Sen. Tom Coburn speaks during a Town Hall Meeting in the Nigh University Center Ballrooms, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. Photo by Garett Fisbeck, The Vista
Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn held a town hall meeting in the Grand Ballroom at UCO’s Nigh University Center on Saturday. In a session that ran for an hour and a half, Coburn answered questions from the public ranging from an Edmond North High School senior’s concerns about student loans and a future in the medical field to queries about the US’s future relationship with Israel.
Coburn’s opening statement was short to open the floor up for questions as soon as possible.
“The whole purpose of this is for me, really, to hear from you, rather than for you so much to hear from me,” Coburn said.
Coburn told the crowd that he had seen “anxiety and apprehension about our future” everywhere he went in the US.
“I think that’s appropriate,” he said, “because the problems that we have are very real. They’re significant.”
He told the crowd that what gave him hope for the future was that the problems he referenced were solvable even considering the current brinkmanship throughout the political system.
“There are two or three things that give me hope,” he said. “One is our young people, when I look at them and I see their potential and our capability. The second thing that gives me hope is our seniors.”
He said that wherever he went, he asked seniors if they were willing to sacrifice to make sure their grandchildren were better off, and that he rarely got a “no.”
“The real problem is, over the last 30 years, we’ve actually lived off the next [generation],” he said.
He told the crowd that everyone currently on Social Security – not people who were going to be on the program in a month, but now – will collect $21 trillion more than they paid into the program, and that the unfunded liabilities for the program amounted to $36 trillion. He also said that Medicare’s unfunded liabilities were in the range of $62 trillion. It is uncertain whether these are accurate figures, as Coburn did not specify a time frame or point of reference for either number.
According to fact-checking website Politifact.com and the Government Accountability Office, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and public debt will exceed total GDP for the first time in 2026, accounting for approximately 104 percent of GDP.
Coburn finished his short statement before opening up the floor for questions by addressing the atmosphere of division in American Politics.
“Conservatives can’t have it all their way, they won’t get it,” he said. “So to hold a position that you will never achieve is stupidity.”
Coburn is not up for reelection in 2012, and has said that he would not seek a third term in 2016.
For photos from the event, click here.
Edmond Events
