In this issue:

• 60 Plus Launches New Ad Campaign: Prevent seniors from being denied care
• Obama’s 2013 Budget Offers More Debt, More of the ‘Shame’
• Poll Shows Americans Still Favor Smaller Government
• Democrats Dust Off ‘Medi-Scare’ Tactics for 2012 Elections
• AARP Providing No Assistance in Fight to Save Medicare
• Obama Fiddles as Social Security Goes Bankrupt
• 60 Plus Fights to Stop Rogue Pharmacies from Poisoning Seniors
• Obama’s Fossil Fuel Agenda Causes Skyrocketing Energy Prices
• Act Now to Block Harmful Pharmacy Merger

60 Plus Launches New Ad Campaign: Prevent seniors from being denied care

A number of senators supported President Obama’s heathcare reform legislation (commonly referred to as “ObamaCare”), which — in addition to cutting $500 billion from Medicare — created a Medicare IRS that will deny seniors access to the care they need.

Acting like a Medicare IRS, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) is a 15-member bureaucratic council that will dictate what constitutes “necessary care” for Medicare recipients as a means to cut costs beyond the half-trillion dollars that was already eliminated through Obama’s government takeover of healthcare. The Board’s so-called recommendations can be fully enacted without Congressional action, allowing them to autonomously ration care for seniors.

The result is that the IPAB can cut doctor payments and ultimately decide what treatments senior receive. Earlier this week, 60 Plus launched an ad campaign targeting 5 senators and urging them to support real Medicare reform.

Watch one or more of our latest ads:

• Florida (Bill Nelson)
• Michigan (Debbie Stabenow)
• Missouri (Claire McCaskill)
• Montana (Jon Tester)
• Ohio (Sherrod Brown)

Obama Fiscal 2013 Budget Offers More of the ‘Shame’

The President who promised to “make tough choices” and cut the deficit in half before his first term expired presented a 2013 budget blueprint to Congress in February that does neither of these things. And like President Obama’s three previous budgets, the newest offering shatters the yearly deficits offered by all other presidents before him.

Obama makes Americans nostalgic for the days when a billion dollars was still a lot of money. While cutting another $362 billion from Medicare, his fiscal plan adds hundreds of billions more in new ’stimulus’ spending (including $476 billion for transportation projects like light rail), $1.6 trillion in tax hikes, and billions more in bailouts to unions and failing state governments.

Over the last four years, Obama has now added (for those with calculators housing extra horsepower) $5.15 trillion in debt to our nation, or more correctly, $5.15 trillion in debt to each and every American. Figured another way, four years of Obama has cost the average family of four $70,000, or $17,000 for every man, woman and child legally in the U.S.

The projections are even worse; over the next 10 years. Obama adds $6.7 trillion to our national debt, taking us to an I.O.U. of $25.5 trillion by 2025. And this is the ‘rosy’ scenario. In Obama’s first budget, he projected the 2013 deficit would be $581 billion, but in reality the true figure is now s$1.33 trillion, a misfire of 129%.

While somehow claiming that he is cutting a trillion dollars in spending, Obama still takes the nation’s annual spending budget from $3.8 trillion in 2013 to $5.8 trillion in 2022, an increase of 52%. If this can be considered making “tough choices” then the Golden Corral limitless buffet can be considered an evening snack.

Calling the budget “shameful,” 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin said, “This President has a one-track mind, and instead of a path to prosperity, that track is a government funded highway to failure and bankruptcy. This budget echoes the exact policies of taxing, spending and borrowing which have drowned our nation in debt and saddled every American with the worst economy since the 1930s Depression.”

Since the 2010 midterm elections, the GOP has proposed more than 30 different budget and spending measures to reduce the national debt. Meanwhile the President submitted one budget plan which was voted down by a Democrat controlled Senate 97-0. The chances this newest budget passes either congressional chamber are just as slim. Still, it reflects the policies of a White House addicted to deficit spending and bigger government.

Concluded Martin, “Ronald Reagan worked to make America once again a ’shining city on a hill,’ but this President is pushing us to be a city under a mountain, a mountain of debt. Americans deserve better than the failure and broken promises this President continues to shovel our way.”

Americans Favor Smaller Government, Lower Taxes

Despite three years of class-warfare rhetoric from President Obama and Democrats in Washington, the American people still favor smaller government and lower taxes, according to a February 2012 poll sponsored by Public Notice and conducted by respected national polling firm The Tarrance Group.

According to the poll, “When asked about the best way to grow the economy and create jobs, voters respond with a strong preference for cutting government spending and keeping taxes low (55%) as opposed to increasing government spending and asking the rich to pay more in taxes (36%).”

Among other findings:

• 73% believe the economy is impacted by the national debt.
• 55% believe the best way to fix the economy is to cut spending.
• 84% are very concerned the U.S. Senate has not passed a budget in over 1000 days — almost three years!

President Obama is counting on dividing the country by class and proposals to tax wealth, but by large margins, Americans still believe that when it comes to fixing the economy, to paraphrase a well-known Democrat campaign slogan: “It’s the spending, stupid.”

Democrats Dust off Medi-scare Tactics for 2012

File under “chutzpah.” The very same Democrats who cut $500 billion from Medicare and were ousted from office in droves by angry seniors in 2010 are now plotting to re-take the majority in Congress in 2012. Their plan is to once again demonize Republicans on the issue of… are you ready? Medicare. No, that is not a typo.

Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Steve Israel (NY) said Democrats will make the 2012 campaign about “Medicare, Medicare, Medicare” and will attack Republican House members for their support of Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) reform plan to keep Medicare from going bankrupt.

But false strategies are still alive and well in the Democrat playbook, with even liberal-leaning news sites admitting that the Democrat Medi-scare tactic is flat out false.

Politifact, a national political watchdog, even went so far as to tag Democrat attacks against Republicans as anti-Medicare as its “2011 lie of the year.” It seems Nancy Pelosi’s dream to retake the Speaker’s gavel is just a bit premature.

