Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Health Coverage for Retirees Continues Decline
Health Coverage for Retirees Continues Decline
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A new report on retiree health care reinforces the need to maintain the Affordable Care Act—not repeal it, as presidential candidate Mitt Romney vows to do—and strengthen Medicare by rejecting “coupon care” private system proposals like the Romney-Ryan plan.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) report, “Employment-Based Retiree Health Benefits: Trends in Access and Coverage, 1997‒2010,” quantifies what we all know: Fewer employers are offering health care benefits to their retirees—both early retirees and those Medicare-eligible at 65—and those that do are raising the costs.
But, the report finds that many workers believe they will receive health coverage from their employer in retirement. Paul Fronstin, head of health benefits research at EBRI and co-author of the report, says:
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A new report on retiree health care reinforces the need to maintain the Affordable Care Act—not repeal it, as presidential candidate Mitt Romney vows to do—and strengthen Medicare by rejecting “coupon care” private system proposals like the Romney-Ryan plan.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) report, “Employment-Based Retiree Health Benefits: Trends in Access and Coverage, 1997‒2010,” quantifies what we all know: Fewer employers are offering health care benefits to their retirees—both early retirees and those Medicare-eligible at 65—and those that do are raising the costs.
But, the report finds that many workers believe they will receive health coverage from their employer in retirement. Paul Fronstin, head of health benefits research at EBRI and co-author of the report, says:
The data show that workers are still more likely to expect retiree health benefits than retirees are actually likely to have those benefits, but the expectations gap is closing. By 2010, 32 percent of workers expected retiree health benefits, while only 25 percent of early retirees and 16 percent of Medicare-eligible retirees had them.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
ed show--usw leo gerard 10-24-12
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Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Monday, October 22, 2012
Health Care Ad [NDP]
note: America does not have problems with letting its citizens die from lack of healthcare, including children
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Nightmare election scenarios worry both parties : Stltoday
Nightmare election scenarios worry both parties : Stltoday
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note: maybe supreme court will do this one
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note: maybe supreme court will do this one
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Green Party candidate Jill Stein: “90 million people have no one to vote for”
Green Party candidate Jill Stein: “90 million people have no one to vote for”
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Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party’s nominee for president was arrested this week when she and her running mate, protesting their exclusion from the presidential debate, attempted to enter the hall at Hofstra University where Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were about to face off. “We weren’t sure what the consequences would be, but we were determined to clarify that it wasn’t just third-party candidates but the voters who were being locked out,” Stein told Salon. “will be on the ballots for 85 percent of potential voters, and those voters deserve to know what their choices are.”
Stein, a Harvard-trained physician, spoke to Salon yesterday afternoon about the state of our two-party democracy, the need for open, inclusive debates, and why she’s running for president.
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Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party’s nominee for president was arrested this week when she and her running mate, protesting their exclusion from the presidential debate, attempted to enter the hall at Hofstra University where Barack Obama and Mitt Romney were about to face off. “We weren’t sure what the consequences would be, but we were determined to clarify that it wasn’t just third-party candidates but the voters who were being locked out,” Stein told Salon. “will be on the ballots for 85 percent of potential voters, and those voters deserve to know what their choices are.”
Stein, a Harvard-trained physician, spoke to Salon yesterday afternoon about the state of our two-party democracy, the need for open, inclusive debates, and why she’s running for president.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Big Bird costumes hot sellers for Halloween | Politics | The Seattle Times
Big Bird costumes hot sellers for Halloween | Politics | The Seattle Times
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NEW YORK —
Can't figure out how to dress as a binder full of women for Halloween? There's always Big Bird, the other star of the presidential debates.
The Yellow One is flying off the shelves after Mitt Romney's threat to do away with government support for PBS. President Barack Obama kept the Halloween dream alive Tuesday night when be brought up the bird again during their second debate.
At 6 feet, Angela Betancourt volunteered for Big Bird duty among a group of friends riffing on Sesame Street for a couple of Halloween parties and a meander along Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. She'll likely carry a suitcase as she passes out the popular kid character's resume.
"I grew up on Sesame Street and I think that PBS deserves all the funds it can get," said Betancourt, 30. "We all feel the same way."
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NEW YORK —
Can't figure out how to dress as a binder full of women for Halloween? There's always Big Bird, the other star of the presidential debates.
