{"id":3789,"date":"2011-05-12T12:36:28","date_gmt":"2011-05-12T16:36:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pennaction.org\/pablog\/?p=3789"},"modified":"2017-01-02T15:02:02","modified_gmt":"2017-01-02T20:02:02","slug":"bucks-county-constituents-tell-rep-fitzpatrick-that-they-dont-want-to-be-worked-to-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marcstier.com\/blog2\/?p=3789","title":{"rendered":"Bucks County constituents tell Rep. Fitzpatrick that they don\u2019t want to be worked to death"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A longtime professor of literature at Bucks County Community College, Chris Bursk, knows that not every story has a happy ending.<\/span><\/p>\n

Much as the 68-year-old teacher loves his job, Bursk isn’t entirely thrilled at the prospect of working till age 80. “I’d like to retire. But I don’t think I could afford it,” he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

His students’ future seems bleaker still, Bursk said. “So many worry about the world they will inherit and how they will get by,” he said.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s an excerpt from the Bucks County Courier Times coverage<\/a> of Penn ACTION’s Work ’till You Die event at the office of Cong. Mike Fitzpatrick (PA-08). \u00a0 The world Chris Bursk’s students will inherit will be a lot harder for them if the Ryan\/Fitzpatrick plan to destroy Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security is made law. \u00a0To help prevent that from happening,\u00a0the Save Social Security Coalition, which is led in Pennsylvania by Action United and Penn ACTION, held four similar events around Pennsylvania on April 28 and 29 to say no to the Ryan plan to end Medicare as we know it and to reduce Social Security benefits.<\/span><\/p>\n

The event at Cong. Fitzpatrick’s office was postponed until May 5, when sixteen concerned citizens came out to hold the Congressman accountable for his support of the foolhardy Ryan plan. \u00a0The theme of the event was Work ’till We Die, which is a reference to any attempts to raise Social Security’s retirement age or Medicare’s eligibility age. \u00a0We brought out props to remind the Congressman that some jobs involve not only the standard emotional stresses that employment brings but also physical stresses like lifting heavy objects (waitress trays, tools) or working in loud environments (construction work). \u00a0For people in those lines of work, working at those jobs past their forties is a long shot. \u00a0To suggest that they should stay on the job until they are 70 is an outrage. \u00a0And, to take away their Medicare, which most people need to treat injuries and illnesses incurred by a lifetime of living, is a sin.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can see the Courier Times’ video of the event – including our walk up to the Congressman’s office –\u00a0here<\/a>. \u00a0If you support Social Security and Medicare and want to see those programs strengthened instead of turned into privatization schemes that benefit the middlemen on Wall Street, leave a comment below. \u00a0We’re especially interested in hearing from people who have benefited or are benefiting from Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid.<\/span><\/p>\n

Background: In April, Congressman Fitzpatrick joined with every other Republican member of the House to vote Yes on the Ryan plan to end Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. \u00a0During the week of April 28, Penn Action called out members of Congress–including Representatives Barletta, Dent, Fitzpatrick, Gerlach, \u00a0and Meehan, who have voted<\/span><\/p>\n