The week of April 2nd to April 8th will provide multiple opportunities for participation in activities focusing on opposition to the attacks on working families, seniors, children and the vulnerable in our communities.
On April 2nd, at 2:00 p.m., there will be an International Solidarity Event at Peace Arch State Park at the Canadian/U.S. border in Blaine, WA. Union members and their allies from Washington, Oregon and British Columbia, will send a message of international solidarity with workers who are struggling to keep their right to organize and collectively bargain.
On Monday, April 4th , 5:30 - 7 p.m. at MLK Memorial Park, 2200 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Seattle -- Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn., where he was standing with sanitation workers supporting their dream of a better life. We are now seeing the right to bargain collectively for a voice at work and a decent life under attack. As part of the National Call to Action on April 4, there will be a local event with the message that we stand against a political agenda that is attacking working families, their human rights and their dignity. This event is sponsored by the Communications Workers of America.
Beginning April 5th, the action will shift to Olympia. The common message of all the actions will be:
-End corporate loopholes and give-aways to big business.
-Stop scapegoating public workers, immigrants and the poor.
-Don’t balance the budget on the backs of women, people of color, and the most vulnerable,
-Defend public schools and affordable tuition.
-Hands off collective bargaining. No layoffs or givebacks. Create jobs!
On Tuesday, April 5th, our South Sound based PSARAmembers are invited to join the Olympia Coalition for a Fair Budget, a coalition of students, church groups and peace activists. Beginning at 10 a.m. at the mural on State St. and Capital Way, there will be a march to the Capitol. Special attention will be devoted to the Chase Bank and Bank of America along the route of the march and the significant tax loophole they enjoy. A rally will begin on the Capitol steps between 11 and noon (depending on when the march arrives) with music and speakers continuing for the remainder of the day.
Wednesday, April 6th, is Community Action Day. WA Community Action Network will lead a large coalition of community based organizations in a “Mobilization for Human Needs and Education”. “We know right from wrong and we cannot stand by any longer in silence. We have rallied, marched, lobbied and testified. Now it’s time to turn up the heat.” Buses will depart from Seattle at 10 a.m. and activity will stretch throughout the day and late into the evening. For more information email Jill@washingtoncan.org or call (2060 805-6678). To sign up to participate go to http://wearewashington.wordpress.com/sign-up-to-attend/
Thursday, April 7th, SEIU will lead action wit the theme “Medical Care and Health Care for All”. Long term care workers, mental health workers, clients and community members will take action to stop the statewide cuts to necessary healthcare services. Starting the day at 11am in the big white tent on the diagonal of the Capitol campus, it will wind down with an action in downtown Olympia. For more information contact event organizer Shaine Truscott (Shaine.Truscott@seiu775.org) …
Friday, April 8th at 12 noon on the Capitol steps. Washington State Labor Rally. sponsored by the WA State Labor Council and its affiliated unions: The theme will be “We Are One-Put People First”. “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Working families are tired of being blamed and punished for the damage done by Wall Street banks and corporations.”
PSARA will try to get all of our members who wish to attend this event to Olympia. There will be buses sponsored by various unions and car pools. If you can drive, please email Maureen Bo at adminvp@psara,org or call the office (206) 448-9646. If you wish to attend and need a ride, please email Maureen or call the office.
It is time to turn up the heat. There are many choices for participation. We will work to have a PSARA presence at these events!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
We Are One: We Demand: Put People First!
by Robby Stern
On March 17th, I was asked to deliver the following statement to approximately 1500 participants in a “Rally To Protect Our Future” on the Capital steps in Olympia. This letter was then delivered by a contingent from the rally to Governor Gregoire and the legislative leadership:
Budget cuts have undermined our state’s quality of life, and have placed the burden for a recession caused by Wall Street greed squarely on the backs of the most vulnerable.
We the people - workers, children, youth, seniors, students, people with disabilities, poor people, the middle class, and disproportionately people of color and immigrants – have already borne the brunt of the recession.
You – the Governor and the State Legislature – have a responsibility to provide moral leadership and call on big corporations and the very wealthy to pay their fair share.
We the people are suffering due to cuts to every public service that supports our American Dream. We are losing our health care and we can no longer see a doctor when we are sick. We are losing our wages and benefits and we struggle every day to put food on the table. Our schools are underfunded and our children are falling behind. Tuition is skyrocketing and our opportunities for a college education are disappearing. Workers compensation, dental care, food assistance, mental health care, and child care have all been slashed. Because of all of these actions, racial inequality in our state is increasing.
Every opportunity that we had to work hard and get ahead is being cut, while billions in tax breaks for the Wall Street banks and wealthy special interests that caused the recession in the first place remain untouched.
To add insult to injury, the state has continued to grant millions in special tax exemptions to the same corporate interests that caused the recession in the first place.
We the people have sacrificed enough.
The wealthiest in our state have not shared in this sacrifice. Millions in tax breaks for big out-of-state banks continue unabated. The wealthiest 1 percent in our state already pay the least in state taxes, but enjoy millions more in tax breaks when they purchase a private jet or pay for non-essential cosmetic surgery.
The state currently has 567 tax breaks on the books that cost taxpayers billions of dollars every year. Instead of cutting vital services, the legislature should be cutting the billions in wasteful corporate tax breaks that aren’t even being reviewed.
It is time for corporations and the wealthiest Washingtonians to share the sacrifice.
By the week of April 4th, we demand that you, the Governor and State Legislature, develop a responsible budget plan that:
• Stops the cuts to public services that support our communities and create jobs, by ending unjustified tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
• Pursues other revenue sources that will restore funding to core services.
• Makes government more accountable and transparent by reviewing and sunsetting wasteful tax breaks when they fail to create jobs or benefit our communities.
• Prevents any new spending on unnecessary tax exemptions that would make the budget deficit worse.
You – the Governor and the State Legislature - have a choice. You can create a budget that lessens human suffering and inequity, or you can protect corporations and the wealthy from sharing the sacrifice.
The people of Washington await your response.”
The wealthy interests and their political and media allies have determined that they will use this Wall Street created economic crisis to implement even deeper attacks on the standard of living and the future well-being of the majority of people in our country. The “Shock Doctrine” is being applied and it is happening at both the federal and state level.
PSARA members and our allies are now being challenged, as never before, to engage in a long term fight to right these wrongs and to put our state and country on a humane and moral path.
On March 17th, I was asked to deliver the following statement to approximately 1500 participants in a “Rally To Protect Our Future” on the Capital steps in Olympia. This letter was then delivered by a contingent from the rally to Governor Gregoire and the legislative leadership:
Budget cuts have undermined our state’s quality of life, and have placed the burden for a recession caused by Wall Street greed squarely on the backs of the most vulnerable.
We the people - workers, children, youth, seniors, students, people with disabilities, poor people, the middle class, and disproportionately people of color and immigrants – have already borne the brunt of the recession.
You – the Governor and the State Legislature – have a responsibility to provide moral leadership and call on big corporations and the very wealthy to pay their fair share.
We the people are suffering due to cuts to every public service that supports our American Dream. We are losing our health care and we can no longer see a doctor when we are sick. We are losing our wages and benefits and we struggle every day to put food on the table. Our schools are underfunded and our children are falling behind. Tuition is skyrocketing and our opportunities for a college education are disappearing. Workers compensation, dental care, food assistance, mental health care, and child care have all been slashed. Because of all of these actions, racial inequality in our state is increasing.
Every opportunity that we had to work hard and get ahead is being cut, while billions in tax breaks for the Wall Street banks and wealthy special interests that caused the recession in the first place remain untouched.
To add insult to injury, the state has continued to grant millions in special tax exemptions to the same corporate interests that caused the recession in the first place.
We the people have sacrificed enough.
The wealthiest in our state have not shared in this sacrifice. Millions in tax breaks for big out-of-state banks continue unabated. The wealthiest 1 percent in our state already pay the least in state taxes, but enjoy millions more in tax breaks when they purchase a private jet or pay for non-essential cosmetic surgery.
The state currently has 567 tax breaks on the books that cost taxpayers billions of dollars every year. Instead of cutting vital services, the legislature should be cutting the billions in wasteful corporate tax breaks that aren’t even being reviewed.
It is time for corporations and the wealthiest Washingtonians to share the sacrifice.
By the week of April 4th, we demand that you, the Governor and State Legislature, develop a responsible budget plan that:
• Stops the cuts to public services that support our communities and create jobs, by ending unjustified tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations.
• Pursues other revenue sources that will restore funding to core services.
• Makes government more accountable and transparent by reviewing and sunsetting wasteful tax breaks when they fail to create jobs or benefit our communities.
• Prevents any new spending on unnecessary tax exemptions that would make the budget deficit worse.
You – the Governor and the State Legislature - have a choice. You can create a budget that lessens human suffering and inequity, or you can protect corporations and the wealthy from sharing the sacrifice.
The people of Washington await your response.”
The wealthy interests and their political and media allies have determined that they will use this Wall Street created economic crisis to implement even deeper attacks on the standard of living and the future well-being of the majority of people in our country. The “Shock Doctrine” is being applied and it is happening at both the federal and state level.
PSARA members and our allies are now being challenged, as never before, to engage in a long term fight to right these wrongs and to put our state and country on a humane and moral path.