Though Pelosi will continue to attempt to scare seniors with phony campaign tactics, it’s clear to just about everyone but her and the Democrat House caucus that their party’s credibility on Medicare is gone for good.

AARP Providing No Assistance in Fight to Save Medicare

Congressional physicians are reaching out to the AARP for assistance in solving the looming insolvency of Medicare, and receiving the cold shoulder in return. This prompted a response from 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin, leader of the nation’s largest conservative seniors organization, with over 7.1 million supporters.

“AARP has once again shown that when the chips are down and America’s seniors are looking for strong advocacy on their behalf, they just fold their cards. AARP has a real opportunity — as well as responsibility — to help create a solution to save Medicare for America’s seniors and future retirees, but they reject out of hand all reasonable efforts to preserve and strengthen the program, just as they did with the bi-partisan Wyden-Ryan plan.”

“What I find especially troubling is that when President Obama and (then) Speaker Nancy Pelosi needed AARP’s nod to cut $500 billion from Medicare, they were there before the phone hung up. Now you have 18 Members of Congress, medical professionals no less, from the House and Senate asking AARP to help keep Medicare from going bankrupt, and the silence is deafening. This is all you need to know to realize that AARP is a political organization feeding at the government trough, and not a true voice for America’s seniors.”

The open letter sent by the Doctor Caucus stated, in part, “Unfortunately, as long as politicians obscure the Medicare program’s prognosis for political benefit and stakeholders like AARP fail to publicly challenge these political calculations by educating their membership on the structural financing challenges facing the program, a national conversation about how best to save the Medicare program will not move forward.”

AARP’s inaction on Medicare came during the same timeframe when 60 Plus exposed their hypocrisy on the issue of their coverage of pre-existing conditions as part of the many insurance products they sell to seniors. AARP lobbied heavily for ObamaCare and its call to cover all regardless of pre-existing conditions, but in the actual legislation, AARP gets a pass and can sell insurance that does not have to cover many prior conditions that seniors may have, a detail that will add tens of millions of dollars of profit to their bottom line.

These events offer yet more evidence that the AARP is a for-profit ally of the Democrat White House first, and advocate for America’s elderly last.

Obama Fiddles as Social Security Goes Bankrupt

For decades Washington politicians have used the Social Security Trust Fund as a personal piggy bank, stealing the money and leaving I.O.U.s in return. Those days are not only over with Social Security running annual deficits, but the program itself will cease to exist in its current form, going “bust” in 2022.

President Obama has not only failed to address Social Security at all during his three years in the White House, he has greatly accelerated the very deficit spending that is causing Social Security to die on the vine. So extreme is Obama’s neglect of Social Security, he failed to mention the program even once in his seven page letter to Congress that accompanied his 2013 budget proposal.

Noted 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin, “While the President is eagerly throwing away trillions of dollars on bailouts and taxpayer funded loans to the failed companies of his political contributors, Social Security not only gets ignored by this Administration, but further devastated by his total mismanagement of our nation’s financial assets.”

Social Security is yet another mess left by President Obama that will require cleaning up by the next occupant of the White House. America’s seniors deserve better, and come November, they will be voting that way.

The 60 Plus Association Takes on Phony Pharmacies Selling Bad Medicine

With more than 80,000 online pharmacies populating the internet, the opportunity for seniors and others to be defrauded on the net is increasing each day, prompting 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin to call on Congress to take action by passing legislation that will protect consumers and crack down on web sites masquerading as legitimate pharmacies on the internet. “Millions of Americans, but seniors especially, are in serious danger of ingesting harmful and counterfeit pharmaceuticals sold by fraudulent overseas websites, who are selling pills that are ineffective at best, and outright poisonous at worst. These websites are increasing in number every day, and increasing in sophistication to mask their true identity and the poison they’re peddling.

“I call on Congress to take action now, to help increase public awareness of the danger of these sites, and help put a stop to the distribution of these so-called medicines containing only-God-knows-what to unsuspecting Americans,” said Martin. “The longer we wait, the more we let millions of senior citizens and those who care for them play Russian Roulette with their health care.”

Martin proposes that Congress move forward with granting law enforcement and U.S. trade officials enhanced power to shut down foreign websites marketing pharmaceuticals without approval. “Anti-piracy legislation may be on the back burner for now, but while Congress delays, tens of millions of Americans of all ages remain at risk. Legislation to address foreign rogue pharmacies has broad bi-partisan support, and must move forward without delay.”

Record Energy Prices Bankrupting Seniors and Working Americans

President Obama is saying that the record energy prices and the doubling of the price at the pump during his time in office are not his fault. Do you agree?

For starters there is the President’s regulatory record through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — or as we should more accurately call it — the Economic Punishment Agency, which is pushing much stricter and costlier standards on energy producers, despite the fact that many of these regulations will cause entire power plants to close down and provide no actual health benefit to the public.

More than 32 coal plants will be forced to close due to new EPA regulations, killing jobs, shutting down small towns, and forcing the rest of us to pay more for energy. Coupled with the President’s failure to act on the Keystone XL pipeline, it is easy to see why energy prices — and the prices of all items tied to energy — have continued in an upward trajectory since the moment Obama took office.

Said 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin, “This President is giving taxpayer-funded loans to Brazilian energy companies to produce oil to sell to us one day,” said Martin. “Why is the American taxpayer financing energy abroad, when we need more U.S. energy, for our economy and for our families?”

“Obama’s perverse energy policies are devastating to seniors on fixed incomes, who because of his anti-coal and anti-oil agenda will no longer be able to heat their homes to a comfortable level, or put gas in the tank to visit their doctor or loved ones. The President’s policies are killing our economy and hurting people — notably seniors.”

