Some are upset with programs being labeled as welfare

Peyron said he expects federal decision on EMC move to come in July

Nearly 20 Tulare County residents gathered Friday morning in Porterville’s Centennial Plaza multi-purpose room to voice their questions and concerns on not only what’s going on around the world, but also where House Majority Leader Kevin Mccarthy (R-bakersfield) stands on certain issues.

The first Friday of each month Mccarthy’s mobile office is in Porterville. A staff member from Mccarthy’s office hosts each mobile office held throughout California’s 23rd Congressional District.

The hour-long discussion revolved mostly on the growing concerns with Social Security and Medicare being labeled as welfare programs, why Veterans Affairs (VA) care reigns supreme, and an update on the relocation of the Tule River Tribe’s Eagle Mountain Casino.

In terms of Social Security and Medicare, many were disgusted with them being referred to as welfare programs.

“It is not an entitlement, it is a program that I paid into just like you pay into your 401k and other programs that you have for guaranteeing your income,” said Porterville resident Edith La Vonne, who started paying into Social Security when she started working fulltime at the age of 16.

La Vonne said she also doesn’t like when others, namely Republicans, compare Medicare to Medi-cal.

“One is welfare and one is not,” La Vonne said, adding, “I resent the fact that it [Medicare] is being called and compared to welfare because it is not.”

Aside from it being mistaken for a government assistance program, Springville resident Kathryn Black said she believes Social Security is failing as a program.

“We can’t afford it anymore,” Black said. “The government owes Social Security like three trillion dollars or something. That is what I am resentful about.”

Porterville resident Brock Neeley said Social Security will definitely fail as a program if every undocumented person in the State of California were to be deported.

“They [undocumented immigrants] pay into it [Social Security] and cannot collect anything on it because they are paying on somebody else’s account,” Neeley said.

La Vonne added that the reason undocumented immigrants want to come to the U.S. has nothing to do with Social Security or healthcare, but to simply get a job.

“In Mexico there is universal healthcare, they don’t have to pay for it, it is there just like it is in Canada,” La Vonne said. “So, when they [undocumented immigrants] are coming here, they are not coming for our healthcare, they are coming to work.”

She continued, “Look at how many retired Americans go to Mexico to get their medical procedures and dental procedures done because it is cheaper and better,” La Vonne said.

Black added, “Mexican healthcare is fifth in the world, our’s is 34th.”

Porterville resident Greg Shelton said part of the reason healthcare is so expensive in the U.S. as compared to other countries is because of mandates.

“At the hospitals, they have a mandate that if someone comes in sick they have to be treated whether they are legal or illegal,” Shelton said. “So in the end, insured or uninsured, the government ends up paying for it anyway.”

He continued, “And the irony is when I am done paying for the prisoner’s healthcare and for the state worker’s healthcare and for the poor people’s healthcare, when I get done I don’t have any money to pay for my own healthcare,” he said. “So that is kind of the disconnect I feel.”

Neeley believes that instead of everybody talking about Medicare for all, they should start saying VA care for all.

“Medicare has too many flaws in it,” Neeley said.

Neeley said one reason VA care reigns supreme is because it is based on a wellness program where keeping patients well to reduce costs is the goal.

“Right now everything we have is on reaction,” Neeley said. “You get sick and you go to the doctor or you go to the hospital. That costs a lot more money than solely maintaining somebody’s health.”

As far as the relocation of the Eagle Mountain Casino, Cole Karr, Mccarthy’s field representative, said Mccarthy is supportive of it and has been very helpful in the process.

Neil Peyron, the chairman for the Tule River Tribe, agreed.

“He has been helpful, but there is a process and we understand that,” Peyron said.

Peyron said that process, although slow, will ensure that the relocation of the casino is beneficial to the tribe and is not going to be harmful to anybody.

Peyron noted that he plans on having a decision from the federal government regarding the relocation of the casino some time in July of this year.