Remembering Irene Hull, 98
By Will Parry
Irene Hull, a founding member of the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans and for seven decades a feisty, diminutive dynamo at numberless meetings, rallies, marches and picket lines, died of pneumonia March 20. She was 98.
Born in Republic, Kansas, in 1913, Irene joined the Communist Party in 1942 and remained a member throughout her long life. She never lost confidence that, in good time, the working people who were close to her heart would vanquish capitalism and establish a socialist United States, with liberty and justice for all.
She waged a lifelong struggle to bring that day closer.
Irene was a labor activist, a member of Bookbinders Local 87, a founding member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and a delegate to the King County Labor Council. Among her many awards was a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Washington State Labor Council.
For half a century she worked for peace, in Seattle Women Act for Peace and in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
An iconic photo of Irene being carried limp between two hulking Seattle police officers after being arrested during a demonstration at local Republican headquarters was reproduced in quantity by Jobs With Justice and is displayed in union halls across the country.
A memorial is being planned. At the family’s request, memorial contributions may be made to the People’s World, 235 W. 23rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10011.
Irene Hull, a founding member of the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans and for seven decades a feisty, diminutive dynamo at numberless meetings, rallies, marches and picket lines, died of pneumonia March 20. She was 98.
Born in Republic, Kansas, in 1913, Irene joined the Communist Party in 1942 and remained a member throughout her long life. She never lost confidence that, in good time, the working people who were close to her heart would vanquish capitalism and establish a socialist United States, with liberty and justice for all.
She waged a lifelong struggle to bring that day closer.
Irene was a labor activist, a member of Bookbinders Local 87, a founding member of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, and a delegate to the King County Labor Council. Among her many awards was a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Washington State Labor Council.
For half a century she worked for peace, in Seattle Women Act for Peace and in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.
An iconic photo of Irene being carried limp between two hulking Seattle police officers after being arrested during a demonstration at local Republican headquarters was reproduced in quantity by Jobs With Justice and is displayed in union halls across the country.
A memorial is being planned. At the family’s request, memorial contributions may be made to the People’s World, 235 W. 23rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10011.
One leg at a time
If you ever go to a meeting, make a pitch for membership in the Puget Sound Alliance, and sign up fifteen new members, good for you.
You’re the champion.
Most of us pull our pants on one leg at a time.
If you belong to the latter group, read on.
This appeal is to you.
One new member is an accomplishment to be proud of, because it’s true – every new member makes us stronger.
And every one of our more than one thousand members can get that one new member.
Every one of us. Without exception.
So what are you waiting for?
Use The Retiree Advocate as bait. Pick your target – that friend, neighbor, relative or workmate.
And go get ‘em.
Sure, two hundred and fifty new members in 2011 is an ambitious goal But we’ll get there, because we understand that the times demand a larger, stronger Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans.
We pull our pants on one leg at a time.
And we’ll get those 250 new members the same way.
You’re the champion.
Most of us pull our pants on one leg at a time.
If you belong to the latter group, read on.
This appeal is to you.
One new member is an accomplishment to be proud of, because it’s true – every new member makes us stronger.
And every one of our more than one thousand members can get that one new member.
Every one of us. Without exception.
So what are you waiting for?
Use The Retiree Advocate as bait. Pick your target – that friend, neighbor, relative or workmate.
And go get ‘em.
Sure, two hundred and fifty new members in 2011 is an ambitious goal But we’ll get there, because we understand that the times demand a larger, stronger Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans.
We pull our pants on one leg at a time.
And we’ll get those 250 new members the same way.
Wisconsin: It ain’t over till it’s over…
By Mike Andrew
"Madison is just the beginning!" AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told a union rally in Annapolis, Maryland, on March 14. "Like that old song goes, 'You ain't seen nothin’ yet!'"
The Annapolis rally was only one in a series of labor rallies reacting to stunning developments in Wisconsin.
Late in the night on March 9, Republicans in the state’s Senate cut out all fiscal provisions from Gov. Scott Walker’s so-called “budget repair bill,” thus freeing themselves from a constitutional requirement to have a 20-vote quorum.
They then voted 18-1 to strip public sector workers of their collective bargaining rights. Only one Republican voted No. All the senate’s Democrats were still boycotting the session.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich called the dead-of-night legislative action a “coup d’etat.”
The next day, the state Assembly followed suit, and Walker signed the bill on March 11.
It was a month to the day since Walker introduced the “budget repair bill.”
That month had been filled by daily rallies at the state capitol in Madison, with crowds of workers and their allies sometimes topping 100,000.
Still more rallies followed, including a raucous and joyful “Welcome Home” rally on March 12 for the 14 Democratic senators who fled the state to deny Republicans their 20-vote quorum.
The AFL-CIO has called for a National Day of Action on April 4, the anniversary of the 1968 assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr King was killed in Memphis, Tennessee, were he’d gone to support the rights of city garbage workers.
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, Judge Maryann Sumi stayed implementation of the new law on grounds that Republicans may have violated Wisconsin’s open meetings law.
Recall petitions have been filed for Republicans who voted for the Walker bill, and Republicans have also filed recall petitions for Democratic senators who left the state.
Legislation limiting collective bargaining rights has also passed the Ohio state senate, and Indiana’s legislature is considering a “right to work” bill.
The stakes of this fight are not hard to figure out.
With the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision lifting most caps on campaign spending, money has become even more “the mother’s milk of politics,” as Jesse Unruh used to say.
Of the top 10 contributors to the 2010 election campaigns, only four were unions. Of the four, three – AFT, NEA, and AFSCME – are public sector unions. The third – SEIU – also represents many public sector employees.
Cripple the unions and you deny people any organized vehicle to challenge the corporate political agenda. Period. Game over.
That’s why poll after poll – in Wisconsin, Ohio, and nationally – show that voters strongly disapprove of stripping workers’ collective bargaining rights.
Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on March 18, the AFL-CIO’s Trumka called for continuing the campaign to defend collective bargaining rights.
“Walker turned a moment into a movement…” he said.
"Madison is just the beginning!" AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told a union rally in Annapolis, Maryland, on March 14. "Like that old song goes, 'You ain't seen nothin’ yet!'"
The Annapolis rally was only one in a series of labor rallies reacting to stunning developments in Wisconsin.
Late in the night on March 9, Republicans in the state’s Senate cut out all fiscal provisions from Gov. Scott Walker’s so-called “budget repair bill,” thus freeing themselves from a constitutional requirement to have a 20-vote quorum.
They then voted 18-1 to strip public sector workers of their collective bargaining rights. Only one Republican voted No. All the senate’s Democrats were still boycotting the session.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich called the dead-of-night legislative action a “coup d’etat.”
The next day, the state Assembly followed suit, and Walker signed the bill on March 11.
It was a month to the day since Walker introduced the “budget repair bill.”
That month had been filled by daily rallies at the state capitol in Madison, with crowds of workers and their allies sometimes topping 100,000.
Still more rallies followed, including a raucous and joyful “Welcome Home” rally on March 12 for the 14 Democratic senators who fled the state to deny Republicans their 20-vote quorum.
The AFL-CIO has called for a National Day of Action on April 4, the anniversary of the 1968 assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr King was killed in Memphis, Tennessee, were he’d gone to support the rights of city garbage workers.
Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, Judge Maryann Sumi stayed implementation of the new law on grounds that Republicans may have violated Wisconsin’s open meetings law.
Recall petitions have been filed for Republicans who voted for the Walker bill, and Republicans have also filed recall petitions for Democratic senators who left the state.
Legislation limiting collective bargaining rights has also passed the Ohio state senate, and Indiana’s legislature is considering a “right to work” bill.
The stakes of this fight are not hard to figure out.
With the US Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision lifting most caps on campaign spending, money has become even more “the mother’s milk of politics,” as Jesse Unruh used to say.
Of the top 10 contributors to the 2010 election campaigns, only four were unions. Of the four, three – AFT, NEA, and AFSCME – are public sector unions. The third – SEIU – also represents many public sector employees.
Cripple the unions and you deny people any organized vehicle to challenge the corporate political agenda. Period. Game over.
That’s why poll after poll – in Wisconsin, Ohio, and nationally – show that voters strongly disapprove of stripping workers’ collective bargaining rights.
Appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on March 18, the AFL-CIO’s Trumka called for continuing the campaign to defend collective bargaining rights.
“Walker turned a moment into a movement…” he said.
Meet our new Associate Editor
Mike Andrew, an experienced journalist and gay activist, is now the associate editor of The Retiree Advocate. In that capacity, he will work closely with President Robby Stern and Editor Will Parry in preparing, writing and editing the newsletter.
For the past 12 years, Mike has been active in Pride at Work, the LGBT constituency affiliated with organized labor, including the unions in Change to Win and independent unions as well as the national AFL-CIO. He currently serves as secretary-treasurer of the King County chapter.
A member of the National Writers Union, Mike’s work is regularly seen in the Seattle Gay News.
“We’re lucky to get so capable and experienced a writer as part of our staff,” Parry said. “Robby and I are looking forward to working with Mike. The newsletter will be the stronger for his contributions.”
For the past 12 years, Mike has been active in Pride at Work, the LGBT constituency affiliated with organized labor, including the unions in Change to Win and independent unions as well as the national AFL-CIO. He currently serves as secretary-treasurer of the King County chapter.
A member of the National Writers Union, Mike’s work is regularly seen in the Seattle Gay News.
