By Congressman Jim McDermott
These days in Washington, D.C., we’re having a big debate over Medicare – whether to dismantle it as Republicans would like to do or make some changes to keep it running smoothly.
In a way, today’s fight over ending or fixing Medicare is history repeating itself. But this fight is also something new. I think it’s an important discussion about our country’s values, and I think it’s a conversation in which every American needs to be participating.
When I graduated from medical school in 1962, I sat in the audience and listened to Dr. Edward Annis who was then President of the American Medical Association (AMA). He talked about the dangers of “socialized medicine” at a time when older Americans were finding it almost impossible to get private health insurance coverage. It was either too expensive or denied altogether, and about half of all seniors in the U.S. had no hospital insurance. It was a dark time in American medicine.
Just like today, the debate boiled down to providing secure, affordable health care or acceding to the interests of lobbyists and corporate money. Back then the most powerful doctors’ organization in the country was against any form of government guarantee of medical care for seniors, and they did almost anything to stop it. The AMA even went so far as to ignore the dangers of smoking cigarettes – they opposed the 1964 Surgeon General’s warning label on cigarette packs – in exchange for votes against Medicare from members of Congress who hailed from tobacco states.
Despite these efforts, Medicare was signed into law, and it established a basic social commitment in our country: when you get older, you’ll always have affordable quality health care. Today, more than 45 million seniors are enjoying the benefits of Medicare.
However, every few years since 1964, the Republicans have tried to repeal Medicare and break that commitment. The difference about today’s fight is that the Republicans may very well succeed – unless Medicare’s beneficiaries and supporters understand what’s at stake and speak out forcefully against the threat.
Republicans recently introduced legislation and an accompanying report that was artfully titled “A Roadmap for America’s Future.” To be clear, if the Republican plan was signed into law, it would end Medicare as we know it. The Republican plan would give each senior a fixed payment to buy insurance in the private market – any difference between the allowance and health care premium payments would come from seniors’ pockets.
Under the Republican plan, the guarantee of quality medical care would end, and tens of thousands of seniors wouldn’t be able to make their premium payments. While many would try to find coverage from private insurance companies, they would likely not succeed.
It’s important to note that seniors already spend close to a third of their income on health care, and that’s with the protection of Medicare. Under the Republican budget proposal, all risk and costs associated with Medicare, which is shared by all of us today, would be shifted to the pocketbooks of seniors.
It’s also important to understand that Medicare is not a profit-driven program unlike private insurance companies who do everything they can to maximize profits at the expense of patients and taxpayers. While Medicare has consistently held administrative costs to 2%, private insurance companies’ administrative costs and profits have often been higher than 30%.
In health care law that passed last year, my Democratic colleagues and I took several commonsense steps to extend the financial health of Medicare until 2029. We are continuing to fight for more reforms that would decrease costs and increase the quality of care that Medicare affords. Medicare is a program that should be strengthened – not destroyed.
And, the American people agree – a recent Washington Post/ABC poll showed that 78 percent of Americans oppose Republican cuts to Medicare. Yet, that hasn’t stopped the Republicans from marching ahead with their efforts to dismantle Medicare.
The truth is that our country has real budget problems to address. Current projections show that while the deficit will go down to about $533 Billion in 2014, it will go up thereafter, largely because of health care costs stemming from both Medicare and other programs.
There are, however, actions we can take to effectively reserve this long, steady rise of health care costs. We can and should do more preventive care, improve primary care, implement stronger payment reforms, as well as bargain more with doctors, drug companies and hospitals.
We could make these reasonable, effective reforms together, but instead Republicans are pushing to end the basic social commitment we established for seniors with the creation of Medicare.
This speaks to a larger issue.
It is common for a party who wins an election in big numbers to think that the public actually endorses their policies – the idea being, “The voters didn’t just put us in power, they love our ideas and want us to pursue them at all costs!” History, however, has shown that one doesn’t always equal the other.
Americans were upset about many things in the 2010 elections and voted accordingly; however, they certainly didn’t elect Republicans because they wanted to see Medicare dismantled.
--------------------------
Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA) is a physician as well as a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Throughout his career as an elected official in the Washington State Legislature and U.S. Congress, his primary focus has been improving our health care systems to provide more affordable, effective and accessible care to all Americans.
Friday, April 29, 2011
It is class war
By Robby Stern
Take a look at the chart on Page 4 comparing the cost of approved federal tax breaks for the wealthy to the cost of the programs that are presently being threatened in Congress. Similar comparisons can be made between loopholes in our state tax system and the cuts proposed in the proposed 2011 – 2013 state budget. The tax loopholes at both the state and federal level could be closed, given the political will.
We expect this callous disregard for the majority of the people from the Republicans. They are naked in their support of the wealthy and multinational corporations over the interests of the vast majority of the people in our state and country. But the Democrats control the White House and the Senate at the federal level and control the Governor’s mansion, the Senate and the House at the state level. While one can argue that the Democrats are “better” than the Republicans, too many of them (with a healthy core group who side with poor and working people) are “business Democrats” or “road kill Democrats”, which is what they call themselves in our state legislature. In many cases, they care too little about the impact of their actions on regular people.
We progressive people have a BIG challenge. It is going to take organizing and civic action the likes of which has not been seen in decades to gain the political power to turn this situation around.
We’ll continue to send PSARA members information about actions they can take as PSARA members. The actions may be as simple as communicating with your elected representatives or we may ask as many of you as can to join us in public actions designed to bring political pressure on the elected representatives or to give support to those who are standing up and fighting for a decent living standard and a fairer distribution of the wealth.
We will communicate with you through the Retiree Advocate, but since it comes out monthly and many of these fights require more immediate action, we will also use our website, www.psara.org; our email list serve; and we hope to have a PSARA Facebook page up and running in the next couple of months. Feel free to use the blog on the website and there will be opportunities to communicate on our Facebook page.
To reach those of you who use computers rarely or not at all, we will continue to use our telephone rapid response network. Our goal is to reach and involve every member!
