Selfish ignorant geezers

Ned has a new Contempt Citation to award to a very deserving group: those selfish and ignorant geezers (Medicare recipients) who are seen carrying signs saying "Keep Your Government Hands Off My Medicare!"
The reason? What they seem to be "protesting" is a plan by the Obama people to reduce the government subsidies to private insurance companies that compete with traditional Medicare, and thus to "reduce the deficit" and "live within our means", not to mention "reduce the national debt."
Now, this plan would not reduce anyone's Medicare benefits, but to the extent that private companies can use the taxpayer subsidy to undercut Medicare, which of course gets no subsidy, then a reduction in the SUBSIDY might result (Ned emphasizes MIGHT) in a reduction in the "benefits" a private company offers. But, Ned reminds his friends they could just as easily respond to the reduction in the subsidy by paying less to their filthy rich sneering plutocrat CEOs, as some of these people receive more than $10 million a year. The administrative costs of private "health insurance" companies is closer to 30% than the 1-2% that Medicare spends, so they might try reducing that, too.
But, the Republicans, using the maxim that nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of American voters, are spending millions screeching that the Democrats want to CUT MEDICARE!!!!, even though the Republicans would ELIMINATE Medicare if they could.
So, hat's off to these selfish, ignorant, whiny, rapacious "seniors." (And, by the way, only about a quarter of Medicare recipients even USE a Medicare "Advantage" plan, so the rest of those pissed off geezers are subsidizing them.)
[Smiley face here.]