On Money Sent to Medicare Enrollees

Dear Editor:

I am self-reporting a bribe. Not one that I made, but one that I received. It just showed up in my bank account — unsolicited (which means I didn’t ask for it), unwanted, unneeded, impossible to refuse, and impossible to return. Ninety dollars. Oh, and I wasn’t alone in receiving this bribe. Supposedly, about 20 million of us Medicare enrollees received that same amount of ninety dollars. The lie given along with the money is that it is to help us Social Security folk reduce the cost of Medicare — specifically, to offset the cost of Medicare Part B. Well, let’s see how much of a benefit this is. The monthly premium that we pay for Medicare Part B in 2026 is $202.90, which totals out to $2,434.80 for the year. Ninety dollars is 3.7% of that total. Or, to look at it another way, it is 44.6% of one month’s premium. That doesn’t sound to me like a great help on healthcare costs — especially considering that the reason they are as high as they are is due to the corrupt one who sent the bribe.

Of course, this isn’t about helping people at all. That’s not what the narcissist in the White House does. He cares nothing about other people. But, he is more than willing to use our tax and Social Security dollars to benefit himself. And, that’s what this is all about. Right now, he is terrified that Democrats could take control of Congress — and that would be bad news for him. So, what does he do? Well, of course, in the world of corruption (which is the world in which he lives), the natural thing is to bribe people to get the outcome he desires. And, please note, he thinks so little of all of us that he believes $90.00 is sufficient to corrupt our vote in the upcoming election. Believe me, it’s not! In fact, no amount would be sufficient to convince me (and hopefully, not you, either) to vote for anyone who bows down to the wannabe dictator.

But, you might be asking why I would say it is a bribe. Fair enough. So, let’s put it in context. We know that $90 isn’t going to provide a lot of help toward our Social Security costs. So, that’s just an excuse. If this were truly about helping people, it could easily be done following the election in November, so as to avoid any appearance of impropriety — or it could have been done months ago. But, that’s not the way that bribes work. 

We know that the election is only a few weeks away, and we also know that the so-called “president” is panicking. Take, for example, his “promise” that all of us adult citizens (apparently even birthright ones) will receive $5,000 dollars, if we just make sure that his party wins in November. That can be characterized as nothing other than a bribe: you give me what I want, and I’ll pay you for it. Of course, we know from experience that his “promises” are worth nothing — especially the ones where we are supposed to receive some amount of money. But, $90 paid to 20 million people is a lot less money than $5,000 paid to some 320 million people. The lower amount is doable (whether or not it’s legal is a whole other question). The higher amount promised can conveniently disappear. Either way, both of them are attempts to bribe people for their votes.

So, since the bribe was neither solicited nor wanted, the question becomes, “What do I do with this money?”. Well, folks, I’m happy to say that serendipity happens! The same day that I discovered this ninety dollars stinking up my bank account, I received word that friend of mine is a candidate for the San Francisco Board of Education. Absolutely perfect! What better way to use this bribe money than for something the briber would find abhorrent. I could use the money in support of everything the hater in the White House despises: a woman candidate; an intelligent and compassionate woman; public education; San Francisco; California. So, my friend is now the recipient of bribe money, repurposed to do good, instead of the evil for which it was intended.

I do have to say that I’m almost (but not really) sorry that we here in California aren’t in line for the $500 Medicare bribe that is coming to people in some states. I can think of several ways that money could be used that would benefit people or places the evil regime in Washington, DC, is trying to destroy.

Final word: the ballots have arrived. Vote!

Paul Guffin,

Downieville