I am 53 years old, and recently remarried (Dec '08). When I had to take a 5% pay cut just after the marriage, I thought I was lucky because I still had a job, and health care that cost me more than $350 a month out of my paycheck. Then, on March 1, I was converted to an independent contractor at less than half pay, and with NO benefits. Just a few weeks ago, I suffered a seizure. And I have no health care. VA offers no assistance because they go by LAST year's income, which means I have to remain poor for another year before they will help. So, to my new wife, it's basically, "Hi, honey. I've lost most of my income along with our health insurance, and now I'm having seizures and we can't afford to find out why. Just imagine what the next five months will be like!"

And yet, my wife and I, along with a close friend, continue to mount benefit concerts for the local food pantry, and provide a free meal to all in our community once a month. (Visit danvillefoodstock.com for more.) We do this because each of us must do what we can, and all of us must work together.

Taken in that context, allow me to be blunt. You and the rest of my representatives are about to cave to pressure from those who make untold billions by gouging the American citizen for all they can... and they do it with one of our most important societal resources: medical care. Cries of socialism be damned, sir. Americans deserve far more than they are getting from all the prosperity their sweat creates. And it starts with basic needs - health care, education, a chance at success beyond becoming manager at a fast food joint or a chain store.