The Yellow One is flying off the shelves after Mitt Romney's threat to do away with government support for PBS. President Barack Obama kept the Halloween dream alive Tuesday night when be brought up the bird again during their second debate.
At 6 feet, Angela Betancourt volunteered for Big Bird duty among a group of friends riffing on Sesame Street for a couple of Halloween parties and a meander along Lincoln Road in Miami Beach. She'll likely carry a suitcase as she passes out the popular kid character's resume.
"I grew up on Sesame Street and I think that PBS deserves all the funds it can get," said Betancourt, 30. "We all feel the same way."
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
FACT CHECK: Stumbles in latest presidential debate : Stltoday
FACT CHECK: Stumbles in latest presidential debate : Stltoday
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A look at some of their claims:
OBAMA: The day after last month's attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, "I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American people and the world that we are going to find out exactly what happened. That this was an act of terror and I also said that we're going to hunt down those who committed this crime."
ROMNEY: "I want to make sure we get that for the record, because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror."
OBAMA: "Get the transcript."
THE FACTS: Obama is correct in saying that he referred to Benghazi as an act of terrorism on Sept. 12, the day after the attack. From the Rose Garden, he said: "No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. ... We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act."
But others in his administration repeated for several days its belief that the violence stemmed from protests over an American-made video ridiculing Islam. It took almost a month before officials acknowledged that those protests never occurred. And Romney is right in arguing that the administration has yet to explain why it took so long for that correction to be made or how it came to believe that the attack evolved from an angry demonstration.
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A look at some of their claims:
OBAMA: The day after last month's attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, "I stood in the Rose Garden and I told the American people and the world that we are going to find out exactly what happened. That this was an act of terror and I also said that we're going to hunt down those who committed this crime."
ROMNEY: "I want to make sure we get that for the record, because it took the president 14 days before he called the attack in Benghazi an act of terror."
OBAMA: "Get the transcript."
THE FACTS: Obama is correct in saying that he referred to Benghazi as an act of terrorism on Sept. 12, the day after the attack. From the Rose Garden, he said: "No acts of terror will ever shake the resolve of this great nation, alter that character, or eclipse the light of the values that we stand for. ... We will not waver in our commitment to see that justice is done for this terrible act."
But others in his administration repeated for several days its belief that the violence stemmed from protests over an American-made video ridiculing Islam. It took almost a month before officials acknowledged that those protests never occurred. And Romney is right in arguing that the administration has yet to explain why it took so long for that correction to be made or how it came to believe that the attack evolved from an angry demonstration.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Ohio soup kitchen slams Ryan: “He did nothing”
Ohio soup kitchen slams Ryan: “He did nothing”
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The head of a charity in Ohio is not pleased with Paul Ryan’s photo op at a soup kitchen in Ohio, saying that the Romney campaign “ramrodded their way” into their facility unannounced.
The president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, Brian J. Antag, told the Washington Post: “We’re a faith-based organization; we are apolitical because the majority of our funding is from private donations. It’s strictly in our bylaws not to do it. They showed up there and they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open up the doors.”
He added: “The photo-op they did wasn’t even accurate. He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the dining hall.”
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The head of a charity in Ohio is not pleased with Paul Ryan’s photo op at a soup kitchen in Ohio, saying that the Romney campaign “ramrodded their way” into their facility unannounced.
The president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, Brian J. Antag, told the Washington Post: “We’re a faith-based organization; we are apolitical because the majority of our funding is from private donations. It’s strictly in our bylaws not to do it. They showed up there and they did not have permission. They got one of the volunteers to open up the doors.”
He added: “The photo-op they did wasn’t even accurate. He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the dining hall.”
Paul Krugman: The truth about jobs - San Jose Mercury News
Paul Krugman: The truth about jobs - San Jose Mercury News:
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if anyone had doubts about the madness that has spread through a large part of the American political spectrum, the reaction to Friday's better-than expected report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics should have settled the issue. For the immediate response of many on the right was to cry conspiracy.
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if anyone had doubts about the madness that has spread through a large part of the American political spectrum, the reaction to Friday's better-than expected report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics should have settled the issue. For the immediate response of many on the right was to cry conspiracy.
Leading the charge of what were quickly dubbed "BLS truthers" was Jack Welch, the former General Electric chairman, who tweeted an assertion that the books had been cooked to help President Barack Obama's re-election. His claim was quickly picked up by right-wing pundits.
