The Iowa 2008 blog is a companion to AARP Iowa's Voices for the Future. Conversations reported here are the views of attendees and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of AARP. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that does not endorse any candidates nor make contributions to political parties or candidates.
Mason City, Iowa
A large group, including one State Senator and one State Representative and many other active community members gathered in Mason City to discuss financial security and health care issues.
There was a great deal of agreement from the group about health care being a right, but a right that should be earned by active participation in society, for those who are able. The group was also very disgruntled about the rising cost of prescription drugs and the need for the government to step in and negotiate with this industry.
Strong agreement was also shown for the importance of Social Security. A couple solutions were discussed about how to make the system solvent for future generations. These solutions included lifting the age to 67 or 68 for when people draw Social Security, raising the cap and not paying out to billionaires.
The group agreed on the importance of teaching financial literacy, one woman noted that the government needs to be setting a better example by not going into trillions of dollars of debt.
