No cost of living adjustment for Social Security for the next two years. Medicare is going up to $110 per month. And, by the way, we pay into this automatically. It is deducted before we get our Social Security checks.

Security Blue HMO is going up $15 more per month. Why – isn’t $5 enough?

Also co-pays go up.

We aren’t getting richer, just poorer. We can’t help the economy if we don’t have the income to compensate.

The less we have, the less we will spend.

If 50,000 Social Security recipients pay $110, that equals $66 million. Where is the money going? The government grabs money where it can to benefit itself. Stay out of our Medicare fund. We are paying into it, not you Mr. Government. This is why I do not trust anyone in government – federal, state or local. All they do is raise every tax they can think of. But they did not give anything for the recession.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, in July 2008, gave an 8 percent increase in expense money to all in the House – right in the middle of recession.

No incumbent will get my vote. We have to show them who is boss – us.

Donald G. Kerr

Mundys Corner



Shade/Richland pact raises questions

As a volunteer firefighter and former Johnstown area resident, I would like to address the Shade Township/Central City/Richland Township fire contract issues.

Any volunteer fire company in the Greater Johnstown area must now wonder: If they ask for additional funding, will Richland call them greedy and request to take over their area?

The difference between Richland Township and Central City fire companies is $3,140. If Richland fire officials think that is greedy, then I think they forgot their roots.

My sympathy is for the residents-taxpayers of Shade Township. They must live with the results of this contract, and their insurance rates will go up due to the limited fire protection they will now receive (1,000-gallon tanker and a long distance for second engine to come from Richland) for a first alarm. The second alarm will bring mutual aid, but someone may get hurt or die until adequate personnel are on scene.

What happens if the Richland engine in Shade goes out of service? By contract, does Richland transfer one of its first-line engines to Shade and then leave the residents in Richland without proper fire protection, waiting for the next nearest engine to respond?

Central City volunteers should have honored the contract until the end of the year. This would have shown the residents that they have integrity.

Richard Avita

Carlisle, formerly of Johnstown



Democrats are abandoning seniors

It’s official. The Democrats lied in commercials during the past three elections, citing that Republicans, if elected, would abandon senior citizens.

The Oct. 14 issue of The Tribune-Democrat told the story. The Senate Finance Committee, controlled by Democrats, passed a health-care measure that “will cut hundreds of billions of dollars from future Medicare payments.”

Keep in mind that retired people have paid into Medicare their entire lives and continue to pay into it with substantial amounts taken from their monthly Social Security checks. This measure is certainly one step closer to euthanasia, which is defined as the practice of killing or permitting the death of the hopelessly sick or injured – in this case, our senior citizens.

President Obama also has lied. He said he would protect individuals making $200,000 or less and couples making below $250,000, yet a substantial portion of this bill’s tax increases would fall on these groups. Socialism at its finest.

Unfortunately, AARP, obviously controlled by the Democratic liberals, is backing this plan. How can AARP, which is suppose to lobby for seniors, back a plan that will cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicare. Thus, I will not be renewing my membership in this fraudulent organization.

Finally, has any congressman read the entire 1,800-page health-care document?

What we’re not hearing may be the most frightening part of all. It is now perfectly clear which party is really threatening and abandoning the senior citizens of America.

John Skubak

Johnstown



Stop attempting to overpower God’s word

We would do well as a society to put aside our pride that insists on challenging our creator God and savior Jesus Christ, and start putting on humility so we can learn of him.

We would do even better to stop attempting to overpower his word with our own and start allowing his power to work in and through us.

Matthew 11:29: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” This advice is not only for the rebellious teenager but hard-headed and hard-hearted adults as well.

Kirstin DiNinno

Central City