Medicare premiums going up $5 a month for 2013

[Obamamite]

7. That's my point. The only somewhat constant financial thing in the life of a retiree...

(most Medicare recips are retirees) is assets. Investment income...they control it totally, and it varies wildly, depending on a lot of things.

My point being...basing anything on a retiree's "income" is pretty iffy, and probably unfair. Stock market income....stock market crashes, retiree has almost no income...is he still paying for Medicare based on the income for the prior year when he got a lot of income?

Unlike a worker, whose income is more stable than a retiree's, it's difficult to base anything on income. "Assets" is actually fairer, since it's more constant, predicable, and indicative of the financial position someone is in. (For instance, you may have more income because you haven't paid off your house yet, like your cousin Bernie, who draws a low income because he paid off his house years ago. Bernie is actually wealthier.)