Hang with us and do what you can. No guilt if you cannot respond to a particular request. We all have conflicting demands in our lives. There will be many other opportunities!!!
Take a look at the chart on Page 4 comparing the cost of approved federal tax breaks for the wealthy to the cost of the programs that are presently being threatened in Congress. Similar comparisons can be made between loopholes in our state tax system and the cuts proposed in the proposed 2011 – 2013 state budget. The tax loopholes at both the state and federal level could be closed, given the political will.
We expect this callous disregard for the majority of the people from the Republicans. They are naked in their support of the wealthy and multinational corporations over the interests of the vast majority of the people in our state and country. But the Democrats control the White House and the Senate at the federal level and control the Governor’s mansion, the Senate and the House at the state level. While one can argue that the Democrats are “better” than the Republicans, too many of them (with a healthy core group who side with poor and working people) are “business Democrats” or “road kill Democrats”, which is what they call themselves in our state legislature. In many cases, they care too little about the impact of their actions on regular people.
We progressive people have a BIG challenge. It is going to take organizing and civic action the likes of which has not been seen in decades to gain the political power to turn this situation around.
We’ll continue to send PSARA members information about actions they can take as PSARA members. The actions may be as simple as communicating with your elected representatives or we may ask as many of you as can to join us in public actions designed to bring political pressure on the elected representatives or to give support to those who are standing up and fighting for a decent living standard and a fairer distribution of the wealth.
We will communicate with you through the Retiree Advocate, but since it comes out monthly and many of these fights require more immediate action, we will also use our website, www.psara.org; our email list serve; and we hope to have a PSARA Facebook page up and running in the next couple of months. Feel free to use the blog on the website and there will be opportunities to communicate on our Facebook page.
To reach those of you who use computers rarely or not at all, we will continue to use our telephone rapid response network. Our goal is to reach and involve every member!
Hang with us and do what you can. No guilt if you cannot respond to a particular request. We all have conflicting demands in our lives. There will be many other opportunities!!!
Bad news for immigrants
By Mike Andrew
"Let's microchip illegal immigrants so we can track them like lost dogs." - Pat Bertroche, Republican Congressional candidate, Iowa.
"How about we put down land mines to get them at the border?" - Tom Mullins, Republican Congressional candidate, New Mexico.
"Looks like to me, if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works, maybe we have found a (solution) to our illegal immigration problem..." – Republican State Representative Virgil Peck, Kansas.
It’s easy enough to dismiss such statements as the overwrought rhetorical flourishes of a few half-crazy right-wingers.
Certainly, no Washington state politician is likely to advocate shooting immigrants or blowing them up at the border.
Nevertheless, our state’s budget crisis – like the nation-wide recession which brought it about – has created an atmosphere of resentment towards immigrants, and proposals to take away state services that used to be available to them.
All of this is complicated, of course, by the failure of the Obama administration and the 111th Congress to address comprehensive immigration reform.
"I think that our state and nationally there's an increasing resentment against immigrants, legally or not legally, to be honest with you ... and I think it's growing," said Rep. Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney (D-46). "If we don't get immigration reform at the federal level, it's going to get worse."
The legislature adjourned its regular session and went into special session on April 26, still facing two critical fiscal challenges:
First, to close a cash deficit of more than $500 million dollars in the supplemental budget for the fiscal year that ends this June, and
Second, to write a budget that closes a projected $5-7 billion deficit in the 2011-2013 budget.
The two biggest budget-cutting proposals for the 2011-2013 budget both take services away from immigrants.
One proposal is to strip medical coverage under the Children's Health Program from an estimated 27,000 children whose legal status is unclear, for savings of $59 million.
The other is to eliminate the State Food Assistance Program, which provides food stamps for legal immigrants, among other low income and disabled residents, to save $45 million.
While these proposals promise budget savings, they don’t really add up economically.
Parents will seek treatment for their uninsured children at hospital emergency rooms, where medical care is even more costly than it would be through a state-funded insurance program, according to analysis from the immigrant rights organization One America.
Taking food stamps away from legal immigrants also has a negative fiscal impact on the state. “Food stamps produce an economic stimulus greater than any other spending and are needed during an economic crisis that has left more children and families food insecure than at any other time in Washington State’s history,” One America says.
Both programs have been spared from cuts in the House of Representative's version of the supplemental budget for this year, but their long term future is still in doubt.
DSHS is currently under a temporary federal restraining order preventing them from terminating immigrants' state-funded food assistance and denying new applications for eligible immigrants, pending litigation on the issue.
"Let's microchip illegal immigrants so we can track them like lost dogs." - Pat Bertroche, Republican Congressional candidate, Iowa.
"How about we put down land mines to get them at the border?" - Tom Mullins, Republican Congressional candidate, New Mexico.
"Looks like to me, if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works, maybe we have found a (solution) to our illegal immigration problem..." – Republican State Representative Virgil Peck, Kansas.
It’s easy enough to dismiss such statements as the overwrought rhetorical flourishes of a few half-crazy right-wingers.
Certainly, no Washington state politician is likely to advocate shooting immigrants or blowing them up at the border.
Nevertheless, our state’s budget crisis – like the nation-wide recession which brought it about – has created an atmosphere of resentment towards immigrants, and proposals to take away state services that used to be available to them.
All of this is complicated, of course, by the failure of the Obama administration and the 111th Congress to address comprehensive immigration reform.
"I think that our state and nationally there's an increasing resentment against immigrants, legally or not legally, to be honest with you ... and I think it's growing," said Rep. Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney (D-46). "If we don't get immigration reform at the federal level, it's going to get worse."
The legislature adjourned its regular session and went into special session on April 26, still facing two critical fiscal challenges:
First, to close a cash deficit of more than $500 million dollars in the supplemental budget for the fiscal year that ends this June, and
Second, to write a budget that closes a projected $5-7 billion deficit in the 2011-2013 budget.
The two biggest budget-cutting proposals for the 2011-2013 budget both take services away from immigrants.