“We’re lucky to get so capable and experienced a writer as part of our staff,” Parry said. “Robby and I are looking forward to working with Mike. The newsletter will be the stronger for his contributions.”
Happy Birthday, Health Care Reform!
By David Loud
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), the biggest step towards achieving health care for all in our country in 100 years of trying. One year later, let us consider some of what has been accomplished so far.
For people on Medicare:
Free preventive care: In 2011, for the first time, 44 million beneficiaries are entitled to a free annual wellness visit, as well as free preventive services such as mammograms and colonoscopies.
Lowering drug costs: In 2010 over 3.7 million people received $250 rebate checks for falling in the “donut hole,” including 62,543 in Washington State. In 2011, prescription costs will be further lowered by a 50% discount on brand-name drugs in the donut hole (which will close completely by 2020).
Strengthening Medicare: The ACA has extended the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund by 12 years, to 2029. There are new tools to crack down on Medicare fraud and abuse, and a record $4 billion was recovered for taxpayers in 2010.
For early retirees:
Over 5000 health plan sponsors that cover retirees not yet eligible for Medicare, including union health & welfare trusts, are benefiting from lower costs through ACA’s Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. These sponsors, including 79 in WA, received $535 million in reimbursements in 2010, helping more than 4.5 million retirees.
For young adults:
People can now stay on their parents’ health plans until their 26th birthday if they do not have coverage of their own. Data are not available yet, but the US Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) estimates that 180,000 young adults in WA may benefit from this provision.
For children with pre-existing conditions:
Children under 18 can no longer be denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Enrollment data are not available yet, but DHHS estimates that around 250,000 kids nationally could get coverage through this provision. (The ACA will ban insurers from pre-existing condition exclusions and denials for everyone in 2014).
For small businesses:
Tax credits: More than 4 million small businesses are estimated to be eligible for tax credits starting in 2010, covering up to 35% of the cost of insuring employees (this goes to 50% in 2014). The percentage of employers with fewer than 10 employees that offer health coverage rose from 46% in 2009 to 59% in 2010.
For everyone with private insurance:
No more lifetime limits on coverage: Starting in 2010, plans are no longer able to place a lifetime limit on a person’s coverage. Annual limits on coverage will be banned in 2014.
No more recissions: Starting in 2010, plans are no longer allowed to drop people from coverage simply because they become sick, previously a common insurance industry practice.
Limiting insurance companies’ profiteering: Insurers must now spend at least 80% of their premiums (85% for large plans) for medical services, rather than for administration, profits and CEO pay. Before ACA, insurers sometimes kept 30-40% or more of their premiums for themselves.
For bringing cost under control:
The ACA takes strides towards bending the cost curve that was going out of control, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates that it will trim $1 trillion from the federal deficit over 10 years. Many innovations in the delivery of care, spurred by provisions of the ACA, will help achieve greater savings by moving us from a fee-for-service system that pays for quantity and a focus on disease to one that pays for quality, outcomes of care, and a focus on wellness and prevention.
THE FIGHT TO FULFILL THE PROMISE
There’s plenty to celebrate on the anniversary of ACA. But many of the biggest gains we will see under ACA lie ahead, especially in 2014 when more than 30 million people will gain access to quality and affordable health care coverage through state-based Insurance Exchanges and an expansion of Medicaid eligibility.
In the meantime, the Great Recession has increased the ranks of the uninsured to 59 million just as crises in state budgets are resulting in the shredding of the safety nets, including Medicaid and other programs for the working poor like WA’s Basic Health Plan. The Republican/corporate-led onslaughts against healthcare reform, unions, reproductive rights, the social safety net and democracy itself are inflicting great damage and threatening our well-being and future.
But with Wisconsin’s mass movement of resistance to Republican union-busting leading the way, it looks like a “sleeping giant” may finally be awakening and that the American people are taking up the challenge to change the country’s course away from the bleak future the Republicans are trying to impose on us. In this struggle, one of our most important battlegrounds will be to defend the gains of the Affordable Care Act and build on them to fulfill the promise of healthcare for all.
---------------------
Sources for this article: Dept. of Health & Human Services, Congressional Research Service. For comprehensive and authoritative information on the Affordable Care Act, its implementation and how it may affect you, see www.HealthCare.gov.
David Loud is community liaison for Congressman Jim McDermott and a member of PSARA.
On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA), the biggest step towards achieving health care for all in our country in 100 years of trying. One year later, let us consider some of what has been accomplished so far.
For people on Medicare:
Free preventive care: In 2011, for the first time, 44 million beneficiaries are entitled to a free annual wellness visit, as well as free preventive services such as mammograms and colonoscopies.
Lowering drug costs: In 2010 over 3.7 million people received $250 rebate checks for falling in the “donut hole,” including 62,543 in Washington State. In 2011, prescription costs will be further lowered by a 50% discount on brand-name drugs in the donut hole (which will close completely by 2020).
Strengthening Medicare: The ACA has extended the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund by 12 years, to 2029. There are new tools to crack down on Medicare fraud and abuse, and a record $4 billion was recovered for taxpayers in 2010.
For early retirees:
Over 5000 health plan sponsors that cover retirees not yet eligible for Medicare, including union health & welfare trusts, are benefiting from lower costs through ACA’s Early Retiree Reinsurance Program. These sponsors, including 79 in WA, received $535 million in reimbursements in 2010, helping more than 4.5 million retirees.
For young adults:
People can now stay on their parents’ health plans until their 26th birthday if they do not have coverage of their own. Data are not available yet, but the US Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) estimates that 180,000 young adults in WA may benefit from this provision.
For children with pre-existing conditions:
Children under 18 can no longer be denied coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Enrollment data are not available yet, but DHHS estimates that around 250,000 kids nationally could get coverage through this provision. (The ACA will ban insurers from pre-existing condition exclusions and denials for everyone in 2014).
For small businesses:
Tax credits: More than 4 million small businesses are estimated to be eligible for tax credits starting in 2010, covering up to 35% of the cost of insuring employees (this goes to 50% in 2014). The percentage of employers with fewer than 10 employees that offer health coverage rose from 46% in 2009 to 59% in 2010.
For everyone with private insurance:
No more lifetime limits on coverage: Starting in 2010, plans are no longer able to place a lifetime limit on a person’s coverage. Annual limits on coverage will be banned in 2014.
No more recissions: Starting in 2010, plans are no longer allowed to drop people from coverage simply because they become sick, previously a common insurance industry practice.
Limiting insurance companies’ profiteering: Insurers must now spend at least 80% of their premiums (85% for large plans) for medical services, rather than for administration, profits and CEO pay. Before ACA, insurers sometimes kept 30-40% or more of their premiums for themselves.
For bringing cost under control:
The ACA takes strides towards bending the cost curve that was going out of control, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates that it will trim $1 trillion from the federal deficit over 10 years. Many innovations in the delivery of care, spurred by provisions of the ACA, will help achieve greater savings by moving us from a fee-for-service system that pays for quantity and a focus on disease to one that pays for quality, outcomes of care, and a focus on wellness and prevention.
THE FIGHT TO FULFILL THE PROMISE
There’s plenty to celebrate on the anniversary of ACA. But many of the biggest gains we will see under ACA lie ahead, especially in 2014 when more than 30 million people will gain access to quality and affordable health care coverage through state-based Insurance Exchanges and an expansion of Medicaid eligibility.
In the meantime, the Great Recession has increased the ranks of the uninsured to 59 million just as crises in state budgets are resulting in the shredding of the safety nets, including Medicaid and other programs for the working poor like WA’s Basic Health Plan. The Republican/corporate-led onslaughts against healthcare reform, unions, reproductive rights, the social safety net and democracy itself are inflicting great damage and threatening our well-being and future.
But with Wisconsin’s mass movement of resistance to Republican union-busting leading the way, it looks like a “sleeping giant” may finally be awakening and that the American people are taking up the challenge to change the country’s course away from the bleak future the Republicans are trying to impose on us. In this struggle, one of our most important battlegrounds will be to defend the gains of the Affordable Care Act and build on them to fulfill the promise of healthcare for all.
---------------------
Sources for this article: Dept. of Health & Human Services, Congressional Research Service. For comprehensive and authoritative information on the Affordable Care Act, its implementation and how it may affect you, see www.HealthCare.gov.
David Loud is community liaison for Congressman Jim McDermott and a member of PSARA.
Seize the time...Again!
By Frank Irigon
Members of the Asian Pacific Islander community and their allies gathered at Seattle Central Community College on March 2 to commemorate a struggle of forty years ago that transformed the perspective of their community and whose influence was felt throughout the Puget Sound region.
In 1971, on February 9 and again on March 2, led by co-chairs Alan Sugiyama and Mike Tagawa, the Oriental Student Union demonstrated at Seattle Central Community College, closing the district’s administration building to protest the lack of Asian American administrators at the multi-ethnic college.
“If there are no Asian administrators working, there will be no one working”, declared at the beginning of the peaceful demonstrations.
Sugiyama pointed out that highly qualified Asian Americans who applied for top jobs at the college were consistently not hired or passed over for promotions of lesser-qualified whites. Tired of these injustices, the Oriental Student Union decided to seize the time and correct these injustices by holding peaceful demonstrations.