Act Now to Block Harmful Pharmacy Merger

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is considering whether to allow mega-pharmacy benefit corporations Express Scripts Inc. and Medco Health Solutions to merge. If approved, this merger will increase prescription drug prices and force many community pharmacies out of business, making it harder for patients to access the medications and services they need. Because an approved merger will disproportionately impact American seniors, we encourage all 60 Plus supporters to speak out against it by signing an open letter opposing this harmful merger.

According to reports, the FTC is expected to render its final decision very soon — so swift action is needed. Visit the Take Action section of the Preserve Community Pharmacy Access NOW! (PCPAN) Coalition website to sign a petition to the FTC.

In this issue:

• Chairman’s Corner
• Unhappy Anniversary
• White House Abandons Entitlement Reform
• 2011 Resolution-Repeal ObamaCare
• Unconstitutional ObamaCare
• ObamaCare Bombshell
• Democrats Double-Down on Disaster
• 60 Plus Honors Ronald Reagan
• 60 Plus Chairman: ‘Factual’ to Attack Democrats
• ‘Death Tax’ Compromise
• Deficit Panel Targets Social Security
• 60 Plus in the News

Click here to read –>    2011 Spring Senior Voice

April showers bring May flowers. With all the activity (and potential activity) in Washington, who knows what sort of showers we can expect, and thus, what sort of surprises (good or bad) will rise up and bloom.

For our part, 60 Plus remains active on several fronts, and we plan expand and grow our efforts in the coming months.

In this issue:

• Pat Boone Honored for Defending Liberty
• President Should Suspend the Unconstitutional ObamaCare Now
• Unhappy Anniversary: 2 Years of Obama’s ‘Stimulus’
• White House Abandons Entitlement Reform, GOP Picks Up Baton
• 60 Plus Honors Ronald Reagan
• ObamaCare Bombshell: Billions of Funding Hidden in Legislation
• Democrats Double-Down on Disaster, Affirm Vote on ObamaCare
• 60 Plus Partners with ASA to Offer Senior Benefits
• 60 Plus in the News

Pat Boone Honored for Defending Liberty

Entertainment legend and 60 Plus national spokesman Pat Boone has earned enough awards and accolades in the entertainment field for movies and acting to fill several lifetimes.

But last month it was his lifetime of civic activism and devotion to the founding principles of our nation that earned Boone a Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, DC.

Many know that Boone is one of the few islands of political conservatism in the vast liberal sea of Hollywood. But few know how long and how passionately he has been supporting issues and candidates behind the scenes despite the pressure of his industry to do otherwise.

Of the CPAC Lifetime Achievement award Boone joked, “It surprises me because my lifetime is still in progress,” adding, “I’ll treasure this more than any Academy or Grammy award, or anything the entertainment industry could offer me.”

Boone has swam against the liberal tide in the entertainment industry for decades, frequently offering help to local conservative candidates in California, supporting Presidents Nixon and Ford, and serving as a delegate for Ronald Reagan at the 1976 GOP convention in Kansas City.

He also raised eyebrows in 2010 — and spirits among many conservatives nationwide — when he and his neighbor hosted the first and only Beverly Hills tea party.

Boone writes and speaks frequently on political issues, often quietly, away from the spotlight . “I am a conservative, always have been and will be till I die. And beyond…”

“A conservative hallows the Constitution, which laid out and prescribes the simple system we call democracy, which, according to our Declaration of Independence, credits our Creator with the equal rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, not the governmentally provided happiness itself.”

Today Boone hangs his hat with the 60 Plus Association, advocating for seniors and their families by speaking out on issues such as repealing ObamaCare, abolishing the Death Tax, and offering support to conservative candidates. As just one example, dozens of freshman Congressmen have expressed gratitude to Boone for his role this past November in helping them cement victory with his targeted messages to senior voters. (Boone’s voice entered the homes of the 7.1 million seniors who support 60 Plus).

Congratulations Pat, upon recognition for your leadership and heartfelt commitment to America’s enduring principles. You continue to entertain, but most importantly you continue to inspire and make a lasting difference.

See Pat Boone on the Sean Hannity show by clicking here.

President Should Suspend the Unconstitutional ObamaCare Now

If ObamaCare were a person, it would have the kind of face only a mother could love. And even that may be a stretch.

Obama promised his legislation would be “one of the biggest deficit-reduction programs in history” but it in fact is adding more than $562 billion to our national debt over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Democrats promised Americans that ObamaCare would “lower costs for every patient,” but patient premiums are not only rising, they are rising faster than ever before in an attempt to comply with all the new government mandates.

You get the point. Just about every claim Obama made in order to pass this Edsel of a bill has already been proven false. It will strengthen Medicare? Nope, it cuts over $500 billion from Medicare and half of Medicare Advantage patients will lose coverage by 2017.

It won’t cause people to lose coverage or promote rationing? Oops, wrong again, rationing is starting with a vengeance.

Now on top of all the broken promises, a second federal judge has ruled that ObamaCare is unconstitutional for compelling American citizens to purchase health care or face criminal prosecution, a demand beyond the government’s constitutional authority.

Late last year a federal judge in Virginia ruled the same, guaranteeing the issue will be taken up by the Supreme Court. 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin is speaking out in the media, joining others urging the Administration to suspend ObamaCare until the issue is settled.

Said Martin, “States and private businesses now have no clue what to do with so much uncertainty surrounding ObamaCare. It will be extremely costly to start implementing it only to have it declared unconstitutional and dismantled by the Court.“

“The physician’s maxim is ‘first do no harm,’ and moving forward on expensive healthcare legislation only to backtrack will cause tremendous harm to seniors and America’s families. With two courts now ruling this legislation unconstitutional, it is entirely reasonable for President Obama to do the only fair and sensible thing, and that is to suspend the health care law until the matter is resolved.”

Adding insult to injury to Obama’s ’signature’ legislation is that some Democrats are now claiming the word ‘ObamaCare’ to be a slur against the President. But if the bill is so great, wouldn’t they want the President to get credit, and wouldn’t the word ObamaCare fill them with pride?