One proposal is to strip medical coverage under the Children's Health Program from an estimated 27,000 children whose legal status is unclear, for savings of $59 million.
The other is to eliminate the State Food Assistance Program, which provides food stamps for legal immigrants, among other low income and disabled residents, to save $45 million.
While these proposals promise budget savings, they don’t really add up economically.
Parents will seek treatment for their uninsured children at hospital emergency rooms, where medical care is even more costly than it would be through a state-funded insurance program, according to analysis from the immigrant rights organization One America.
Taking food stamps away from legal immigrants also has a negative fiscal impact on the state. “Food stamps produce an economic stimulus greater than any other spending and are needed during an economic crisis that has left more children and families food insecure than at any other time in Washington State’s history,” One America says.
Both programs have been spared from cuts in the House of Representative's version of the supplemental budget for this year, but their long term future is still in doubt.
DSHS is currently under a temporary federal restraining order preventing them from terminating immigrants' state-funded food assistance and denying new applications for eligible immigrants, pending litigation on the issue.
A Capitol vibrant with protest
By Robby Stern and Will Parry
Beginning Tuesday, April 5, Olympia shook with day after day of dramatic and sustained activism, as the legislature moved toward passage of the 2011 – 2013 state budget.
The Olympia Coalition for a Fair Budget set the tone for the week when several hundred people entered the rotunda, chanting a demand that the legislature and Governor Chris Gregoire put people first and close the corporate tax loopholes that rob the state of urgently needed revenue. Members of the coalition then entered the Governor’s office, demanding a meeting and remaining until they were asked to leave.
On Wednesday, April 6, a beautifully diverse crowd of more than 600 representatives from community groups marched to the Capitol from downtown Olympia. A chanting contingent disrupted a House Ways & Means Committee meeting. Meanwhile, hundreds marched around and through the John O’Brien Building, chanting. “Money for health care and education, not for banks and corporations!”
The demonstrators then poured into the rotunda. A contingent with “Cut Tax Loopholes” printed on their T-shirts appeared in the Senate gallery, chanting: “Put people first!” Ejected from the Senate gallery, the contingent joined the throng occupying the rotunda. Asked to leave, they refused. Seventy-five spent the night on the rotunda’s hard marble floor. The next morning the 75 met the returning legislators. reminding them of the responsibilities they owe to children, the elderly, and the most vulnerable.
On Thursday, April 7, Service Employees Locals 1199 and 775 led a day of activity, including nonviolent civil disobedience, to protest health care cuts. More than 750 marched from downtown Olympia to the Chase Bank where they established a “free clinic” to provide medical services to those who are targeted for cuts. The action dramatized that the tax loopholes enjoyed by Chase Bank translate into the denial of funding for essential medical care.
The crowd then marched to the Capitol and circled around the several floors of the Rotunda, their chants ringing off the marble walls. Some SEIU members who were committed to nonviolent civil disobedience disrupted the House proceeding from the House Gallery. In response, the House recessed and the demonstrators were removed without arrest.
Supportive legislators addressed the crowd in the rotunda, pledging to work for the closure of tax loopholes. The crowd then moved to the Governor’s office demanding a meeting with the Governor. Sixteen demonstrators were arrested for sitting down and refusing to leave until the governor met with them. Later that day, the Governor agreed to meet with a committee of the demonstrators..
On Friday, April 8, thunderous chants of “We Are One!” rocked the capitol grounds in Olympia, as a labor-organized crowd estimated at 8,000 to 10,000 delivered a resounding denunciation of the impending “all-cuts” budget.
Bright spring sunshine gave colorful life to the surging ocean of banners, signs and T-shirts, varied in wording but with a common theme: Protect the rights of workers and the vulnerable, and make corporations and the wealthy pay their share.
Massed on the broad steps of the Capitol Building and spreading in every direction along the adjacent approaches, the crowd swelled as the hour for the speaking program approached, with protesters spilling from a seemingly endless line of chartered buses from every part of the state.
Prominent on the steps were the contingents displaying the banners of the Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans and its Puget Sound chapter.
Speakers addressed the impact of budget cuts on health care, education, public safety, and the urgent needs of communities of color.
The Reverend Leslie Braxton described the budget as a moral document that expresses the values of state government. Wisconsin Democratic State Senator Spencer Coggs drew a rousing ovation when he brought greetings in person from his state’s labor movement.
Led by bagpipers and the thunder of Native American drums, thousands marched around the Capitol, then entered the building and took several turns around the third floor, immediately outside the House and Senate chambers.
Unison shouts of “This is what democracy looks like!” rocked the venerable building, administering an unmistakable civics lesson to the governor and legislators alike.
On Thursday, April 14, a hardy contingent left Auburn for a 50-mile “People’s Walk for Our Future,” Their destination: Olympia. (Pictures and reports on the Walk are at www.psara.org.). In terrible weather relieved by occasional sunshine, twelve people walked the entire distance. More than 100 joined to share part of the journey.
The walkers stopped at institutions slated to experience budget cuts -- at a community mental health clinic; at Western State Hospital, and at Tacoma Community College. They stopped as well as at the Tacoma and Olympia branches of the Bank of America, prime beneficiary of a special-interest tax loophole.
The rigors of the long walk underlined the seriousness of the marchers’ commitment.
People of many faiths were fasting, with the same goal in view.
The mounting popular pressure helped produce the belated introduction of bills to close specific tax loopholes. An uphill fight lies ahead. Far too many legislators lack the stomach to take on corporate interests.
The special session begins as the May Retiree Advocate goes to press. Legislators who ignore April’s overwhelming expressions of popular anger will surely face continued protests and an aroused electorate at the polls in November of 2012.
Beginning Tuesday, April 5, Olympia shook with day after day of dramatic and sustained activism, as the legislature moved toward passage of the 2011 – 2013 state budget.
The Olympia Coalition for a Fair Budget set the tone for the week when several hundred people entered the rotunda, chanting a demand that the legislature and Governor Chris Gregoire put people first and close the corporate tax loopholes that rob the state of urgently needed revenue. Members of the coalition then entered the Governor’s office, demanding a meeting and remaining until they were asked to leave.
