We all must sacrifice

Back in the early 80's, my boss had a sister who received dialysis treatments through Medicaid. But Reagan slashed that program's budget. As a result, her treatments were cut in half. She died. My boss took it well. He was one of those good, silent Americans. I think I took the death of his sister from the Reagan budget slashings far worse.

But that gave me pause to ponder over the past 20+ years, how many thousands of others had succumbed to Reagan's cutting of social programs while anti-social spending such as defense soared like a sick cow with bloat.

This past Wednesday's announcement that the Washington Bush has approved a sweeping Medicaid plan for the Florida Bush was a shot of déjà vu all over again. In what may serve as a model for the many other states, Florida will set a ceiling on spending for each Medicaid recipient. Dada wonders how many poor folks will die--again.

But these are difficult economic times. With an expensive war ongoing and others on the drawing boards, post Katrina reconstruction costing unanticipated billions, sacrifices must be made. It's nice to know Bush is tightening the belts of poor folks while each of the 12,655 Florida millionaires receive an average of $136,298 in tax cuts annually.