Leonard replied to I.P.:

It is also the 2nd legal pyramid/ponzi scam foisted by the
government on its citizens (the 1st being SS).

Every individual who has tried such a scheme of paying off the
1st enrollees investments (SSDI taxes and Medicare deductions)
with "Johnny Come Lately" investments (taxes and deductions) has
landed in a federal prison.

The ONLY method the government has of preventing the collapse
of both SS and Medicare has been to raise deductions (taxes)
and the monthly premiums of Medicare recipients.

The Medicare Part B premium has risen from $45.50 in 1999 ($50
in 2000) to $96.40 in 2008.  However, the monthly premium is
higher if you're single and income is more than $82,000 (double
if married).  Medicare also has a $135 deductible in 2008.

IN LESS THAT 10 YEARS, THE PREMIUM HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED.
And the income limits stiffle creativity and work ethics
after age 65.

When SS and Medicare were originally enacted by law, neither
has a high earnings penalty tax (SS) or premium (Medicare).

The men in black robes in D.C. once ruled that the military
can not change the enlistment/re-enlistment promises (the
Variable Re-enlistment Bonus in the case before the court)
during the life of a current (re-)enlistment contract.

But the government is getting away with changing the rules
of all sorts of our benefits "halfway through the game."

AARP (no longer the American Association of Retire People)
won't challenge that with a 10-foot pole.  Perhaps because
it's one of the largest lobbiest groups and doesn't want
to risk its standing on Capitol Hill by winning a court
decision against congress.

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12