How would a cut in Medicare/Social Security affect you?

That would be very unfortunate. We definitely make use of those programs. But I guess there’s nothing we can do if they decide to cut them, is there? Seniors don’t usually start riots, but maybe they will if they start taking away our rights. We would get by, of course, but we’d have to rejigger investments to make more cash available, and we don’t want to do that. Mostly, I’m worried about the premiums going up on us high-income folks, who always seem to be in the crosshairs. We worked hard our whole lives to be successful and save so that we would be able to enjoy a comfortable retirement. It doesn’t seem fair that we should be punished for doing well.
-George, 59, Vero Beach, Fla.

I’m widowed, and after my husband died, I learned that we were not as well off as I thought. He took care of all the finances, so it was kind of a shock when I had to figure it all out for myself. I’m diabetic and have a heart condition and have been in the hospital a couple of times. I don’t know what I would have done without Medicare. I guess I’d have to sell the house. If Obama votes to take away Medicare and Social Security, there’s gonna be a lot of homeless seniors on the streets.
-Eloise, 68, Salt Lake City

We don’t rely on entitlement programs the way some people do. We are blessed to have more than enough assets to cover our needs. We buy supplemental Medicare coverage, because medical bills surely can ruin a person, but we probably wouldn’t even notice if Social Security went down. We just put those checks in the money market every month. It’s nice–don’t get me wrong–but it wouldn’t be like for some people.
-Clara, 69, Irving, Tex.