Whatever name you call it, this bill should be orphaned without delay, and suspended while the courts have a final say on this clearly unconstitutional legislation.

Unhappy Anniversary: 2 Years of Obama’s ‘Stimulus’

Last month marked a dubious anniversary of sorts, it has been two years since President Obama pushed through his $870 billion ’stimulus’ plan he promised would kick start the American economy and ensure that unemployment wouldn’t go above 8 percent.

Instead our economy and financial markets are as weak as they were two years ago, and the unemployment rate was over 9 percent for 21 straight months, shattering a record not seen since the Great Depression.

We sure got our money’s worth.

On top of this, Obama unveiled his 2012 FY budget which predictably set new records of spending and adds another $1.6 trillion to our national debt. Can someone in the White House just fess up and admit that no one in there has a clue as to what they’re doing?

Said 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin on Obama’s refusal to take his foot off the spending accelerator, “In the aftermath of massive voter rejection of his philosophy the President is to be admired for sticking to his big government, big spending ways. The words changed, instead of spending, the President now proposes to invest taxpayer’s money. Sort of a semantic cesspool in politicalese.”

“It’s the same song he sang in 2008 when campaigning. But his 2008 rhetoric ran smack into 2010 reality. The same outcome is shaping up for 2012 unless voters are listened to more closely, specifically the elderly who are still on the march.”

60 Plus remains committed to fighting the President’s continued deficit spending, and is firmly behind Congressman Sean Duffy’s (R-WI) bill that would return all stimulus funds that have yet to be spent or distributed. We urge everyone to visit and join tens of thousands of fellow patriots who have already signed the ‘Peoples’ Petition’ to stop the further flushing of taxpayer money down the drain.

Said Martin, “Most Americans know you can’t tax and spend your way to prosperity. The ’stimulus’ plan made our economy worse and remains the sticking point for government to get out of the way and let the American worker and free market system pull us out of this recession. So long as government spending is gobbling up resources and creating debt, our economy will never get out of Obama’s ditch, let alone fire on all cylinders.”

Let’s continue to fight together to make sure the ‘Stimulus’ does not have a 3rd anniversary and by visiting www.DefundTheStimulus.com join with the efforts of nearly a dozen of smaller-government-is-better-government organizations.

White House Abandons Entitlement Reform, GOP Picks Up Baton

Despite the fact that candidate Obama promised that he would make the “hard choices” on entitlement reform, President Obama has continued to pass the buck, offering up a new budget to Congress that says nary a word on saving Social Security and Medicare from insolvency.

If anything, the President has made entitlements much weaker with his massive deficit spending, as this will put added pressure on Congress to trim programs for seniors even more in order to fund his programs and pay interest on our debt.

Because of decades of embezzlement on the part of Congress, Social Security now runs in the red, even though it has produced $2.5 trillion in surpluses to the Treasury since the 1960s.

Leadership has come in the form of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), who is proposing Medicare reform that will put our nation on a path to balanced budgets, while protecting today’s seniors Medicare and giving future generations free market options.

While no plan is perfect, Ryan’s plan is a good starting point, and his leadership on the issue is a far cry from the hypocrisy and abdication on the issue from the President, who would prefer to score political points rather than protect America’s seniors. Said 60 Plus President Amy Frederick, “Seniors and seniors-to-be have much to lose if Medicare is not reformed and is instead cut to pave the way for a much, much bigger entitlement program. The Ryan Roadmap to Medicare solvency is the right course that protects America’s seniors and ensures there is a Medicare program still in place for future generations.”

60 Plus Honors Ronald Reagan

February 6, 2011 marked the 100th birthday of perhaps our most revered President.

Said 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin on the occasion last month, “We honor the 100th anniversary of President Ronald Wilson Reagan, a champion of liberty and a hero for history, whose legacy will resound for decades and generations to come. For his defining leadership and for his rekindling of liberty in America when we need it most, the 20th century will always be known as ‘Reagan’s Century.’

“When our nation was struggling with its identity and the people were struggling under a government that had lost its way, Ronald Reagan emerged to rekindle the sacred fire of liberty, setting the people free to reignite the American engine of prosperity. ‘Government was the problem,’ he said, and people were the solution.

“President Reagan has a special place in the heart of the 60 Plus Association, where we and our millions of supporters continue to fight for the ideals and policies to which he devoted his life. Ronald Reagan abhorred the estate tax as an especially insidious policy of the federal government, and used the often-quoted 60 Plus term ‘the death tax‘ to highlight how wrong it is for the IRS to be the first to greet us on our passing and embarking on the journey for eternal peace.

“Thank you President Reagan, as we remember and honor you on this, the 100th anniversary of your birth. Your love of America will never be forgotten, and your legacy will live on this day, 100 years from the date of your birth, and for many, many years to come.”

ObamaCare Bombshell: Billions of Funding Hidden in Legislation

If President Obama’s talent for hiding government spending deep inside of legislation is translated to his other activities, then at this year’s annual White House Easter egg hunt the children poking around on the White House lawn seeking the colored ovals don’t stand a chance.

Recently unearthed by Reps. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) and Steve King (R-IA) is over $105 billion of spending authorization hidden deep in the ObamaCare legislation.

Said Bachmann, “This is a crime against democracy. No one knew that Harry Reid, Pelosi and Obama put $105 billion in spending in the bill. … This is a bombshell.”

Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Senate Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) apparently hid billions in appropriations throughout the bill from not only their Congressional colleagues, but from the American people and the media, specifically for the purpose of ensuring that no matter what, ObamaCare would receive the funding it needs to be enacted.

Noting that legislation rarely if ever contains actual funding when it is enacted, former Rep. Ernest Istook (R-OK) points out, “Obamacare strips the authority of current and future Congresses to make funding decisions… It takes eight pages for CRS (Congressional Research Service) simply to list the provisions that seek to bypass the normal appropriations process.