The demonstrations brought together the Black Panthers, Brown Berets, American Indian Students Association, Young Socialists and sympathetic white students in support of the Asian American demonstrators and their demands. Ironically, the top administrator at the college was an African American who instead of being a harbinger for change was an opponent of it. He decided that in no way was he going to capitulate to the demands of the Oriental Student Union. Instead he was going to fight them.
These demonstrations were a portent of things to come in the metamorphosis of Seattle’s Asian American community in the coming decades. Young people from the community would no longer choose to let things slide and not cause waves. The community became dedicated to direct action to change things for the better. Once baptized in the waters of civil disobedience and taking it to the streets, the Asian American community was emboldened to challenge the status quo. They were no longer going to be the model minority. They were going to stand up and be counted among the brothers and sisters who
clamored for peace and social justice.
Out of the cauldron of the demonstrations at Seattle Central Community College spawned many more direct action activities, from the founding of the Pacific Northwest’s truly Pan Asian community newspaper, the Asian Family Affair, to the Kingdome demonstrations. The former published the news that was important to the Asian American community that the local media suppressed, and the latter prevented the loss of the character of the International District/Chinatown to the construction of the Kingdome and kept it as a neighborhood for its primarily Asian elderly residents.
In the end, though it didn’t happen immediately, the Seattle Community College District hired an Asian American, Dr. Peter Ku, to a campus presidency and later its chancellor. Presently, an Asian American, Mark Matsui, is president of North Seattle Community College. But there is room for improvement not just on this campus but also in other community and technical colleges in the State of Washington.
In the face of today’s economic challenges, the burden of paying for the state’s financial insolvency is falling on the backs of the poor, the middle class, retirees, and on labor unions’ right to organize. The burden is falling disproportionately on people of color. Isn’t it time for all of us to seize the time, again!
Members of the Asian Pacific Islander community and their allies gathered at Seattle Central Community College on March 2 to commemorate a struggle of forty years ago that transformed the perspective of their community and whose influence was felt throughout the Puget Sound region.
In 1971, on February 9 and again on March 2, led by co-chairs Alan Sugiyama and Mike Tagawa, the Oriental Student Union demonstrated at Seattle Central Community College, closing the district’s administration building to protest the lack of Asian American administrators at the multi-ethnic college.
“If there are no Asian administrators working, there will be no one working”, declared at the beginning of the peaceful demonstrations.
Sugiyama pointed out that highly qualified Asian Americans who applied for top jobs at the college were consistently not hired or passed over for promotions of lesser-qualified whites. Tired of these injustices, the Oriental Student Union decided to seize the time and correct these injustices by holding peaceful demonstrations.
The demonstrations brought together the Black Panthers, Brown Berets, American Indian Students Association, Young Socialists and sympathetic white students in support of the Asian American demonstrators and their demands. Ironically, the top administrator at the college was an African American who instead of being a harbinger for change was an opponent of it. He decided that in no way was he going to capitulate to the demands of the Oriental Student Union. Instead he was going to fight them.
These demonstrations were a portent of things to come in the metamorphosis of Seattle’s Asian American community in the coming decades. Young people from the community would no longer choose to let things slide and not cause waves. The community became dedicated to direct action to change things for the better. Once baptized in the waters of civil disobedience and taking it to the streets, the Asian American community was emboldened to challenge the status quo. They were no longer going to be the model minority. They were going to stand up and be counted among the brothers and sisters who
clamored for peace and social justice.
Out of the cauldron of the demonstrations at Seattle Central Community College spawned many more direct action activities, from the founding of the Pacific Northwest’s truly Pan Asian community newspaper, the Asian Family Affair, to the Kingdome demonstrations. The former published the news that was important to the Asian American community that the local media suppressed, and the latter prevented the loss of the character of the International District/Chinatown to the construction of the Kingdome and kept it as a neighborhood for its primarily Asian elderly residents.
In the end, though it didn’t happen immediately, the Seattle Community College District hired an Asian American, Dr. Peter Ku, to a campus presidency and later its chancellor. Presently, an Asian American, Mark Matsui, is president of North Seattle Community College. But there is room for improvement not just on this campus but also in other community and technical colleges in the State of Washington.
In the face of today’s economic challenges, the burden of paying for the state’s financial insolvency is falling on the backs of the poor, the middle class, retirees, and on labor unions’ right to organize. The burden is falling disproportionately on people of color. Isn’t it time for all of us to seize the time, again!
Why Should I Care? A Young Millennial’s Perspective
By Anita Nath
“Social Security? Retirement? Health Care? As a twenty-three year old, why should I care? I don’t have to think about these issues for at least another thirty years and besides, it is going to run out anyway, right?”
Wrong. Unfortunately, if I took a poll, this would be the response of a large portion of my peers today. Young people know that money is deducted from our paychecks every week, but many of us do not know why, what it is used for, or how the system works. Members of my generation have the mentality of “Oh just let the baby boomers take care of it.”
This just won’t do. I care about these issues, because maintaining these benefits may mean the difference between poverty and a life of retirement security for my generation. Yes, we are young now, but we are equal stakeholders in this system. The time has come for my generation to exercise our power, and harness our knowledge to establish what we have at stake. I for one would not like to work until I am 70 years old (which is a strong possibility if you ask the Federal bi-partisan deficit committee)!
My generation is known as the millennials, defined as those born between 1983 and 1998. According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan fact tank, millennials are “More ethnically and racially diverse than older generations.
They’re confident, connected, open to change, and are on track to become the most
educated generation in American history.”
With these credentials, our generation brought to power the first African American president (with twenty-four million votes by those under 30) as we were reaching for a solution to the largest economic crisis in years, and searching to find a solution in the Middle East. We know we have power, now we must energize it to save a system that has been in place since 1935.
Taking on this challenge, millennials have to first educate ourselves on what is at stake – our future. Young people must learn that Social Security, also known as Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI), assists not only the retired and elderly, but those who lose a loved one or those who become disabled, as well.
Social Security is one of areas of public funds targeted to be cut ostensibly in attempts lower the country’s ever-growing deficit. Unfortunately, talk of insolvency of Social Security by 2042 or before, diminishes our desire to act, especially when the oldest members of our millennial generation will not even qualify for benefits by then!
Knowing what we stand to lose inspires us to action. Young people can play an important role in the movement to defend and extend social security by learning about the benefits of the system, realizing we are stakeholders, and flexing our often tech savvy power. A simple Twitter message or Facebook post can inspire a whole round of “comments.” An e-mail or text has the power to stop and allow one to become informed and continue communication about the issue. Just take a look at how social media and the technology-minded youth impacted the recent happenings in Egypt, Libya, and Wisconsin.
When lawmakers witness young people joining and advocating with the retired community and others in the voting booths and in the streets, positive change is inevitable. Millennials will then show lawmakers that this generation will not sit idly by while reform decisions of today destroy our country’s largest “Trust Fund” for us tomorrow.
Let’s face it, those in Congress now will not be around to feel the impact of their decisions, but we sure will. We must have a hand on the pen that writes these changes, because the bottom line is that this is our future, and we do have something to say, or “tweet”, about it!
Anita Nath is a student at the University of Washington and a member of PSARA.
“Social Security? Retirement? Health Care? As a twenty-three year old, why should I care? I don’t have to think about these issues for at least another thirty years and besides, it is going to run out anyway, right?”
Wrong. Unfortunately, if I took a poll, this would be the response of a large portion of my peers today. Young people know that money is deducted from our paychecks every week, but many of us do not know why, what it is used for, or how the system works. Members of my generation have the mentality of “Oh just let the baby boomers take care of it.”
This just won’t do. I care about these issues, because maintaining these benefits may mean the difference between poverty and a life of retirement security for my generation. Yes, we are young now, but we are equal stakeholders in this system. The time has come for my generation to exercise our power, and harness our knowledge to establish what we have at stake. I for one would not like to work until I am 70 years old (which is a strong possibility if you ask the Federal bi-partisan deficit committee)!
My generation is known as the millennials, defined as those born between 1983 and 1998. According to research conducted by the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan fact tank, millennials are “More ethnically and racially diverse than older generations.
They’re confident, connected, open to change, and are on track to become the most
educated generation in American history.”
With these credentials, our generation brought to power the first African American president (with twenty-four million votes by those under 30) as we were reaching for a solution to the largest economic crisis in years, and searching to find a solution in the Middle East. We know we have power, now we must energize it to save a system that has been in place since 1935.
Taking on this challenge, millennials have to first educate ourselves on what is at stake – our future. Young people must learn that Social Security, also known as Old Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI), assists not only the retired and elderly, but those who lose a loved one or those who become disabled, as well.
Social Security is one of areas of public funds targeted to be cut ostensibly in attempts lower the country’s ever-growing deficit. Unfortunately, talk of insolvency of Social Security by 2042 or before, diminishes our desire to act, especially when the oldest members of our millennial generation will not even qualify for benefits by then!
Knowing what we stand to lose inspires us to action. Young people can play an important role in the movement to defend and extend social security by learning about the benefits of the system, realizing we are stakeholders, and flexing our often tech savvy power. A simple Twitter message or Facebook post can inspire a whole round of “comments.” An e-mail or text has the power to stop and allow one to become informed and continue communication about the issue. Just take a look at how social media and the technology-minded youth impacted the recent happenings in Egypt, Libya, and Wisconsin.
