomer problems. We believe knowledge is power. We’d love to hear what you think.
A Lesson from Abraham Lincoln
Boomer Yearbook is a Social Network and Psychological Articles for Baby Boomers. Connect with old and new friends, or expand your mind and ward off senior moments and elderly problems with dream analysis and online optical illusions and brain games provided by clinical psychologist Dr. Karen Turner. Join other Baby Boomers to stay informed, receive weekly Newsfeeds, and let your opinions be heard. Baby boomers changed the world. We’re not done yet!
