Critique of GOP Offers to Throw Middle Class, Elderly Over the 'Fiscal Cliff'

The fiscal cliff is a very interesting and tough controversy in America today. Our nation has piled up to a number that most people cannot even imagine. We need to take serious measures to reduce this debt and start to climb out of the hole we as a nation have put ourselves in. Congress and President Obama are currently working on a resolution that will steer us away from the massive budget cuts and tax hikes that are put in place once we have gone over the fiscal cliff. Like with most fiscal policy measures of this magnitude Congress has been debating feverishly over what needs to happen in order to avoid the fiscal cliff. Republicans have recently proposed a plan that calls for $800 billion dollar tax reform in health care. While there are many parts of this plan that I disagree with there is one aspect of the plan that makes sense to me. Raising the age at which people file for medicare is a very sensible policy maneuver and could help save the medicare system tons of money. I understand that raising the age of medicare will hurt many Americans as they are trying to save for retirement and have been counting on that money from medicare to help them sustain themselves. On the other hand, to cut the enormous deficit that we currently face there are going to be consequences and people that will be very unhappy with the governments decision and raising the age at which people file for medicare is a sensible policy maneuver that will be beneficial in the long run. Medicare was passed by Congress in 1964 when average life expectancy for an American was 70 years. Since then, average life expectancy has risen to 78 years. Life expectancy is expected to continue to rise as more advances are made in medicine and health care services. At some point raising the age at which people file for medicare will need to be raised in order to keep the entitlement from bankrupting itself. If Congress takes substantial steps in cutting the deficit the American people are going to feel it. Entitlement programs are going to receive less funding and taxes will be higher but the budget needs to be tightened.