When lawmakers witness young people joining and advocating with the retired community and others in the voting booths and in the streets, positive change is inevitable. Millennials will then show lawmakers that this generation will not sit idly by while reform decisions of today destroy our country’s largest “Trust Fund” for us tomorrow.
Let’s face it, those in Congress now will not be around to feel the impact of their decisions, but we sure will. We must have a hand on the pen that writes these changes, because the bottom line is that this is our future, and we do have something to say, or “tweet”, about it!
Anita Nath is a student at the University of Washington and a member of PSARA.
KBCS: A world of music and ideas
Page 7
By Steve Ramsey
Public radio is alive and well in the Puget Sound area. Not only are we blessed with living in a part of the country with great natural beauty, it’s also home to some of the best listener supported radio in the country.
Here in Seattle, the 13th largest media market in the country, KBCS 91.3 FM currently shares the dial with over 40 commercial and non-commercial radio stations. KBCS initially turned on its transmitter in February of 1973. Over the subsequent 37+ years, KBCS has grown into a vibrant community radio station, featuring an eclectic mix of music as well as progressive news programming. And, it ’s all made possible by over 100 active volunteers, a small staff, and financial support from its listeners.
Community radio plays an important role in the national media landscape. Nearly 400 stations have no affiliation to NPR or other providers such as Public Radio International. These community stations are licensed to, for example, Native American tribes, school districts, and other non-profit organizations. The unifying thread of these stations is their role in connecting communities through their programming and their lower barriers to participation in actually creating that programming.
Historically, it’s been training and ease of access that has set community radio apart. Each station has its own approach and philosophy, and at KBCS, we offer three training classes most every academic quarter: Basic Broadcasting, Community Radio Journalism, and Broadcast Audio Production. These low-cost classes are taught by experienced KBCS staff and focus on practical broadcast skills that give students hands-on experience with the same equipment used in KBCS ’s daily operations.
The music programming heard on KBCS comes directly from the community. Rather than following a more commercial model that dictates adherence to a specific format, KBCS provides opportunities for trained community members to host radio programs. These individuals have an abiding passion and knowledge of their respective musical genres, and with the training KBCS provides, produce outstanding radio programs. KBCS is the only radio station in the Seattle metro area committed to providing that level of training and access.
News and information programming provides the other focus at KBCS. In stark contrast to other radio stations, where paid producers and reporters cover specific beats, KBCS is committed to being a real alternative. Along with many syndicated news programs not heard elsewhere, our local news programming often strives to tie national or international events to the communities in which we live and work. Our weekly program Voices of Diversity focuses on the often untold community stories from a racial and social justice point of view. One World Report, a weekly local news magazine program, takes a look at some of the issues facing our communities. Finally, our most recent addition to our local program lineup, The Morning Blend, airs weekday mornings at 7 a.m. and is a unique and lively mix of music and information.
Along with featuring a wonderful mix of jazz, folk, bluegrass, funk and R&B, we also present music that spans the globe, from Latin America to Hawaii, Africa to the British Isles, the Middle East to South Asia. Add to that a unique lineup of news and public affairs programming, and it’s easy to see why KBCS listeners know the station as a “world of music and ideas”.
All of KBCS’s locally produced news and information programming is available online for instant listening or download. In addition, KBCS also features two full weeks of archived music and news programming through our online streaming audio archive. To find out more about KBCS, please go online at www.kbcs.fm or call 425-564-2427.
Steve Ramsey is station manager a KBCS and a member of PSARA.
By Steve Ramsey
Public radio is alive and well in the Puget Sound area. Not only are we blessed with living in a part of the country with great natural beauty, it’s also home to some of the best listener supported radio in the country.
Here in Seattle, the 13th largest media market in the country, KBCS 91.3 FM currently shares the dial with over 40 commercial and non-commercial radio stations. KBCS initially turned on its transmitter in February of 1973. Over the subsequent 37+ years, KBCS has grown into a vibrant community radio station, featuring an eclectic mix of music as well as progressive news programming. And, it ’s all made possible by over 100 active volunteers, a small staff, and financial support from its listeners.
Community radio plays an important role in the national media landscape. Nearly 400 stations have no affiliation to NPR or other providers such as Public Radio International. These community stations are licensed to, for example, Native American tribes, school districts, and other non-profit organizations. The unifying thread of these stations is their role in connecting communities through their programming and their lower barriers to participation in actually creating that programming.
Historically, it’s been training and ease of access that has set community radio apart. Each station has its own approach and philosophy, and at KBCS, we offer three training classes most every academic quarter: Basic Broadcasting, Community Radio Journalism, and Broadcast Audio Production. These low-cost classes are taught by experienced KBCS staff and focus on practical broadcast skills that give students hands-on experience with the same equipment used in KBCS ’s daily operations.
The music programming heard on KBCS comes directly from the community. Rather than following a more commercial model that dictates adherence to a specific format, KBCS provides opportunities for trained community members to host radio programs. These individuals have an abiding passion and knowledge of their respective musical genres, and with the training KBCS provides, produce outstanding radio programs. KBCS is the only radio station in the Seattle metro area committed to providing that level of training and access.
News and information programming provides the other focus at KBCS. In stark contrast to other radio stations, where paid producers and reporters cover specific beats, KBCS is committed to being a real alternative. Along with many syndicated news programs not heard elsewhere, our local news programming often strives to tie national or international events to the communities in which we live and work. Our weekly program Voices of Diversity focuses on the often untold community stories from a racial and social justice point of view. One World Report, a weekly local news magazine program, takes a look at some of the issues facing our communities. Finally, our most recent addition to our local program lineup, The Morning Blend, airs weekday mornings at 7 a.m. and is a unique and lively mix of music and information.
Along with featuring a wonderful mix of jazz, folk, bluegrass, funk and R&B, we also present music that spans the globe, from Latin America to Hawaii, Africa to the British Isles, the Middle East to South Asia. Add to that a unique lineup of news and public affairs programming, and it’s easy to see why KBCS listeners know the station as a “world of music and ideas”.
All of KBCS’s locally produced news and information programming is available online for instant listening or download. In addition, KBCS also features two full weeks of archived music and news programming through our online streaming audio archive. To find out more about KBCS, please go online at www.kbcs.fm or call 425-564-2427.
Steve Ramsey is station manager a KBCS and a member of PSARA.
Standing with union hotel workers
By Jasmine Marwaha
The tourism industry is rapidly recovering from the Great Recession. Hotels in particular are set to make record profits in 2012. Like all corporations, they protected profits during the recession by cutting back on the workforce and making their employees do more in less time.
UNITE HERE Local 8, a union representing hotel, food service and restaurant workers in Washington State, will work with local labor and community groups to demand that corporations share in the sacrifice that working families have already made – and that the workers share in the recovery already being enjoyed by their employers.
Local 8 invites PSARA and other community groups to participate in the UNITE HERE “Right to Recovery” campaign. The union contracts covering more than 1,400 workers at six hotels and the Space Needle will expire this summer. We need to work as a community to ensure that workers are not left in the dust as hotels claim record profits.
In addition, this campaign will launch the union’s drive to organize the entire hotel industry, an achievement that would ensure a better life for thousands more workers.
Union jobs in the hospitality industry already provide a path to the middle class for thousands. Thanks to the union, Local 8 members have been able to support their kids in college, to survive health issues without going bankrupt, and to retire with dignity.
When the community rallies to support the hospitality workforce, good things happen. In 2006, dozens of community groups helped our members at the Westin Hotel gain increases in wages, benefits and pensions, as well as unprecedented protections for our immigrant members. The Westin victory set the stage for follow-up negotiations at other properties, where we made similar gains.
Now we have a stellar opportunity to expand economic justice for workers in the hotel industry throughout the Greater Seattle area, and in turn to bring economic justice to workers in other industries
Join us at the Seattle Labor Temple at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21, for our Community Briefing. Learn how you can stand with hospitality workers who are fighting for fair contracts in unionized hotels, and organizing for a better life in non-union workplaces. Together, we can help ensure a recovery that includes quality jobs and that sustains economic growth throughout Western Washington.
(Jasmine Marwaha is a community organizer for UNITE HERE Local 8, and a PSARA member.)
The tourism industry is rapidly recovering from the Great Recession. Hotels in particular are set to make record profits in 2012. Like all corporations, they protected profits during the recession by cutting back on the workforce and making their employees do more in less time.
UNITE HERE Local 8, a union representing hotel, food service and restaurant workers in Washington State, will work with local labor and community groups to demand that corporations share in the sacrifice that working families have already made – and that the workers share in the recovery already being enjoyed by their employers.
Local 8 invites PSARA and other community groups to participate in the UNITE HERE “Right to Recovery” campaign. The union contracts covering more than 1,400 workers at six hotels and the Space Needle will expire this summer. We need to work as a community to ensure that workers are not left in the dust as hotels claim record profits.
In addition, this campaign will launch the union’s drive to organize the entire hotel industry, an achievement that would ensure a better life for thousands more workers.
Union jobs in the hospitality industry already provide a path to the middle class for thousands. Thanks to the union, Local 8 members have been able to support their kids in college, to survive health issues without going bankrupt, and to retire with dignity.
When the community rallies to support the hospitality workforce, good things happen. In 2006, dozens of community groups helped our members at the Westin Hotel gain increases in wages, benefits and pensions, as well as unprecedented protections for our immigrant members. The Westin victory set the stage for follow-up negotiations at other properties, where we made similar gains.