On Wednesday, April 6, a beautifully diverse crowd of more than 600 representatives from community groups marched to the Capitol from downtown Olympia. A chanting contingent disrupted a House Ways & Means Committee meeting. Meanwhile, hundreds marched around and through the John O’Brien Building, chanting. “Money for health care and education, not for banks and corporations!”
The demonstrators then poured into the rotunda. A contingent with “Cut Tax Loopholes” printed on their T-shirts appeared in the Senate gallery, chanting: “Put people first!” Ejected from the Senate gallery, the contingent joined the throng occupying the rotunda. Asked to leave, they refused. Seventy-five spent the night on the rotunda’s hard marble floor. The next morning the 75 met the returning legislators. reminding them of the responsibilities they owe to children, the elderly, and the most vulnerable.
On Thursday, April 7, Service Employees Locals 1199 and 775 led a day of activity, including nonviolent civil disobedience, to protest health care cuts. More than 750 marched from downtown Olympia to the Chase Bank where they established a “free clinic” to provide medical services to those who are targeted for cuts. The action dramatized that the tax loopholes enjoyed by Chase Bank translate into the denial of funding for essential medical care.
The crowd then marched to the Capitol and circled around the several floors of the Rotunda, their chants ringing off the marble walls. Some SEIU members who were committed to nonviolent civil disobedience disrupted the House proceeding from the House Gallery. In response, the House recessed and the demonstrators were removed without arrest.
Supportive legislators addressed the crowd in the rotunda, pledging to work for the closure of tax loopholes. The crowd then moved to the Governor’s office demanding a meeting with the Governor. Sixteen demonstrators were arrested for sitting down and refusing to leave until the governor met with them. Later that day, the Governor agreed to meet with a committee of the demonstrators..
On Friday, April 8, thunderous chants of “We Are One!” rocked the capitol grounds in Olympia, as a labor-organized crowd estimated at 8,000 to 10,000 delivered a resounding denunciation of the impending “all-cuts” budget.
Bright spring sunshine gave colorful life to the surging ocean of banners, signs and T-shirts, varied in wording but with a common theme: Protect the rights of workers and the vulnerable, and make corporations and the wealthy pay their share.
Massed on the broad steps of the Capitol Building and spreading in every direction along the adjacent approaches, the crowd swelled as the hour for the speaking program approached, with protesters spilling from a seemingly endless line of chartered buses from every part of the state.
Prominent on the steps were the contingents displaying the banners of the Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans and its Puget Sound chapter.
Speakers addressed the impact of budget cuts on health care, education, public safety, and the urgent needs of communities of color.
The Reverend Leslie Braxton described the budget as a moral document that expresses the values of state government. Wisconsin Democratic State Senator Spencer Coggs drew a rousing ovation when he brought greetings in person from his state’s labor movement.
Led by bagpipers and the thunder of Native American drums, thousands marched around the Capitol, then entered the building and took several turns around the third floor, immediately outside the House and Senate chambers.
Unison shouts of “This is what democracy looks like!” rocked the venerable building, administering an unmistakable civics lesson to the governor and legislators alike.
On Thursday, April 14, a hardy contingent left Auburn for a 50-mile “People’s Walk for Our Future,” Their destination: Olympia. (Pictures and reports on the Walk are at www.psara.org.). In terrible weather relieved by occasional sunshine, twelve people walked the entire distance. More than 100 joined to share part of the journey.
The walkers stopped at institutions slated to experience budget cuts -- at a community mental health clinic; at Western State Hospital, and at Tacoma Community College. They stopped as well as at the Tacoma and Olympia branches of the Bank of America, prime beneficiary of a special-interest tax loophole.
The rigors of the long walk underlined the seriousness of the marchers’ commitment.
People of many faiths were fasting, with the same goal in view.
The mounting popular pressure helped produce the belated introduction of bills to close specific tax loopholes. An uphill fight lies ahead. Far too many legislators lack the stomach to take on corporate interests.
The special session begins as the May Retiree Advocate goes to press. Legislators who ignore April’s overwhelming expressions of popular anger will surely face continued protests and an aroused electorate at the polls in November of 2012.
A common sense ‘People’s Budget’
By Will Parry
In what should have been big news to the mainstream media but wasn’t, 79 (seventy-nine!) members of Congress have rolled out “The People’s Budget” for fiscal year 2012, a common sense plan that would eliminate the federal deficit, create jobs and protect the American people.
The budget is the work of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, comprised of 77 House members plus Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Democratic Senator Tom Udall of Utah. It is the largest caucus in Congress. Washington’s Rep. Jim McDermott is a member.
Here in summary is the caucus’ budget proposal: End the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Enact a public option for health care. Reform the tax system so that corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share. Protect the integrity of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Invest $1.45 trillion in job creation, education and infrastructure.
“The Republican budget will wreak havoc on hard-working Americans,” Caucus Co-chairs Rep. Raul M. Grijalva and Rep. Keith Ellison declared in a letter to Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the ranking Democrat in the House. “They have proven, once again, their unwavering commitment to taking trillions of dollars from the pockets of the middle class and giving ever more generous windfalls to millionaires and large corporations. They want to throw seniors off Medicare. Their slash-and-burn tactics will throw hundreds of thousands of people out of work. They will eliminate health care for children and those with disabilities.
“We can present a clear alternative to the American people. We can and must produce a budget that eliminates the deficit, protects the American people, and creates jobs,” the co-chairs wrote. “We hope that you will give this due consideration as we move through the budget process.”
Reporting day after day on Republican budget gymnastics and on the efforts of a handful of senators to cobble together a bipartisan alternative, the media has largely ignored the bold and thoughtful proposal from the Progressive Caucus.
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), a veteran of many political battles and a member of the Progressive Caucus, said the only way the People’s Budget will get traction is if progressives fight for it. “It’s about time we started joining with our allies and marching and protesting and going to the White House,” he said. “The rhetoric is beautiful, the speeches are great, but until we start protesting with thousands of people backing up the Progressive Caucus, we’re just another group that issues press releases on Wednesday.”