Now we understand what Pelosi meant when she famously said during debate, “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” Unfortunately the President and Democrat leadership don’t trust the American people to deliberate on legislation which will have a dramatic effect on their lives, and believe the only way they can get their ideas passed is to hide them, deceive the public as to their contents, and rush them through.

News of the hidden funding comes as President Obama’s Health and Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, is granting over 1,000 waivers to insurance providers who can not comply with the legislation’s requirements, highlighting even more shortcomings and flaws in ObamaCare.

For these and all of the other reasons 60 Plus has spelled out over the past 18 months, we will not rest until this legislation is defunded and repealed.

Democrats Double-Down on Disaster, Affirm Vote on ObamaCare

Despite polls showing that Americans were overwhelmingly against the passage of ObamaCare, and are overwhelmingly in favor of its repeal, the U.S. Senate last month refused to repeal this terribly unpopular and fraudulent legislation.

According to a Rasmussen poll, 63% support repeal of this government-run healthcare law, yet every Democrat Senator — even the so called ‘moderates’ — went along with reaffirming their original vote in favor of ObamaCare despite the increasing tidal wave against it. (Some of them will be looking for a new line of work come election day 2012).

And despite Obama’s promise on June 9, 2008 that he would “bring down premiums by $2,500 for the typical family…” even the New York Times notes that reality is just the opposite, with premiums heading through the roof and quality and availability of health care falling at an alarming rate.

More than one commentator has pointed out that, just as in last year’s November mid-term elections, politicians siding in favor of ObamaCare are printing a one-way ticket home from Washington. Popular sentiment to vote against pro-ObamaCare Congressmen will be in full force in 2012.

60 Plus Partners with ASA to Offer Senior Benefits

The 60 Plus Association is proud to announce a new partnership, with the American Senior Association who now offer a variety of great products and benefits to America’s seniors and their families.

For too long many conservatives were reluctant to sever their connection with the liberal AARP (Association Against Retired Persons) because of the various products and services the AARP has historically offered to seniors.

Now senior supporters of 60 Plus can get the same great products AND support their conservative values at the same time. Simply sign-up for a free membership with the ASA to get access to great products and important news and information for older Americans.

The ASA offers very competitive products assisting seniors with prescription drugs, travel, insurance, and many others, making any continued relationship with the AARP unnecessary.

Said 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin, “For years our supporters have asked us to offer benefits like those offered by that ‘other’ senior group, the AARP. We have held off in doing so because we want to remain true to our conservative values and not be distracted by benefits and other services which may take our focus off our true mission, which is limited government, lower taxes, and a strict adherence to the Constitution.

“But Stuart Barton, and his late father Jerry — who founded ASA, share the conservative values of the 60 Plus Association, and they have put together a fantastic offering of benefits and services. Pat Boone and I encourage everyone to sign up to get your FREE one-year membership to the American Seniors Association, and say ‘goodbye’ to those other guys — the AARP — the Association AGAINST Retired Persons!”

60 Plus in the News

The fast pace of Congressional activity has kept 60 Plus busy and on our toes, with Chairman Jim Martin and National Spokesman Pat Boone making the rounds of the media to discuss the key issues of the day.

Recently Pat Boone was on the Fox News Channel’s Hannity show defending our nation against President Obama’s trillions in new spending and debt.

See Pat Boone here.

Meanwhile, Chairman Jim Martin has been in high demand, appearing in February and March on the Fox Business Channel regarding the most recent court ruling declaring ObamaCare unconstitutional. In the clip here, Jim takes on the issue of elder care, and how seniors must be protected in the face of new health care legislation.

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Happy New Year from the 60 Plus Association! We wish all our friends and supporters a happy, healthy and productive 2011.

So in that spirit, we promise to KEEP our New Year’s resolution to continue fighting to put government on a diet, demand cuts in reckless spending, defend the benefits that seniors have already paid for, and REPEAL Obamacare.

In this issue:

• 2011 New Year’s Resolutions – Cut Spending, Repeal Obamacare
• Death Tax Compromise
• Deficit Panel Targets Social Security
• 60 Plus Fights Rationing of Cancer Drugs
• The 12 Days of Obamacare

2011 Resolution – Repeal Obamacare

We all remember the outrageous statement of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi when she said of Obama’s health care legislation, “we have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it.”

Well, last year the Democrat Congress passed Obamacare, and every day we learn a little bit more about exactly what is in this bill. So far, it has turned out to be as welcome as a ticking box under the Christmas tree.

The best way to get an accurate picture of just what this bill entails is to take one of the many promises the Democrats made about the bill, then just assume the opposite.

For example, they said the bill was needed to lower U.S. health care costs, with President Obama saying, “if any bill arrives from Congress that is not controlling costs, that is not a bill I can support. It’s going to have to control costs.”

But costs are already skyrocketing from Obamacare, more than $300 billion over the next 10 years. And according to the Congressional Budget Office, the average premium for a family of four will increase $2,100 per year.

We were told that seniors could keep their doctor, but they are already losing coverage and personal physicians through a myriad of effects of Obamacare. For example, the popular Medicare Advantage program will lose seven million members who will be unable to continue in the program, with remaining members paying higher monthly premiums.

Add to this the thousands of doctors who will now hasten their exit from the profession — with 74% expressing a desire to do so by one survey — and you can see we are far from “wider access to health care for all.”

To be honest, we did not actually need to pass this bill to see what was in it, as a bill very similar to Obamacare was passed in Massachusettes a few years ago with similar promises to cut costs and increase coverage.

The result? Costs have surged over 50% and all problems from crowded emergency rooms to have grown progressively worse.

This abysmal record is why the new Republican Congressional majority has put repealing Obamacare at the top of their legislative priorities, even though there will be certain roadblocks to completely eliminate the legislation with Democrats controlling the Senate and White House.

Action Alert!

Vote in House of Representatives to repeal ObamaCare expected tomorrow, Wednesday (1/19) at 10am. Contact your Member of Congress and urge them to support H.R. 2.