Now we have a stellar opportunity to expand economic justice for workers in the hotel industry throughout the Greater Seattle area, and in turn to bring economic justice to workers in other industries
Join us at the Seattle Labor Temple at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 21, for our Community Briefing. Learn how you can stand with hospitality workers who are fighting for fair contracts in unionized hotels, and organizing for a better life in non-union workplaces. Together, we can help ensure a recovery that includes quality jobs and that sustains economic growth throughout Western Washington.
(Jasmine Marwaha is a community organizer for UNITE HERE Local 8, and a PSARA member.)
Danger ahead for Social Security
By Rap Lewis
A battle to protect Social Security for present and future generations is under way in Congress, with danger signals flashing red.
In a March 18 letter to President Obama, 64 senators – 32 Democrats and 32 Republicans – called for discussions on government spending, including “entitlement reform.” They urged the President to “engage in a broader discussion about a comprehensive deficit-reduction package.”
The talks should cover “discretionary spending cuts, entitlement changes and tax reform,” the letter said. It endorsed the report issued by Obama’s fiscal commission as a starting point for the discussion.
The letter follows a House Republican proposal for a crippling $1.7 billion slash in the funds the Social Security Administration (SSA) needs to run the agency efficiently through the remaining months of 2011.
A budget cut of $1.7 billion could compel the agency to close its doors for a full month, creating a backlog of 400,000 unprocessed retirement and survivor claims.
In addition, about 290,000 initial disability benefit applications would not be processed, materially worsening the already serious disability claims backlog.
One hundred and fifteen House members – including 7th District Rep. Jim McDermott – have signed a letter to Speaker John Boehner urging him to protect the SSA’s full administrative budget.
“Social Security didn’t cause the current deficits and the services provided by the SSA are indispensable,” the signers told Boehner.
In White House discussions, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and others on President Obama’s economic team have been urging Obama to be open to benefit reductions and to a further rise in the age of full retirement to 68 or 69. Obama’s political advisors, on the other hand, are warning that endorsing any cuts in Social Security would be disastrous to the President’s 2012 election hopes.
Further highlighting the perilous situation, a bipartisan team in the Senate is drafting a broad deficit-reduction package that is likely to include Social Security “reform” – that is, cuts in benefits or a further raise in the age of full retirement.
Senator Tom Coburn (R, Okla.), Senate Budget Chair Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois are using the report of the Simpson-Bowles deficit commission as a starting point in seeking agreement on a deficit reduction passage. Another bad sign.
The negative signals from Congress underline the urgency of the Social Security Works coalition generating the strongest possible defense of this most basic social insurance program. The deficit hawks are hovering, claws extended.
A battle to protect Social Security for present and future generations is under way in Congress, with danger signals flashing red.
In a March 18 letter to President Obama, 64 senators – 32 Democrats and 32 Republicans – called for discussions on government spending, including “entitlement reform.” They urged the President to “engage in a broader discussion about a comprehensive deficit-reduction package.”
The talks should cover “discretionary spending cuts, entitlement changes and tax reform,” the letter said. It endorsed the report issued by Obama’s fiscal commission as a starting point for the discussion.
The letter follows a House Republican proposal for a crippling $1.7 billion slash in the funds the Social Security Administration (SSA) needs to run the agency efficiently through the remaining months of 2011.
A budget cut of $1.7 billion could compel the agency to close its doors for a full month, creating a backlog of 400,000 unprocessed retirement and survivor claims.
In addition, about 290,000 initial disability benefit applications would not be processed, materially worsening the already serious disability claims backlog.
One hundred and fifteen House members – including 7th District Rep. Jim McDermott – have signed a letter to Speaker John Boehner urging him to protect the SSA’s full administrative budget.
“Social Security didn’t cause the current deficits and the services provided by the SSA are indispensable,” the signers told Boehner.
In White House discussions, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and others on President Obama’s economic team have been urging Obama to be open to benefit reductions and to a further rise in the age of full retirement to 68 or 69. Obama’s political advisors, on the other hand, are warning that endorsing any cuts in Social Security would be disastrous to the President’s 2012 election hopes.
Further highlighting the perilous situation, a bipartisan team in the Senate is drafting a broad deficit-reduction package that is likely to include Social Security “reform” – that is, cuts in benefits or a further raise in the age of full retirement.
Senator Tom Coburn (R, Okla.), Senate Budget Chair Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois are using the report of the Simpson-Bowles deficit commission as a starting point in seeking agreement on a deficit reduction passage. Another bad sign.
The negative signals from Congress underline the urgency of the Social Security Works coalition generating the strongest possible defense of this most basic social insurance program. The deficit hawks are hovering, claws extended.
This good idea will not die
Rep. Bob Hasegawa’s proposal to create a state bank failed to get sufficient support from Democrats on the House Business and Financial Services Committee to keep the bill alive and moving through the legislative process.
A major reason for lack of support was State Treasurer Jim McIntire’s opposition to the bill. Although a majority of the committee’s Democrats supported the legislation, a small group of Democrats and all the committee’s Republicans opposed it. Our readers should note that the outcome followed the bidding of the large commercial banks -- the institutions that brought us the most profound economic crisis since the Great Depression.
This good idea will not die. Significantly, similar bills were introduced this year in the legislatures of Oregon, Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii and Massachusetts. Look for more in-depth analysis, including the names of the Democrats who opposed Hasegawa’s bill, in a future issue of The Retiree Advocate.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Turning point for the nation’s future
By Will Parry
The union men and women of Wisconsin are in the front lines of a battle whose outcome may well determine the future course of the nation.
The corporate-backed right wing is riding high, using an economic crisis the working people had no part in creating to launch a crushing offensive against organized labor.
Labor and its allies are fighting back with massive rallies in the nation’s capitols. A heroic band of legislative champions is challenging the union busters in Congress and the state houses.
An immediate flash point is the expiration of Congress’ continuing resolution, or CR, on Friday, March 4. As these words are written, Congress is tied in knots over whether, and under what circumstances, to extend the CR, which has governed federal expenditures the over five months since the start of the new fiscal year on October 1.
Stark partisan differences make it obvious that no budget for fiscal year 2011 will be in place by March 4. Without a further extension of the CR, the government will shut down, wreaking havoc with funding for programs people depend on for survival.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is the most critical of the many programs whose funding is endangered. The CR has already required a partial hiring freeze, likely to result in the loss of 2,500 jobs. Now the 2011 budget plan proposed by the House Republicans would impose a further $1.7 billion reduction in SSA funding for the remainder of 2011.
With a cut so drastic, the entire agency would have to shut down all operations for 20 working days. Phones would not be answered. Field offices would be closed. Claims processing would halt. Over half a million new retirees, disabled workers and survivors would be forced into a backlog before receiving the benefits they have earned.
No $1.7 billion reduction is going to pass in the Senate. But unless the CR is continued, lesser but still severe program cuts are inevitable.
The budget hawks of the right-wing attack machine are exploiting the economic crisis to eviscerate or eliminate valuable government programs, but they balk at cutting the monstrous war expenditures, or taxing the millionaires and billionaires who have prospered richly at a time when millions are unemployed and suffering.
Last year, the top 13 U.S. hedge-fund managers earned an average of $1 billion each. One of them took home $5 billion. Much of their income is taxed as capital gains at 15 percent. If the earnings of the 13 were taxed as ordinary income, the revenues generated would pay the salaries and benefits of 300,000 teachers, Robert Reich reports.
Teachers like those demonstrating in the streets of Madison and Olympia for their sacred collective bargaining rights.
Yes, the millions of public workers are on the front lines today, defending their modest pay and benefits, and the pensions they have earned over a full working life – and defending democracy at the same time.
The Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans is with them all the way. Our retirement security, and that of our children and grandchildren, is on the line as well.
Solidarity with the workers of Wisconsin
By Mike Andrew
Associate Editor
More than 500 workers, led by members of the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) in their trademark green shirts, packed the capitol rotunda in Olympia on Presidents Day to support their fellow workers in Wisconsin.
Outside, more than 1,000 more, including a large contingent from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) rallied to support their brothers and sisters in Wisconsin and to call on state legislators to close loopholes in the state’s tax laws.
Rally speakers included Washington State Labor Council President Jeff Johnson, WFSE President Carol Dotlich, and US Rep. Dennis Kucinich.
"You cannot have a democracy if you don't have people in a position to be able to negotiate for their wages and to have decent benefits," Kucinich said.
Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown recalled that collective bargaining ended child labor and created the 40-hour work week.
“Worker rights are human rights” said one of many hand-lettered signs held up by union members and their allies in the state capitol rotunda.
“Today WI, tomorrow WA” said another.
While Presidents Day is a holiday for state workers, many WFSE members would also be off – without pay – on the following day because of state-mandated furloughs designed to help the state government cope with a revenue deficit that may top $5 billion.
Like workers here in Washington, Wisconsin’s state employees are being asked to sacrifice to make up for their state’s unwillingness to raise revenue by taxing its richest citizens.
Even more sinister, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is using his state’s budget problems as a pretext to attack the very foundation of the union movement – the right to collective bargaining itself.
While Walker uses all the tried-and-true conservative buzz-words – “fiscal responsibility,” “flexibility," and "efficiency” –his real agenda was clearly exposed when he rejected an offer by public employees to accept higher insurance premiums and pension contributions if the governor would take collective bargaining off the table.