In what should have been big news to the mainstream media but wasn’t, 79 (seventy-nine!) members of Congress have rolled out “The People’s Budget” for fiscal year 2012, a common sense plan that would eliminate the federal deficit, create jobs and protect the American people.
The budget is the work of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, comprised of 77 House members plus Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Democratic Senator Tom Udall of Utah. It is the largest caucus in Congress. Washington’s Rep. Jim McDermott is a member.
Here in summary is the caucus’ budget proposal: End the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Enact a public option for health care. Reform the tax system so that corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share. Protect the integrity of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Invest $1.45 trillion in job creation, education and infrastructure.
“The Republican budget will wreak havoc on hard-working Americans,” Caucus Co-chairs Rep. Raul M. Grijalva and Rep. Keith Ellison declared in a letter to Rep. Chris Van Hollen, the ranking Democrat in the House. “They have proven, once again, their unwavering commitment to taking trillions of dollars from the pockets of the middle class and giving ever more generous windfalls to millionaires and large corporations. They want to throw seniors off Medicare. Their slash-and-burn tactics will throw hundreds of thousands of people out of work. They will eliminate health care for children and those with disabilities.
“We can present a clear alternative to the American people. We can and must produce a budget that eliminates the deficit, protects the American people, and creates jobs,” the co-chairs wrote. “We hope that you will give this due consideration as we move through the budget process.”
Reporting day after day on Republican budget gymnastics and on the efforts of a handful of senators to cobble together a bipartisan alternative, the media has largely ignored the bold and thoughtful proposal from the Progressive Caucus.
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), a veteran of many political battles and a member of the Progressive Caucus, said the only way the People’s Budget will get traction is if progressives fight for it. “It’s about time we started joining with our allies and marching and protesting and going to the White House,” he said. “The rhetoric is beautiful, the speeches are great, but until we start protesting with thousands of people backing up the Progressive Caucus, we’re just another group that issues press releases on Wednesday.”
Warren wants a cop on the beat
By Rap Lewis
Elizabeth Warren is working to make sure that the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau actually functions to protect consumers. Inevitably, she is earning the fear and loathing of Wall Street interests and their kin, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Warren needs and deserves our support.
A janitor’s daughter turned Harvard law professor and bankruptcy expert, Warren was charged by President Obama with setting up the new bureau, a task to which she is devoting her impressive talents. Creation of the bureau was her idea in the first place.
Warren is vice president of the American Law Institute and is on the executive committee of the National Bankruptcy Conference. She directed the National Bankruptcy Review Commission’s study of federal bankruptcy laws and drafted its report to Congress.
In October of 2008, Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, named Warren to direct Congressional oversight of the bank bailout.
“She interpreted her mandate aggressively,” wrote Stephen Crowley in the New York Times. She launched independent research projects and grilled Treasury Department officials with courteous but pointed questions about their treatment of banks.
Banking lobbyists were unhappy. They scowl at the idea of a consumer protection agency, and they fear Elizabeth Warren even more.
“We need a cop on the beat that American families can count on,” Warren told the House Financial Services Committee. “It is critical that we get this right – a real cop on the beat. If there had been a cop on the beat with the authority to hold mortgage servicers accountable a half-dozen years ago, the problems in mortgage servicing would have been exposed long before they became a national scandal.”
Warren wants to arm the new bureau with strong enforcement powers to protect consumers from the fine-print credit card thievery and mortgage chicanery that are standard operating procedure for the big banks.
One big problem is that her appointment is temporary. The President will need to formally nominate her, and to support her through the Senate confirmation process.
To deal with credit card shysters and greedy bankers, Warren wants a cop on the beat. A burly cop. With a stout nightstick. She should have our strong support.
Elizabeth Warren is working to make sure that the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau actually functions to protect consumers. Inevitably, she is earning the fear and loathing of Wall Street interests and their kin, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Warren needs and deserves our support.
A janitor’s daughter turned Harvard law professor and bankruptcy expert, Warren was charged by President Obama with setting up the new bureau, a task to which she is devoting her impressive talents. Creation of the bureau was her idea in the first place.
Warren is vice president of the American Law Institute and is on the executive committee of the National Bankruptcy Conference. She directed the National Bankruptcy Review Commission’s study of federal bankruptcy laws and drafted its report to Congress.
In October of 2008, Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, named Warren to direct Congressional oversight of the bank bailout.
“She interpreted her mandate aggressively,” wrote Stephen Crowley in the New York Times. She launched independent research projects and grilled Treasury Department officials with courteous but pointed questions about their treatment of banks.
Banking lobbyists were unhappy. They scowl at the idea of a consumer protection agency, and they fear Elizabeth Warren even more.
“We need a cop on the beat that American families can count on,” Warren told the House Financial Services Committee. “It is critical that we get this right – a real cop on the beat. If there had been a cop on the beat with the authority to hold mortgage servicers accountable a half-dozen years ago, the problems in mortgage servicing would have been exposed long before they became a national scandal.”
Warren wants to arm the new bureau with strong enforcement powers to protect consumers from the fine-print credit card thievery and mortgage chicanery that are standard operating procedure for the big banks.
One big problem is that her appointment is temporary. The President will need to formally nominate her, and to support her through the Senate confirmation process.
To deal with credit card shysters and greedy bankers, Warren wants a cop on the beat. A burly cop. With a stout nightstick. She should have our strong support.
Special session confronts revenue crisis
By Mike Andrew
As The Advocate goes to press, the legislature goes into special session, still hoping to find a solution to the state’s ongoing revenue crisis.
The regular session of the legislature adjourned Friday, April 22. While lawmakers were in session for 103 days, just two days short of the constitutionally mandated maximum, they failed to agree on either an operating or a construction budget.
The challenge was to close a revenue shortfall in the 2012-2013 budget that is projected to be at least $5 billion. Some projections say the shortfall could be as much as $7 billion.
