Dear Senator DeMint - Personal Responsibility

When the GOP speaks of personal responsibility during discussions on healthcare, they cleverly omit one fact. The biggest drain on our healthcare system is not people over the age of 65. It is the alarming number of Americans who are overweight or obese.

Blaming those over 65 is a convenient way to excuse those under 65 who fall into the category of obesity. Yet obesity is paid for by all Americans who have insurance, and in some cases, perhaps most, the additional cost may by as high as one hundred dollars per month.

The GOP, which includes their spokespeople like Rush and Glen, know blaming the elderly will win them backers. The elderly rarely fight back. Many of the GOP and their spokespeople, family and supporters, are overweight and or obese. Most of the GOP take large contributions from the healthcare industry.

Obesity has been declared the number one cause of deadly disease from diabetes to cancer. Yet no one in congress has addressed the issue with the dogged persistence they use to attack over-65 Americans.

When the discussion turns to social security, they play the same tune. The problem is Americans over 65. They ignore one fact, which is that Social Security was and is the equivalent of a trust fund overseen by the government. In the 1980s, they created the Social Security Lockbox to protect the fund, but congress did as congress does, found a way in and used these funds for projects that should’ve been funded through tax revenues.

When private trust funds are robbed, fund managers face criminal charges. It is time to do the same with congress. All members of the Senate and House of Representatives who were in office from 2000 through 2010 and approved using monies from the Social Security Trust Fund for anything other than social security, should face criminal charges including grand larceny. This should have a mandatory jail sentence with community service added once the offenders are released.

All members of government work for all Americans. We pay their salaries, and their benefits, including those that are applied to their families. If they are convicted of taking money from the Social Security Trust Fund, they must repay the American people all the money they’ve been paid, salaries and benefits.

As far as healthcare is concerned, congress should enact a Healthcare Personal Responsibility Law requiring all Americans to pay a monthly healthcare fee based on how much over the acceptable BMI they are. For example if your maximum BMI is 164 and you weigh 165, you pay an additional 1.00 per month personal responsibility fee. For each additional pound, add 1.00. The only exceptions are those with chronic disease such as thyroid disorder, age-related diseases and others that make weight control nearly impossible.

Once this is done, all the rest of us will have our monthly premium reduced accordingly, so that way we no longer pay for those who until now, were not personally responsible for their health and the health of their underage children.

So, if you want to eat yourself to death, you take personal responsibility for the consequences beginning the day you are one pound overweight.

Lastly, to show that they are personally responsible, all government officials, elected and otherwise, should report their BMI to the American people.

Members of congress should show their willingness to help out during this ongoing recession, caused in large part by their actions during the previous 10 years. They should take an immediate 50% pay cut, and lay off all staff except for one secretary.

Now, let’s see how many members of the GOP stand up and state to all Americans “I am personally responsible. Here is my BMI, I took a pay cut, I’ve laid off staff, I support investigating members of congress who raided the Social Security Trust Fund; I will write personal responsibility legislation for healthcare reform.”

I’ll tell you what to expect; 0.

The GOP is personally beholding to the corporations that write checks on their behalf.

Oh, the one thing people over 65 did wrong? Voted for Republicans.