The immediate aim of Walker’s so-called “budget repair bill” is to destroy public sector unions by taking away workers’ rights to collective bargaining.
But the ultimate objective is to eliminate the labor movement as a progressive political force and open Wisconsin – and ultimately the whole country – to unfettered corporate greed.
Already Ohio Governor John Kasich has introduced copy-cat legislation.
None of this is happening without resistance, however.
On February 21, the 45,000 member Southern Central Federation of Labor, the AFL-CIO body for the Madison area, voted to “begin educating affiliates and members on the organization and function of a general strike.”
While a strike in support of another union’s demands is illegal under the Taft-Hartley Act, the SCFL’s resolution is no idle threat, given what Wisconsin unions and their allies have accomplished so far.
Up to 35,000 Wisconsin workers and their community allies have rallied day after day at the state capitol in Madison, and 14 Democratic state senators have fled the state rather than allow the “budget repair bill” to come to a vote.
In Ohio, meanwhile, tens of thousands of union activists and supporters rallied at the state capitol in Columbus on February 22.
In neighboring Indiana, 38 of 40 Democratic House members were absent on February 22, depriving the Republican House leadership of the quorum necessary to consider a “right-to-work” bill.
The two Democrats present at the Indiana House session were there only to move and second procedural motions intended to obstruct passage of the measure.
Forum at Wallingford March 10
The speakers are Pam Piering, director, Seattle Aging and Disability Services; Beverly Spears, director, Statewide Poverty Action Network; Lauren Platt, policy specialist, Children’s Alliance; and John Burbank, executive director, Economic Opportunity Institute.
The Wallingford Senior Center is located on the lower level of the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue in Seattle’s Wallingford District. The center is served by Metro bus routes 16, 44 and 26 and by a pre-event and post-event van shuttle, beginning at noon, from ample parking at Woodland Park Playfield at 52nd Street and Green Lake Way North, to the senior center. For information, call 206-461-7825.
Their politics and ours: Why you should join PSARA in 2011
By Mike Andrew
Much of this issue of the Retiree Advocate revolves around the billionaire Koch brothers and their schemes to buy political power.
Charles and David Koch think of nothing but how to use their money to mold public opinion for their right-wing causes.
They learned that from their Daddy, Fred, who financed the John Birch Society.
We don’t have the Koch brothers’ money. We’ll never be able to beat them at their own game.
But there are a lot more of us than there are of them, and if we have organization, and real information to work with, we can beat them at our game.
That’s why it’s so important to join PSARA now.
In 2010, we reached our goal of signing up 250 new members. This year, we want to sign up another 250.
If you’re not already a member, won’t you join today?
If you are a member, please renew. And talk to a friend or a neighbor about joining too.
Together we can beat the Koch brothers and their friends.
Medicare under assault
By Will Parry
Get ready to defend Medicare.
Privatizing the program is a goal the Republicans intend to pursue aggressively in 2011.
House Republicans are discussing the conversion of Medicare into a voucher system as part of their forthcoming budget proposal. House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin has floated a proposal to allow persons now in Medicare to continue their coverage and persons age 55 to 64 to enter Medicare upon reaching the age of 65. So far, so good.
But under the Ryan plan, when persons now 54 and younger reach age 65, they would get a fixed payment – a voucher -- to buy health insurance in the private market. They’re calling it a “premium support” program because “privatizing” is a politically toxic term.
“Anyone who doesn’t think privatization will mean severe cuts to Medicare benefits, I have a bridge I’d like to sell them,” Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said grimly. “Privatization will make the cuts previously proposed by either party look tame.”
The Medicare voucher scheme received bipartisan support from a self-appointed debt reduction panel co-chaired by former Republican Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico and Democratic economist Alice Rivlin.
“The vouchers would intentionally be too low to cover the full cost of the premium to encourage seniors to shop wisely – that is, to be forced into buying lower cost and/or lower coverage plans,” said Sarah K. Weinberg, M.D., of Health Care for All Washington. “The net result would be a large shift of actual health costs to seniors who get sick.
“Yes, this would lower the federal deficit, but the cost in lives unnecessarily lost and bankruptcies of sick seniors would ruin the quality of life for families all over the nation,” Dr. Weinberg said. “Medicare was enacted in 1964 specifically to fix these problems that were plaguing families at the time.”
Dr. Weinberg has a simple three-part prescription for Medicare:
“First the program must be saved, then it must be improved for the 21st Century, and then it should be expanded to cover all Americans.”
Ganging up on the health care law
The Republicans in Congress knew from the start that their campaign to “repeal and replace” the health care reform law, the Affordable Care Act. was going nowhere. Sure enough, on February 1, the Senate rejected the repeal bill on a 47-51 party-line vote.
The law is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court for a determination of its constitutionality.
Meanwhile, amid all the fol-de-rol about repeal, the insurance industry is implementing a 50-state strategy to eviscerate the law. Health insurance whistleblower Wendell Potter explained it:
“The rhetoric of repeal is just a smoke screen to obscure the real objective of the ‘repeal and replace’ caucus: to preserve the sections of the law that big insurance and its allies like and strip out the regulations and consumer protections they don’t like.”
The industry is quite happy with the law’s mandate that everyone purchase health insurance. That creates a captive market – and there’s no public option to provide the competition that would hold rates down. But they don’t like the ban on using pre-existing conditions to deny consumers coverage. And they squirm over the new requirement that they spend 80 to 85 percent of premium dollars on medical claims.
Insurance lobbyists will wage a state by state campaign to persuade regulators and insurance commissioners to water down the fine-print rules that govern the administration of the law.
Warning that the industry is organized to deploy platoons of slick lobbyists to turn the Affordable Care Act into an insurance industry protection law, The Nation magazine called for “a movement to counter the insurance lobby with a people’s fifty-state strategy for meaningful health care reform.” At the heart of the movement should be the demand for a public option as a check on insurance industry thievery.
Will Big Medicine get fat on aging cancer patients?
By Rap Lewis
New projections for the annual cost of cancer care in the United States present a compelling additional argument for the adoption of a single-payer health care system.
Estimates of the cost of cancer care for an aging population in the year 2020 run from at least $158 billion to as high as $207 billion, according to an article in the January 19 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Cancer is a disease of aging, and the population of elderly Americans is expected to rise from 40 million in 2009 to about 70 million by 2030. Therapies are becoming increasingly expensive. So is the insurance required to cover them.
Dominated by giant insurance, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, the nation’s for-profit health care system – even with the 2010 Affordable Care Act – will welcome the higher incidence of cancer, with its terrible toll of human health and life, as a splendid cornucopia of profit, with billions to be wrung from the widespread disease and suffering.
A single-payer system, like those in most advanced countries, would ensure the necessary coverage and care without bankrupting the patient and his or her family.
Coming home to Egypt
By Robby Stern
Watching a video from the protests in Wisconsin, I saw a young man who was part of the protests in the Wisconsin State Capitol building carrying a sign that said “I went to Iraq and came home to Egypt”. As masses of people gather in various locations around Wisconsin to fight the Mubarak-like attack on the democratic rights of workers, there is no doubt that the revolution in Egypt has also had an inspirational influence on people in Wisconsin and throughout the world, including many Washingtonians.
While the domination of the U.S. plutocracy is quite different from the iron fist of Hosni Mubarak, there are significant parallels. Both countries have huge economic and political inequality and have experienced attacks on and/or elimination of democratic rights, as exemplified by the struggle in Wisconsin and other states. The content of voluminous traffic on the internet as well as discussions among gatherings of people in our area demonstrate that the example set by the people of Egypt has served as an inspiration locally and all over the world.
The revolution, characterized by nonviolent direct action leading to the ouster of Mubarak, was not a spontaneous uprising. The success of this phase of the revolution came after years of sacrifice and struggle against the repressive Mubarak regime. For thirty years, an emergency law, backed by brutal security forces trained and supplied by the U.S., attacked every effort on the part of reformers and unions to alter their economic conditions and create democratic reform.
Struggles intensified at the turn of the 21st century as the wage disparity grew between the upper 2 % of the Egyptian population and the rest of the people. Opposition groups that led the recent popular uprising included: the secular Kefaya movement that first protested for democratic reforms in 2004; the April 6th Movement made up primarily of young people (the median age in Egypt is 24) that began their public presence with solidarity actions in 2008 in support of workers who were planning to strike on April 6 in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, an industrial town just outside Cairo; the National Association for Change, led by Mohamed ElBaradei, a loose group from many different political affiliations and religions, men and women whose goal is to change the Egyptian Constitution to create the opportunity for a democratic political system; and the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's oldest and largest Islamist organization, that played a key role in fighting to rid Egypt of British colonial control and that publicly opposed Mubarak’s National Democratic Party.The Egytian labor movement also played a central role. In Tahrir Square, a new umbrella labor organization was formed, the Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions. It unites white collar and blue collar workers around the need for reform of the Egyptian state. It seeks to supplant the state-controlled Federation of Trade Unions.
The democratic revolution in Egypt in significant ways can be traced to the attempt of workers at the state-run textile factories of al-Mahalla al-Kubra, just outside Cairo, to launch a major strike on April 6, 2008. The idea spread elsewhere in the country, promoted by computer-literate working class youths and their supporters among middle-class college students. The new Federation orchestrated the effective labor strikes that closed factories and offices, freeing workers to demonstrate in February of this year.