Unlike the federal government, which can and does borrow money to cover budget shortages, the state government is required to balance its budget.
The special session begins Tuesday, April 26, with most budget issues still up for grabs.
The legislature’s task will be more complicated because of Tim Eyman’s I-1053, which reinstated a burdensome 2/3 majority requirement for the legislature to raise taxes.
After I-1053 passed in November, Gov. Christine Gregoire abandoned any attempt to close the budget gap by raising revenues, and presented an all-cuts budget to the legislature.
Some very painful cuts have already been made, with many Democrats voting with Republicans to cut the state’s social spending.
SHB 2021, for example, gets rid of automatic COLA increases in pension payments to the state’s Teachers Plan 1 and Public Employees Plan 1 participants.
More than 108,000 people will see their pensions cut eventually, including more than 90,000 already retired who will lose pension increases immediately.
SHB 2021 passed the senate by a 28-17 vote with 18 Democrats and 10 Republicans in favor. The measure passed the House 52-45 on April 21 and now goes to the governor for her signature.
The Children's Health Insurance Program (Apple Health) and the Disability Lifeline Program are also slated for deep cuts, although they will not be totally eliminated as they were in the governor’s proposed budget.
If the Senate budget proposal is finalized by the special session, more than 16,000 of the 123,000 low-income children now participating in Apple Health will lose their medical coverage.
Cash grants for the disabled under the Disability Lifeline program are likely to disappear, to be replaced by a lower level of housing assistance payments.
The State Food Assistance Program (Basic Food) provides food stamps for low income and disabled people. If the state Senate has its way, some 1 million households would see their benefits reduced by 50%.
This program is also imperiled by federal budget cuts recommended by Rep. Paul Ryan.
Fortunately a federal judge has ordered the state not to reduce food stamps benefits pending the outcome of a lawsuit.
In contrast to the governor’s all-cuts strategy, freshman House members led by Reps. Laurie Jinkins of Tacoma and Chris Reykdal of Tumwater proposed to raise state revenues by closing some tax loopholes.
HB 2078, targets bank interest earnings that are not taxed in Washington and sales taxes that are not paid by out-of-state shoppers. The bill would raise an estimated $143 million for class size reductions in grades K-3 over the next two years.
HB 2102 provides mental health funding by targeting the same sales-tax exemption for out-of-state shoppers. HB 2087 for home-care also targets out-of-state shoppers and includes debt collectors.
None of these bills were acted on in the regular legislative session and may resurface in the special session.
Two bills that will make changes to the state ferry system are deadlocked because of differences between the House and Senate versions, and will also continue into the special session.
HB 1516 — approved April 26 by the House — establishes performance goals for the ferry system and requires ferry management to submit a series of performance reports. The Senate is sitting on that bill.
SB 5742 — approved April 26 by the Senate — would abolish the Marine Employees' Commission, which handles worker-management disputes in the ferry system. The House has now stalled that bill.
The ferry workers’ union, the IBU, is against abolishing the MEC, because workers see the MEC as a relatively fair and non-adversarial venue for settling disputes.
HB 1511, which would have restricted ferry workers’ collective bargaining rights, is considered dead in the water because its companion bill on the Senate side died in committee.
ESB 5566, the so-called “compromise-and-release” workers' compensation bill will also reappear in the special session, because the Senate has declared it "necessary to implement the budget."
The measure would undermine the state’s workers’ compensation system by allowing employers to offer injured workers one-time lump sum payments instead of the “sure and certain relief” that has always been guaranteed to workers by law.
ESB 5566 passed the Senate 34-15 – again with many Democrats voting with Republicans to pass it. It has been held up by the House Labor Committee.
Although I-1053 prevents the legislature from easily raising taxes, the measure does not cover state fees, and a total of 92 fees are slated to be increased if Democratic proposals pass in the special session.
Among them are a 25-cent ferry surcharge which would go to building new ferries, a 60% increase in driver’s license renewal, and a new $20 charge for a driver’s first Washington license plates.
Rep. Bob Hasegawa’s HB 1320, creating a state bank to be called the Washington Investment Trust, is considered dead and will not reappear in the special session.
Also likely to disappear are two bills to privatize state liquor stores.
SB 5942, which is backed by a private group called the Washington Beverage Company, would privatize only the wholesale distribution side of the liquor business.
SB 5933, supported by retail giant Costco, would completely close all state liquor stores.
At her press conference announcing the special session, Gov. Gregoire said the bills “don’t pan out” in terms of replacing state revenue that would be lost by turning liquor sales over to private companies.
As The Advocate goes to press, the legislature goes into special session, still hoping to find a solution to the state’s ongoing revenue crisis.
The regular session of the legislature adjourned Friday, April 22. While lawmakers were in session for 103 days, just two days short of the constitutionally mandated maximum, they failed to agree on either an operating or a construction budget.
The challenge was to close a revenue shortfall in the 2012-2013 budget that is projected to be at least $5 billion. Some projections say the shortfall could be as much as $7 billion.
Unlike the federal government, which can and does borrow money to cover budget shortages, the state government is required to balance its budget.
The special session begins Tuesday, April 26, with most budget issues still up for grabs.
The legislature’s task will be more complicated because of Tim Eyman’s I-1053, which reinstated a burdensome 2/3 majority requirement for the legislature to raise taxes.
After I-1053 passed in November, Gov. Christine Gregoire abandoned any attempt to close the budget gap by raising revenues, and presented an all-cuts budget to the legislature.
Some very painful cuts have already been made, with many Democrats voting with Republicans to cut the state’s social spending.
SHB 2021, for example, gets rid of automatic COLA increases in pension payments to the state’s Teachers Plan 1 and Public Employees Plan 1 participants.
More than 108,000 people will see their pensions cut eventually, including more than 90,000 already retired who will lose pension increases immediately.
SHB 2021 passed the senate by a 28-17 vote with 18 Democrats and 10 Republicans in favor. The measure passed the House 52-45 on April 21 and now goes to the governor for her signature.
