Unlike many South Carolinians, our Senior citizens are not single-issue voters. Senior citizens tend to vote for candidate's that they think are more rounded and are knowledgeable on a variety of issues. They vote on a candidate’s experience, the direction of our state, the economy, health care, retirement and Medicare issues. They research the issues and they are eager to participate in the voting process because they understand the unique privilege we have in our country to vote freely without intimidation.
Today, many of our seniors are worried about the rising healthcare cost that threaten the Medicare program. This increase in healthcare cost has contributed to the economic problems here in South Carolina and nationally. Many seniors are struggling daily deciding whether to eat or to take medication. As you next state senator, I believe we need to make it more manageable for seniors to afford the necessities that they have worked so hard for all of their lives, to help them enjoy a comfortable retirement that they have saved and prepared for. My question is who will protect the seniors if we do not?
Brian Carnes believes we need health care and Medicare reforms to reduce health care costs for our seniors, not reform that will rob them of their benefits in order to pay for a bigger government bureaucracy. We need to make sure that we offer the highest quality health care at the lowest price for our seniors. They deserve it and they don't deserve a Washington bureaucracy determining what their medical treatment should be.
I am thankful for the work that former Lt. Governor Andre Bauer did with the Department of aging. His work there provided resources we have never had before in South Carolina, but there is still much work to do. His work with this department provided vital healthcare, exercise and nutrition services and connected hundreds of seniors to needed healthcare services. We should be appreciative of his efforts in the fight for seniors.
For me one issue, I would like to tackle, as your next Senator would be to make sure all of our senior citizens are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve. Many of our seniors fall victim to con artist who are looking to make a quick buck off of those who have saved and sacrificed for many years. This problem has increased in recent years and I will work with our newly elected Attorney General Wilson to find ways to discourage these con artist from taking advantage of our seniors. We need to toughen the laws that deal with these scams and to continue to educate our seniors on how to avoid these traps.
My job as a legislator is to serve the people young and old, I hope that we can make tremendous strides when it comes to senior issues in South Carolina, but I cannot do it without your help! I am asking if there are issues that I can approach head on in Columbia, please let me know and I will do what I can to help you and your family. Our seniors are a valuable resource that we need to utilize in order to make our state better. The knowledge, work ethic, common sense and dedication that our seniors offer to us is a precious asset that we need to treasure and use wisely!