Throughout the last twenty years, Egyptian workers took collective action and were forcefully repressed, often with the tacit or explicit approval of the state-controlled Federation of Trade Unions. Under the newly formed Federation of Egyptian Trade Unions, organized workers are a key element of the demand for economic and political reform.
There are parallels between the U.S. and Egypt. On February 9, New York Times Op-Ed writer Charles Blow wrote a piece entitled The Kindling of Change. He cited statistics indicating that income inequality in the U.S. is significantly greater than the income inequality in Egypt. In addition, the unemployment rate in the two countries is strikingly similar.
Among the ways the countries are different is in the U.S. we spend a significantly smaller percentage of our income on food than in Egypt. Blow also asserts that the level of democracy in the United States is much greater than that in Egypt. While Blow is correct, it is also true that the U.S. plutocracy is asserting a growing stranglehold on our political and economic system. Workers and the poor in the U.S. are experiencing a growing assault on their ability to have a decent living and a hopeful future for themselves and their children.
All across the world from the Middle East and North Africa to Wisconsin and the state of Washington, advocates for social and economic justice are inspired by the example of the Egyptian people. We express our solidarity with the democratic aspirations of the people of Egypt and wish them success as they work to transform their country into a place where people have the opportunity to live with dignity and respect. We support the Egyptian people and identify with their determination to live in a country where they can raise their children with the expectation that future generations will live lives of hope and fulfillment.
Union activists confront Koch Brothers conclave
By Mike Andrew
A phalanx of sheriff’s deputies in full riot gear were needed to protect Charles and David Koch and 200 of their richest and most conservative friends in Palm Springs on January 30.
The Koch brothers hosted a secret meeting of right-wing money men in the Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa, one of Southern California’s most luxurious hotels, to plan political strategy and raise money for the 2012 election campaign.
Challenging them were more than 1,000 activists, including members of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses United (CNA/NNU), AFSCME, Health Care for America Now (HCAN) and Common Cause.
25 demonstrators were arrested.
The Koch brothers, heirs to the oil and chemical conglomerate Koch Industries, have founded or funded dozens of conservative or libertarian publications, think tanks and attack groups, according to an investigative piece by The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer.
Among Koch-sponsored political organizations are Citizens United, Americans for Prosperity, and the Tea Party.
Their Palm Springs meeting raised an estimated $30 million for the 2012 election.
Their father, Fred Koch, was a founding member and the principal funder of the ultra-right John Birch Society in the 1950s and 1960s.
With annual revenues of $98 billion, Koch Industries is the second largest privately held corporation in the country.
It is also the 10th worst corporate polluter in the country, according to the Political Economic Research Institute of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
It is also the 10th worst corporate polluter in the country, according to the Political Economic Research Institute of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was among several members of Congress who flew in for the two-day meeting.
Cantor has been generously backed by Koch Industries in the past, having received $36,650 in campaign contributions from the company’s executives and employees since 2002, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Past participants in the Koch brothers’ conclaves have included members of Congress, media personalities like Glenn Beck, and Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia, both of whom voted on the Koch brothers’ side in the infamous Citizens United ruling.
No surprise, then, that the Koch brothers have been identified as financial supporters of union-busting Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.
Koch Industries gave Walker $43,000 in direct contributions, as well as giving $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, which then spent $65,000 on Walker’s campaign.
According to Salon magazine, a key section of Walker’s so-called “budget repair bill” allows the state to conclude no-bid contracts with private energy companies in order to benefit Koch industries.
The Koch brothers’ tentacles even reach into our state.
In the 2010 election, the Koch brothers donated $5000 directly to Republican Senate candidate Dino Rossi, and donated additional money to other right-wing PACs that then funneled some $64,500 to Rossi’s campaign.
In January, Kirby Wilbur, the former chairman of Americans for Prosperity in Washington, was elected chair of the state Republican Party organization.
Americans for Prosperity claims chapters in 32 states, including Washington and Wisconsin; an e-mail list of 1.6 million supporters; and a $40 million annual budget.
Officers of the organization refuse to say how much of its budget comes from the Koch family.
Immigrants, refugees need our help
By Mark M. McDermott
Board Member, OneAmerica
Our immigrant and refugee friends and neighbors need your help to stop state budget cuts to programs that are critical to their ability to avoid hunger, get good health care, find employment, and get help in earning their citizenship. Your voices are needed to stop these cuts and address several legislative proposals.
Governor Gregoire has proposed elimination of the following programs which provide:
- Food assistance to 31,000 very low-income immigrants
- Interpreter services for Medicaid clients and their health care providers which help ensure effective communication about the patients’ health care needs and appropriate treatment.
- Preventative health care for 27,000 undocumented immigrant children.
- Employment and training services and English language instruction to help refugees find jobs. This highly successful program has helped thousands of refugees find and keep jobs needed to support their families.
- The Naturalization Program of the Department of Social and Health Services, which has helped thousands of legal permanent immigrants get their citizenship.
The Legislature currently has 6 bills addressing driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants. Senate Bill 5407 bans all licenses while House Bill 1577 allows a limited type of license. These bills or others like them will increase the number of unlicensed and uninsured drivers on the roads. We have too many drivers without licenses and insurance now. The Legislature should not make this problem worse by passing any of these bills. They should stay focused on road safety and let Congress deal with immigration policy.
.
On a positive note, Senate Bill 5158 reduces the maximum sentence for a gross misdemeanor by one day. Why is this important? Federal immigration law calls for the automatic deportation of persons convicted of an “aggravated felony,” defined as any crime that results in a sentence of 365 days or more. Currently, an immigrant convicted of a gross misdemeanor with a 365-day sentence might serve 30 days with the remainder suspended and then face mandatory deportation. This bill will ensure that only felons face mandatory deportation.
Immigrants and refugees are our neighbors, friends, family, and co-workers. They work, pay taxes, support local businesses and start their own businesses. They are vital to the economic and social wellbeing of our state. These proposed budget cuts are cruel, shortsighted and harmful to immigrants and our state. I urge your opposition to these budget cuts.
We are told that we don’t have the money to pay for these successful programs. This is nonsense. Our state gives billions of dollars of tax breaks for corporations and has low rates of taxation for our many billionaires and millionaires. We are a wealthy state. We can afford to fund these programs if we have the will and courage to demand that the wealthy and powerful pay their fair share of taxes.
For more information go to One America’s website. www.weareoneamerica.org
Please contact Washington State Legislators at 1-800-562-6000. Ask them to protect our immigrant and refugee communities.
Confronting the foreclosure crisis
By Beverly Spears
A catastrophic combination of unethical lending practices, suspect foreclosure proceedings, and long-term unemployment has uprooted more than 70,000 Washington families from their homes through foreclosure in the last two years -- and foreclosures continue to soar.
Our state is now tenth in the nation in the number of homes in foreclosure. Homeowners of all income levels are affected.
Homes are people’s most valuable asset. This recession will end. If people can come through this economic storm retaining their homes, they have a much better chance of a speedy economic recovery.
Senate Bill 5275 and House Bill 1362 would require banks to sit down with homeowners in a face-to-face mediation process to seek a mutually beneficial alternative to foreclosure. The legislation does not mandate that a solution be reached; it provides a way for borrower and lender to talk about options. The bills would also ensure a transparent foreclosure process.
Enactment of this legislation was identified as a priority at the Puget Sound Alliance for Retired Americans Legislative Conference.
According to the Center for Responsible Lending, in 23 states and municipalities across the country the mediation process has helped 60 percent of participants avoid losing their homes. In 2008, Connecticut became one of the first states to pass mandatory face-to-face mediation. In that state, 70 percent of all mortgages in foreclosure qualified for mediation between the borrower and the lender. Over 60 percent of the mortgages that were mediated resulted in permanent loan modifications.
In New York, 42,000 mortgages went into foreclosure between January and June of 2010. Seventy-five percent of those borrowers were able to sit down with their lenders to explore possible alternatives to losing their home. Of those who went to mediation, 80 percent succeeded in modifying their loans.
We should be helping families stay in their homes by giving them tools to avoid foreclosure. Mediation is a proven strategy that will benefit everyone: homeowners, lenders, the community, and our still-recovering economy. For thousands of Washington families, this legislation would be an economic lifesaver.
The steadily shrinking Social Security check
As we all know, the dollar amount on Social Security checks was unchanged in 2010. It continues unchanged in 2011. No COLA either year.
What that dollar buys is not unchanged. Everybody knows that the prices of daily necessities continue to rise. That amounts to a significant reduction in buying power, and thus in the living standards, of the millions of retirees, survivors and people with disabilities who depend on a monthly check from the nation’s premier public insurance program.
It will take a whopping adjustment in 2012 to make up for the serious erosion, over two years, of a Social Security check’s buying power.
The for-profit health insurance companies make the situation worse. Many seniors find their Medicare Part D or Medicare Advantage premiums increasing year after year.
There’s widespread recognition that the Social Security COLA formula for elders should be fundamentally revamped to reflect today’s economic realities, especially the continued increases in out-of-pocket healthcare costs.
Tell your Congress members: Both an accurate formula and unfailing annual adjustments are essential to sustain the modest living standards of Social Security beneficiaries.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)