The Children's Health Insurance Program (Apple Health) and the Disability Lifeline Program are also slated for deep cuts, although they will not be totally eliminated as they were in the governor’s proposed budget.
If the Senate budget proposal is finalized by the special session, more than 16,000 of the 123,000 low-income children now participating in Apple Health will lose their medical coverage.
Cash grants for the disabled under the Disability Lifeline program are likely to disappear, to be replaced by a lower level of housing assistance payments.
The State Food Assistance Program (Basic Food) provides food stamps for low income and disabled people. If the state Senate has its way, some 1 million households would see their benefits reduced by 50%.
This program is also imperiled by federal budget cuts recommended by Rep. Paul Ryan.
Fortunately a federal judge has ordered the state not to reduce food stamps benefits pending the outcome of a lawsuit.
In contrast to the governor’s all-cuts strategy, freshman House members led by Reps. Laurie Jinkins of Tacoma and Chris Reykdal of Tumwater proposed to raise state revenues by closing some tax loopholes.
HB 2078, targets bank interest earnings that are not taxed in Washington and sales taxes that are not paid by out-of-state shoppers. The bill would raise an estimated $143 million for class size reductions in grades K-3 over the next two years.
HB 2102 provides mental health funding by targeting the same sales-tax exemption for out-of-state shoppers. HB 2087 for home-care also targets out-of-state shoppers and includes debt collectors.
None of these bills were acted on in the regular legislative session and may resurface in the special session.
Two bills that will make changes to the state ferry system are deadlocked because of differences between the House and Senate versions, and will also continue into the special session.
HB 1516 — approved April 26 by the House — establishes performance goals for the ferry system and requires ferry management to submit a series of performance reports. The Senate is sitting on that bill.
SB 5742 — approved April 26 by the Senate — would abolish the Marine Employees' Commission, which handles worker-management disputes in the ferry system. The House has now stalled that bill.
The ferry workers’ union, the IBU, is against abolishing the MEC, because workers see the MEC as a relatively fair and non-adversarial venue for settling disputes.
HB 1511, which would have restricted ferry workers’ collective bargaining rights, is considered dead in the water because its companion bill on the Senate side died in committee.
ESB 5566, the so-called “compromise-and-release” workers' compensation bill will also reappear in the special session, because the Senate has declared it "necessary to implement the budget."
The measure would undermine the state’s workers’ compensation system by allowing employers to offer injured workers one-time lump sum payments instead of the “sure and certain relief” that has always been guaranteed to workers by law.
ESB 5566 passed the Senate 34-15 – again with many Democrats voting with Republicans to pass it. It has been held up by the House Labor Committee.
Although I-1053 prevents the legislature from easily raising taxes, the measure does not cover state fees, and a total of 92 fees are slated to be increased if Democratic proposals pass in the special session.
Among them are a 25-cent ferry surcharge which would go to building new ferries, a 60% increase in driver’s license renewal, and a new $20 charge for a driver’s first Washington license plates.
Rep. Bob Hasegawa’s HB 1320, creating a state bank to be called the Washington Investment Trust, is considered dead and will not reappear in the special session.
Also likely to disappear are two bills to privatize state liquor stores.
SB 5942, which is backed by a private group called the Washington Beverage Company, would privatize only the wholesale distribution side of the liquor business.
SB 5933, supported by retail giant Costco, would completely close all state liquor stores.
At her press conference announcing the special session, Gov. Gregoire said the bills “don’t pan out” in terms of replacing state revenue that would be lost by turning liquor sales over to private companies.
Just around the corner: A healthier Seattle
By Marilyn Watkins
When we go out for a meal or shop for groceries, none of us wants to come home with stomach flu. Yet most of the employees we encounter in restaurants, and far too many working in retail and healthcare, don’t get any paid sick leave.
That’s why PSARA has joined a growing number of organizations in the Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce to urge the Seattle City Council to adopt a new minimum standard for paid sick days, modeled after laws already on the books in San Francisco and Milwaukee.
Four of every ten Seattle workers have no paid sick leave. Many of them earn lower wages and have no cushion in the family budget. If they get sick, they have to make the hard choice – either go to work or lose a day’s pay.
Some workers have restrictions on their paid leave that put them in the same boat. Many grocery and hospital employees around Seattle don’t get paid leave until they have been out for three days. Workers also may have every absence count against them when it comes to evaluations, promotions – and keeping their jobs.
The public health risks to seniors and other vulnerable populations are obvious. But the negative consequences extend throughout society. Children whose parents don’t have paid sick leave are in poorer health and don’t do as well as more fortunate kids in school. They can’t go to the pediatrician during normal business hours. They get sent to school sick more often. Older kids are kept home from school to care for sick younger siblings.
In San Francisco, where minimum paid sick time standards have been in effect for more than four years, data show businesses thrive when their workers are healthy. San Francisco has had a stronger jobs picture than the surrounding counties and the state of California in every year since the ordinance passed, including in restaurants, the industry least likely to have offered paid leave previously. And even though many business owners initially opposed the ordinance, a recent survey shows two thirds now support it, while the vast majority say it has had no negative impact on profits.
Fortunately, here in Seattle a number of small business owners are stepping up to provide paid leave ahead of the ordinance, including Tutta Bella, Molly Moon’s Ice Cream, Plum Bistro, Sage, Herban Feast, the Salvadoran Bakery, and Girlie Press.
We know that other less responsible business interests will strongly pressure council members to oppose the Paid Sick Days ordinance. PSARA members can help overcome that opposition and pass paid sick days by:
1. Attending the campaign kick off on May 11, 5:00-7:00 at University Christian Church.
2. Writing a postcard telling why paid sick days is important to you, and helping distribute postcards to your friends and neighbors. We plan to deliver thousands of postcards to council members in early June.
3. Patronizing our business supporters and thanking them for promoting a healthier Seattle!
4. Turning out for City Council hearings and votes in June and July (dates and times to be announced).
5. Visiting the coalition website http://seattlehealthyworkforce.org/ often to learn about the latest events and actions.