‘Death Tax’ Compromise

Last month saw a compromise on the Bush tax cuts, with the Obama Administration regretfully extending them against their wishes for another two years, having lost all leverage to oppose extending them after the results of November’s election.

Unfortunately, Republicans gave way on the estate tax or “death tax,” agreeing to a 35% tax rate on large estates or family owned companies, an absolutely terrible development in an economic climate when more private investment is needed and tax accounting requires some certainty for investors.

“While this is better than the death tax rate of 55% that would have come back on January 1st, this is not the way to spur economic growth” said Jim Martin, Chairman of the 60 Plus Association. “What we need is permanent repeal of the death tax so that families and small business owners will have confidence that their assets will not be taxed for a second or third time when they die. This is the most burdensome, most confiscatory, and most unfair of all taxes.”

Typical Washington thinking; all agree that lower estate taxes are good for the economy and promote private investment, yet we only get a little help from Washington. It’s like saying vitamins are good, but you should only take them when you are healthy.

If Washington were truly serious about creating a vibrant economic environment, they would give the estate tax the death penalty once and for all, with no stay of execution.

Deficit Panel Targets Social Security

For decades the politicians from both parties have been spending money from Social Security about as soon as the money is collected to the Treasury, essentially turning the Social Security “trust fund” into a political “slush fund.”

It should come as no surprise then that appointing these same politicians to a panel charged with cooking up ideas on how to “solve” our nation’s debt problem would prove to be just as hazardous to the health of Social Security.

The Obama “Deficit Commission” led by Republican former Senators Alan Simpson and Judd Gregg, along with Democrats Erskine Bowles and Senator Kent Conrad all rallied to the cause of further cuts to social security, scapegoating the program as a contributor to our national debt issues when the facts are just the opposite.

As most Americans and every senior knows, Social Security has been running huge surpluses for the last 70 years, but now with fewer workers paying in and the funds all spent by the politicians, something has to give.

Further insulting the intelligence of seniors, said “leaders” said their plan would “make social security solvent” and are therefore in the best interests of the program.

60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin was quick to shoot back, “If the Deficit Commissioners want to see a true cause of debt creation they should look in the mirror. Year in and year out these folks, Democrats and Republicans alike, spend every dollar out of the Social Security Trust fund surpluses and now, as the well runs dry, they pledge to make the fund solvent?

Martin echoed the sentiments of former Senators John Heinz (R-PA) and Fritz Hollings (D-SC), who called the practice of pilfering social security revenues exactly what it is; embezzlement. Said Martin, “If businesses did this, they would be jailed. That’s why I call these Commission members ‘embezzlers.’”

While the embezzlement continues, seniors should understand that the Deficit Commission is not their friend, so long as it seeks to solve chronic problems of political ineptitude on the backs of the elderly who have paid their entire lives into social security.

60 Plus Fights Rationing of Cancer Drugs

Everyone recalls the “death panels” controversy that invaded the debate over Obamacare last year, but few could have foreseen that the first victims of these panels would be life-saving drugs themselves.

In an effort to cut costs and essentially ration care to a class of people that disproportionately affects seniors, the President Obama’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chose to deep six the life-saving drug Avastin by “de-labeling” it, thus ensuring that insurance companies and Medicare drop coverage for patients.

Said 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin, ” “The Food and Drug Administration’s decision to ‘de-label’ the drug Avastin will ration the drug from breast cancer patients and create a two-tiered system where the wealthy will have access to the life-extending drug and everyone else will be denied access. This is wrong.

“The FDA’s decision is based on cost, pure and simple, and when you deny treatment based on cost it’s called rationing. Do not be fooled by the rhetoric — this is a direct consequence of President Obama’s effort to ‘reduce the price of health care.”

60 Plus noted previously that a recent survey shows overwhelming opposition by Americans — 82% — who are opposed to drug availability being made on the basis of cost, or rationing.

Ironically, while the Obama FDA cuts drugs based on alleged “cost savings” we are seeing that health care spending in America is rising sharply, largely to pay for the administrative overhead to implement the legislation as well as by offering free health care as a new entitlement to millions.

60 Plus will continue to fight tooth and nail to keep life-saving drugs available, and blow the whistle on rationing whenever and wherever it shows its ugly face.

The 12 Days of Obamacare

From our friends at the Republican Policy Committee, a seasonal jingle that surely NO ONE would ever be caught singing.

Informative, enlightening, but certainly not festive, the “12 Days of Obamacare” gives the cold hard facts about this disastrous legislation as bluntly as a lump of coal. You know the tune, below are the “revised” lyrics from day 12 to day 1 – just try and keep from tapping your toes!

The 12 Days of Obamacare (Sung to “the 12 Day of Christmas”)

On the 12th day of Obamacare the government gave to me:

$2.6 trillion spending: According to the Republican staff of the Senate Budget Committee, the health care law and reconciliation measures include $2.6 trillion in new federal spending in their first 10 years of full implementation (i.e. 2014-2023).

On the 11th day of Obamacare the government gave to me:

$2,100 Premiums Raising: According to a Congressional Budget Office analysis, the health care legislation will raise individual health insurance premiums by an average of $2,100 per family. This increase for struggling American families comes despite candidate Obama’s frequent promises that his health care plan would LOWER premiums by $2,500 per year for an average family — meaning the gap between candidate Obama’s rhetoric and President Obama’s legislation stands at a whopping $4,600 per family.

On the 10th day of Obamacare the government gave to me:

$310,800,000,000 Costs A-Soaring: According to an analysis by the non-partisan Medicare actuary, the health care law will actually raise national health spending by more than $310 billion over its first ten years alone. The fact that the health law will raise and not lower health care costs comes despite an earlier pledge by President Obama that “if any bill arrives from Congress that is not controlling costs, that’s not a bill I can support. It’s going to have to control costs.”

On the 9th day of Obamacare the government gave to me:

35,000,000 Coverage Dropping: According to an analysis by former CBO Director Doug Holtz-Eakin, the health care law “provides strong incentives for employers — with the agreement of their employees — to drop employer-sponsored health insurance for as many as 35 million Americans.”

