But measure requiring U.S. to negotiate drug prices still faces hurdles.

        (The Washington Post January 13, 2007)

     "The House voted Friday to require the government to negotiate lower prescription drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries. But the measure faces an uncertain future in the Senate, a veto threat and considerable doubts from experts about whether it would save elderly and disabled Americans much money."
     Why is it that everyone is under the assumption that once a person reaches sixty five years of age they are automatically gravely ill, poor, homeless and senile? Where does this trend of thought come from?
     There are plenty of people that are sixty five years and older who are in very good health and are more then able to continue taking care of themselves. I am sorry, but age should not be a factor as to who gets assistance and who does not.
     "Backers of the current system, mainly Republicans, say that it pits insurers against one another in a healthy competition to negotiate the lowest prices from drug makers and offer seniors the most attractive monthly premiums, choice of drugs and access to pharmacies."
       I sit here scratching my head and wonder what about the rest of us?  Allow me to write a passage from my book (Age of Entitlement and Expectation, Chapter Six,  page 106 - 107).
     "On the other hand you have a very large population of Senior Citizens who are convinced that they are entitled to receive just about everything as close to free as they can get it. After all, according to most of them they are entitled to everything because they have paid their dues. Okay, who went through great pains to come up with this idea?
      So let me see if I understand this new logic. If you are fortunate enough to reach the magic number of sixty five years then you are automatically entitled to receive all that life has to offer whether you can afford it or not?
      What surprises me is that most of our older population today are our parents and our parent's fellow co-workers. They are our aunts and uncles too! I really find it hard to believe that they were even thinking in this fashion when they were in the business of raising all of us, right?
      Did something happen to their thought process when they collectively reached that magic number of sixty five? Did their minds just give way? Did all known logic go out the window, so to speak?
     Was it that their greed gene began to surface as they approached that magic number of sixty five? I am truly at a loss on this one."
      Someone, somewhere has to pay the price for giving everything away for free, right? Why must everyone else either make due or go without? Am I making any sense here?