----------------------
Marilyn Watkins is Policy Director for the Economic Policy Institute and a member of PSARA.
When we go out for a meal or shop for groceries, none of us wants to come home with stomach flu. Yet most of the employees we encounter in restaurants, and far too many working in retail and healthcare, don’t get any paid sick leave.
That’s why PSARA has joined a growing number of organizations in the Seattle Coalition for a Healthy Workforce to urge the Seattle City Council to adopt a new minimum standard for paid sick days, modeled after laws already on the books in San Francisco and Milwaukee.
Four of every ten Seattle workers have no paid sick leave. Many of them earn lower wages and have no cushion in the family budget. If they get sick, they have to make the hard choice – either go to work or lose a day’s pay.
Some workers have restrictions on their paid leave that put them in the same boat. Many grocery and hospital employees around Seattle don’t get paid leave until they have been out for three days. Workers also may have every absence count against them when it comes to evaluations, promotions – and keeping their jobs.
The public health risks to seniors and other vulnerable populations are obvious. But the negative consequences extend throughout society. Children whose parents don’t have paid sick leave are in poorer health and don’t do as well as more fortunate kids in school. They can’t go to the pediatrician during normal business hours. They get sent to school sick more often. Older kids are kept home from school to care for sick younger siblings.
In San Francisco, where minimum paid sick time standards have been in effect for more than four years, data show businesses thrive when their workers are healthy. San Francisco has had a stronger jobs picture than the surrounding counties and the state of California in every year since the ordinance passed, including in restaurants, the industry least likely to have offered paid leave previously. And even though many business owners initially opposed the ordinance, a recent survey shows two thirds now support it, while the vast majority say it has had no negative impact on profits.
Fortunately, here in Seattle a number of small business owners are stepping up to provide paid leave ahead of the ordinance, including Tutta Bella, Molly Moon’s Ice Cream, Plum Bistro, Sage, Herban Feast, the Salvadoran Bakery, and Girlie Press.
We know that other less responsible business interests will strongly pressure council members to oppose the Paid Sick Days ordinance. PSARA members can help overcome that opposition and pass paid sick days by:
1. Attending the campaign kick off on May 11, 5:00-7:00 at University Christian Church.
2. Writing a postcard telling why paid sick days is important to you, and helping distribute postcards to your friends and neighbors. We plan to deliver thousands of postcards to council members in early June.
3. Patronizing our business supporters and thanking them for promoting a healthier Seattle!
4. Turning out for City Council hearings and votes in June and July (dates and times to be announced).
5. Visiting the coalition website http://seattlehealthyworkforce.org/ often to learn about the latest events and actions.
----------------------
Marilyn Watkins is Policy Director for the Economic Policy Institute and a member of PSARA.
Meetings/Events
Solidarity in Hard Times: 6 p.m. reception; 7 p.m. program. Wed., May 4. Featured speakers Chuck Collins, co-founder of United for a Fair Economy; Special guest, David Korten, Co-founder YES! magazine, Seattle Labor Temple, 2800 First AV, Hall 1
Discussion Group: West Seattle Senior Center – 12:30 p.m, Tuesday, May 10, 4217 SW Oregon, Discussion group led by PSARA member re. tunnel.
Paid Sick Days Town Hall Forum: 5-7 p.m., Wed., May 11, University Christian Church, 4731 15th AV NE, Seattle. See article on p. 7.
Discussion Group: Greenwood Senior Center: 1 p.m., Thursday, May 12. 525 N. 85th, Discussion group led by PSARA member re. “The Impact of Budget Cuts”.
Discussion Group: Southeast Seattle Senior Center – 12:30 p.m., Thursday, May 12, 4655 South Holly St., Seattle. Discussion group led by PSARA member re.”Unions, Protest and What it Means for Seniors”
Coalition of Labor Union Women Banquet: 6 – 9 p.m., Saturday, May 14.
Machinists Hall, 9125 15th Pl. S., Seattle. Honoring Irene Hull, a founding member of CLUW. For more info, contact Jacquie Jones-Walsh (206) 772-2079 or (206) 245-9542.
PSARA Executive Board Meeting – 1 – 3 p.m., Thursday, May 19, Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Ave. S. Seattle. All PSARA members welcome
Memorial for Irene Hull: 2 – 5 p.m., Sunday, May 22, Seattle Labor Temple, Hall 1
PSARA General Membership Mtg: 5 – 7 p.m., Thurs., July 7, Greenwood Senior Center, 525 N. 85th, Seattle. Featuring Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. Delicious pot luck.
Discussion Group: West Seattle Senior Center – 12:30 p.m, Tuesday, May 10, 4217 SW Oregon, Discussion group led by PSARA member re. tunnel.
Paid Sick Days Town Hall Forum: 5-7 p.m., Wed., May 11, University Christian Church, 4731 15th AV NE, Seattle. See article on p. 7.
Discussion Group: Greenwood Senior Center: 1 p.m., Thursday, May 12. 525 N. 85th, Discussion group led by PSARA member re. “The Impact of Budget Cuts”.
Discussion Group: Southeast Seattle Senior Center – 12:30 p.m., Thursday, May 12, 4655 South Holly St., Seattle. Discussion group led by PSARA member re.”Unions, Protest and What it Means for Seniors”
Coalition of Labor Union Women Banquet: 6 – 9 p.m., Saturday, May 14.
Machinists Hall, 9125 15th Pl. S., Seattle. Honoring Irene Hull, a founding member of CLUW. For more info, contact Jacquie Jones-Walsh (206) 772-2079 or (206) 245-9542.
PSARA Executive Board Meeting – 1 – 3 p.m., Thursday, May 19, Central Area Senior Center, 500 30th Ave. S. Seattle. All PSARA members welcome
Memorial for Irene Hull: 2 – 5 p.m., Sunday, May 22, Seattle Labor Temple, Hall 1
PSARA General Membership Mtg: 5 – 7 p.m., Thurs., July 7, Greenwood Senior Center, 525 N. 85th, Seattle. Featuring Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. Delicious pot luck.
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