My husband and I are already using up our savings in order to meet our obligations. Cuts in Social Security must not occur. We do not want to be dependant on our chidren or the government.

Everyone should be entitled to counseling/therapy. I have good health insurance coverage by a top provider in my state. I recently experienced a very grief stricken and painful divorce. I sought out a therapist's help, but a few days after attending the session was told my health insurance would not cover it and was charged $80. I am a college graduate with an average household income, but as a newly single parent and debt from the marriage and divorce I could not afford to continue. I have managed through faith and family, but some people don't have that. And even if they do....they could be doing a lot better. Not everyone has someone to talk to. Just think if insurance covered therapy...there could be less divorce, less grief, less suffering, less isolation. And maybe, just maybe less violence like we saw at Sandy Hook Elementary. Mental health is just as important as going to the dentist or getting a physical. It impacts all aspects of our bodies, lives and affects others. As a country we should take care of our people and everyone should have access to professional help.

Recent events have polarized feelings about gun control. We believe that the recent Supreme Court decision guaranteeing every citizens right to bear arms offers a solution to the proliferation of the weapons of war in our society. The strict interpretation so beloved by the gun lobby and upheld by the court should be applied just that way - in the context in which it was written. The framers intended that every citizen should have the right to bear the arms of the day, not those arms that might be be made available at a later date.

As part of the fiscal showdown negotiations, President Obama has proposed cutting Social Security for almost all current and future beneficiaries. Social Security should not be a part of the negotiations. It does not contribute even $1 to the deficit, and according to even the most pessimistic projections it is 100% solvent for more than 20 years.

I am disabled and cuts to Social Security would be the difference whether I eat, have money to buy my meds, or have money to pay for lights and water. In other words, cuts would mean I would have to go without something that I need to live.

I'm sick of senior citizens being used. We did not get a cost of living for two years and that hurts. I'm sick of them talking about the Bush tax. He helped put us in this mess. I'm sick of there not being leadership in Congress. The wealthiest should pay more taxes.

"I am currently a disabled American who receives Social Security benefits. My monthly check is not enough to cover my living expenses. My retirement check will be a bit more, but still not enough to live on. These cuts should be stopped."

The majority of working taxpayers in this nation pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on 100% of their income their entire lives to earn the modest benefits of these programs that sustain them when they are no longer able to work. The 2% vigorously resisting paying less than 7 cents per dollar above $250,000.00 pay these taxes on less than 45% of their income, while those receiving $1,000,000.00 pay on barely more than 11%, and those collecting 10,000,000.00 are taxed on only 1.1% of their income for Social Security and Medicare. To address entitlement reform, eliminating the 99%+ tax break received by the wealthiest 1%er's would essentially eliminate the unfunded liabilities in Social Security and reduce the federal deficit and national debt substantially by equitably funding Medicare.

I am a mentally ill 51 year old widowed female receiving Social Security benefits. If you cut my Social Security, which I paid for myself, I am sure my mental health will go downhill fast. Please note that the U.S.A. OWES money to the S.S. fund, so why don't you pay back what the government owes S.S. before deciding to cut it. The U.S. debt to S.S. was even included in the deficit amount that has been determined! We need to help the mentally ill more than ever here in the U.S.A. Please don't cut one of the only chances they have to to ever get treated for their mental illness.

Enough is enough. Americans shouldn't have to be worried that an irresponsible gun-owning parent's recklessness will result in the slaughter of their young children at school. We need REAL gun control. Stringent rules such as those in Australia or the UK. Dramatic reductions in the numbers of guns in American homes. In order to do that, we must first repeal the 2nd Amendment, to remove the deadly constitutional right of all Americans to own as many lethal weapons as they desire. Repealing the 2nd amendment won't automatically make all gun ownership illegal, but it will allow us to move forward and create the rational rules we need for the 21st century.

making any type of cuts !

OUR PUBLIC SAFETY SHOULD MATTER TO CORPORATIONS, WALMART WILL KEEP SELLING THE BUSHMASTER .223. IT AFFECTS ALL OF US SINCE THIS IS A HIGH CALIBER WEAPON. OUR SAFETY SHOULD BE A TOP PRIORITY FOR WALMART. LET'S MAKE PUBLIC SAFETY BE HEARD.