On the 8th day of Obamacare the government gave to me:

222 Rules A-Waiving: According to an Administration website, the Department of Health and Human Services has issued 222 waivers to health plans exempting them from some of the health care law’s more prominent new mandates. These waivers — many of them issued to labor unions — demonstrate the onerous nature of the mandates being imposed, and the inconsistent way in which the law is being applied.

On the 7th day of Obamacare the government gave to me:

40,000,000 Forms A-Filling: According to a report issued by the National Taxpayer Advocate, 40 million businesses will be affected by the health care law’s new 1099 paperwork mandate. This new information will force all businesses to file tax forms listing the amount of their annual transactions with vendors like their paper supplier, bottled water distributor, caterer, etc.

On the 6th day of Obamacare the government gave to me:

7,400,000 MA Benes Losing: According to the Medicare actuary, enrollment in Medicare Advantage (MA) will be cut in half as a result of the health care law, from a projected 14.8 million in 2017 all the way down to 7.4 million. One insurer has already dropped out of the MA program entirely due to the law, meaning seniors will face fewer choices of plans.

On the 5th day of Obamacare the government gave to me:

Zero Oversight Hearings: Since enactment of the health care law in March, the Democrat majority in both chambers has failed to conduct any substantive oversight of the sprawling 2,700 page measure.

On the 4th day of Obamacare the government gave to me:

159 Boards and Programs: A prior RPC analysis found that the health care law establishes 159 boards, bureaucracies, and programs. From entities like an institute to conduct comparative effectiveness research to the National Health Care Workforce Commission, these bureaucracies will serve to micro-manage the entire health care system, putting government bureaucrats between doctors and patients.

On the 3rd day of Obamacare the government gave to me:

16,500 IRS Agents: According to a report issued by the Republican staff of the House Ways and Means Committee, the Internal Revenue Service may need to hire as many as 16,500 new agents to police the various mandates imposed on the American people by the health care law.

On the 2nd day of Obamacare the government gave to me:

21 Federal Lawsuits: According to a website run by the Independent Women’s Forum, there are currently 21 separate lawsuits in federal court challenging some or all of the health care law. In one of the more prominent cases, Virginia Judge Henry Hudson struck down the law’s controversial individual mandate earlier this month.

On the 1st day of Obamacare the government gave to me: (BIG FINISH!)

A health insurance mandate “fee”: The health care law includes an unpopular mandate to purchase government-defined insurance — a mandate that candidate Obama opposed when he was running for President.

See everyone next month, and until then, KEEP THOSE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS!

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us at 60 Plus! Best wishes to you and your family for a wonderful 2011. We thank you for being a part of our successes this year and look forward to, with you, accomplishing even more in the new year.

In this issue:

• November 2nd Tsunami Prediction by 60 Plus Proves Amazingly Accurate
• Spending Revolt Bus Tour Shakes Congress to its Core
• So-Called Deficit Hawks Falsely Scapegoat Social Security in Budget Mess
• Seniors Rightfully Angry as Pro-Death Doctor Tapped by Obama
• AARP Employees Pay the Price for Organization’s Incompetence
• 60 Plus Supports GOP Resolution to Slash Spending Back to 2008 Levels

November 2nd Tsunami Prediction by 60 Plus Proves Amazingly Accurate

While local weathermen often have trouble predicting the outlook for the next day or two, the 60 Plus Association forecasted quite confidently more than a year ago that Election Day 2010 would be quite stormy for members of Congress who supported Obama’s anti-senior healthcare legislation.

The prediction proved perfectly accurate, with over 60 Democrats of the House being swept out of office in large part due to their anti-senior vote in favor of Obamacare that cut more than $500 billion from Medicare.

“60 Plus isn’t just the name of a conservative seniors advocacy group,” said its Chairman Jim Martin, “it is forever the answer to the question ‘how many Congressmen did angry seniors send to an early retirement because of their reckless spending and disregard for America’s elderly?’” In fact there were 63 Democrats who lost.

As far back in August of 2009, Martin warned members of Congress and the Obama Administration that if they moved forward with their plans to slash Medicare in order to fund a government managed healthcare plan, there would be a heavy price to pay at the ballot box in 2010, predicting at least 60 House members would be tossed out of office.

The “senior tsunami” finally came ashore and as Martin predicted, more than 60 members of Congress felt the wrath of the ’senior tsunami’ and were provided a one-way ticket home from Washington, courtesy of America’s seniors.

60 Plus was not a passive presence in the tremendous political upheaval, spending nearly $15 million on voter education TV ads, mail and phones in targeted Congressional districts, and this effort proved to be the difference on November 2nd.

“Let this be a warning to politicians who treat seniors as a welcome mat and vote to destroy freedom and while mortgaging America’s future,” said Martin. “Seniors will no longer be the whipping boy of this administration, and we will continue to push back against this hostile agenda and won’t rest until Obamacare is dead and buried.”

Spending Revolt Bus Tour Shakes Congress to its Core

The 60 Plus Association is proud to have partnered with SpendingRevolt.com in the final weeks of this election season, rousing crowds with rallies in over a dozen states as part of the SpendingRevolt.com bus tour.

Landing in the cities and districts of some of the nation’s most-watched Congressional battles, the SpendingRevolt.com bus tour rallied troops in over 25 winning races, nearly half the total gains made by the GOP November 2nd.

The message was simple, and was taken to heart by voters aghast at the unstoppable spending spree headed by Congress; America is bankrupt, and you are heading us down a path of ruin.

As shown quite starkly and disturbingly on the SpendingRevolt.com federal spending counter displayed on their web page, politicians’ appetite to spend other peoples’ money knows no limits.

60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin rode the bus through seven key battleground states where the GOP made significant gains, and was a major part of the rallies and media events that drove voters to the polls in record numbers for an off-year election.

“Congressional spending was clearly one of the major issues of this campaign,” said 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin. “The American spirit to fight and scrap for the future of this country is alive and well. Whether in St. Petersburg, Florida; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; or Indianapolis, Indiana, I saw real patriots come greet us and send the message that regardless of what the politicians do, our country is in good hands so long as the people make their voice heard at the ballot box.”

So-Called Deficit Hawks Falsely Scapegoat Social Security in Budget Mess

Just days after Democrats felt the wrath of seniors at the ballot box and were turned out of office in record numbers, several members of President Obama’s ironically named “Deficit Commission” poked their finger in the eye of seniors yet again.

Releasing recommendations on how to scale back the mammoth debt that D. C. politicians have rung up over the decades, Commission member Democrat Senator Kent Conrad took to ABC’s “This Week” program to lobby on behalf of cutting Social Security benefits as a means to save the nation some money.

Said Conrad, “It is absolutely imperative we take [deficit reduction] on for the country’s sake. And are we going to have to make changes to Social Security? Certainly we are. Social Security is going to go cash negative in five years. It’s going to go broke in 2037.” What a joke. Cash Negative? It was cash positive for the last 74 years but big spenders like Senator Conrad stole from the Social Security Trust Fund. And now the chickens are coming home to roost.

“In 1969, Congress, prodded by President Lyndon B. Johnson, decided to intermingle social security payroll taxes collected by the government with general revenues from the Treasury. Social Security has produced massive surpluses over the decades to the tune of billions of dollars, only to be used as a slush fund by politicians, who masked the true size of our annual deficits to appear smaller than they actually were.

“This is embezzlement, pure and simple. For decades Washington politicians have used the rent money to pay for the groceries, and now the rent is due and they are refusing to pay. It is not the fault of Social Security that the account is empty, it is the fault of the very politicians who are addicted to spending and now want to cut seniors’ benefits even further to cover their own hide.”

Conrad’s recommendation comes just one month after the Obama Administration announced that yet again there will be no cost of living adjustment (COLA) in Social Security benefits in the coming year, hurting seniors even further.

“They truly think seniors are stupid, that they can steal us blind then have the gall to act as if they are doing us a favor by pretending to be fiscally responsible. But seniors see exactly what is going on, and we will raise hell if they try to fix our nation’s budget mess once again on the backs of our nation’s elderly.”

Seniors Rightfully Angry as Pro-Death Doctor Tapped by Obama

Do seniors have a duty to die when they are sick? Amazingly, that seems to be the viewpoint of Donald Berwick, President Obama’s recess appointment to head the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a leading government agency directing Medicare policy.

60 Plus Spokesman, Pat Boone, called Berwick the “kiss of death” to seniors for his support of the position that society would be better of withholding care for older Americans who have the misfortune to be significantly ill in their later years.

Said Berwick in a 1993 speech which defines his position to this day, “only a minority of patients, families and clinicians support prolonged use of life-sustaining procedures and dramatic interventions in the terminal states of illness…”

“Terminal” of course is a very flexible term, depending on who is doing the defining, and could vary wildly depending on whether uttered by a senior’s doctor or a government bureaucrat tasked with the responsibility of cutting health care costs.

Berwick is a known fan of the British health care system, which outright denies coverage to the elderly when government accountants consider care too costly. Critics liken this policy afforded British bureaucrats an extension of the privilege extended to the fictitious British agent James Bond; a license to kill. And now Obama is looking to import this dreaded policy via his appointment of Berwick.

60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin questioned the appointment, calling Berwick a “one man death panel,” and likens the admitted communist Berwick to former Colorado Governor Richard Lamm, who has the dubious distinction of telling seniors they had a “duty to die and get out of the way.”

Said Martin, “This is absolutely chilling. Seniors are rightfully afraid of this man. Once again we see the true colors of an Administration that is looking to socialize medicine not on the backs of seniors, but on their caskets.”

AARP Employees Pay the Price for Organization’s Incompetence

AARP spent the better part of the last two years telling Americans that we needed Obamacare to make our health care costs go down. Ironically, they couldn’t even keep this promise to their own employees.

News outlets recently reported that in order to avoid paying the added taxes on premium health care policies, the AARP will have to charge its individual employees MORE to cover their health insurance.

“Either one of two things happened here,” said 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin. “AARP didn’t have the common sense to see that Obamacare would impact its very own employees, or it didn’t care. This is yet another devastating hit to their credibility as a watchdog for seniors and an authority on healthcare.”

Other Americans are sure to feel the pinch as the mammoth Obamacare legislation starts to work its way across the healthcare landscape and unleash toxic consequences on the nation’s healthcare system. This is yet another reason why 60 Plus and its millions of supporters are demanding its repeal. Now.

60 Plus Supports GOP Resolution to Slash Spending Back to 2008 Levels

Many in Congress have long promised to cut spending, and it is past time for them to make good on that promise. In the recently completed session of Congress, a vehicle to accomplish the promised spending cuts came in the form of H.J. Res. 96 (House Joint Resolution).

Unfortunately, Congress neglected to move this legislation forward, but we have no doubt the same resolution will be filed in the next Congress this January sending a strong message that our federal representatives are SERIOUS about the bankrupt status of our nation by returning all non-defense related discretionary spending to levels of 2008 fiscal year.

By law, Congress cannot make changes to entitlement spending or debt obligations without significant effort and legal challenges, but discretionary spending is on the table with every budget, and led by Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Price (GA), the GOP is prepared to take a cleaver to the spending spree that began when Obama came to office.

H.J. Res. 96 had over 70 co-sponsors in Congress, along with the backing of dozens of conservative groups such as 60 Plus, Citizens Against Government Waste, Americans for Prosperity, and many others.

We’ll let you know when this resolution is filed once again in the new session. Until then, please call your Congressman at 202-224-3121 and tell him or her to take a principled stand against reckless spending and support in concept another H.J. Res. 96.

Read the legislation here.