It was nonsense, of course. Job numbers are prepared by professional civil servants, at an agency that currently has no political appointees. But then maybe Welch -- under whose leadership GE reported remarkably smooth earnings growth, with none of the short-term fluctuations you might have expected -- doesn't know how hard it would be to cook the jobs data.
Furthermore, the methods the bureau uses are public -- and anyone familiar with the data understands that they are "noisy," that especially good (or bad) months will be reported now and then as a simple consequence of statistical randomness. And that in turn means that you shouldn't put much weight on any one month's report.
In that case, however, what is the somewhat longer-term trend? Is the U.S. employment picture getting better? Yes, it is.
Some background: the monthly employment report is
Paul Krugman: Death by indifference - Post Bulletin
Paul Krugman: Death by indifference - Post Bulletin
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indeed a lifesaver, and lack of insurance a killer. For example, states that expand their Medicaid coverage, and hence provide health insurance to more people, consistently show a significant drop in mortality compared with neighboring states that don't expand coverage.
And surely the fact that the United States is the only major advanced nation without some form of universal health care is at least part of the reason life expectancy is much lower in America than in Canada or Western Europe.
So there's no real question that lack of insurance is responsible for thousands, and probably tens of thousands, of excess deaths of Americans each year. But that's not a fact Romney wants to admit, because he and his running mate want to repeal Obamacare and slash funding for Medicaid — actions that would take insurance away from some 45 million nonelderly Americans, causing thousands of people to suffer premature death. And their longer-term plans to convert Medicare into Vouchercare would deprive many seniors of adequate coverage, too, leading to still more unnecessary mortality.
Oh, about the voucher thing: In his debate with Vice President Joe Biden, Ryan was actually the first one to mention vouchers, attempting to rule the term out of bounds. Indeed, it's apparently the party line on the right that anyone using the word "voucher" to describe a health policy in which you're given a fixed sum to apply to health insurance is a liar, not to mention a big meanie.
Among the lying liars, then, is the guy who, in 2009, described the Ryan plan as a matter of "converting Medicare into a defined contribution sort of voucher system." Oh, wait — that was Paul Ryan himself.
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indeed a lifesaver, and lack of insurance a killer. For example, states that expand their Medicaid coverage, and hence provide health insurance to more people, consistently show a significant drop in mortality compared with neighboring states that don't expand coverage.
And surely the fact that the United States is the only major advanced nation without some form of universal health care is at least part of the reason life expectancy is much lower in America than in Canada or Western Europe.
So there's no real question that lack of insurance is responsible for thousands, and probably tens of thousands, of excess deaths of Americans each year. But that's not a fact Romney wants to admit, because he and his running mate want to repeal Obamacare and slash funding for Medicaid — actions that would take insurance away from some 45 million nonelderly Americans, causing thousands of people to suffer premature death. And their longer-term plans to convert Medicare into Vouchercare would deprive many seniors of adequate coverage, too, leading to still more unnecessary mortality.
Oh, about the voucher thing: In his debate with Vice President Joe Biden, Ryan was actually the first one to mention vouchers, attempting to rule the term out of bounds. Indeed, it's apparently the party line on the right that anyone using the word "voucher" to describe a health policy in which you're given a fixed sum to apply to health insurance is a liar, not to mention a big meanie.
Among the lying liars, then, is the guy who, in 2009, described the Ryan plan as a matter of "converting Medicare into a defined contribution sort of voucher system." Oh, wait — that was Paul Ryan himself.
Monday, October 15, 2012
VP Debate Verdict: Biden for Seniors; Ryan for Insurance Companies
VP Debate Verdict: Biden for Seniors; Ryan for Insurance Companies
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Edward F. Coyle is the executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. Coyle sends us this.
Much of the vice presidential debate hinged on a fundamental question: Does Medicare exist to protect seniors’ health or insurance companies’ wealth?
In one corner: Vice President Joe Biden, talking about how he and President Obama are lowering the price of prescription drugs, giving seniors free access to life-saving tests and screenings and strengthening Medicare’s long-term finances by cracking down on Medicare over-paying private insurance companies.
In an other corner: Rep. Paul Ryan, who wants seniors to buy their Medicare coverage directly from insurance companies.
Sitting in the debate hall last night, I had two questions: 1) Doesn’t he know that we created Medicare to spare seniors the high cost and discriminatory practices of this industry? and 2) Other than Mitt Romney and Ryan, who really thinks that insurance companies need more profit and power?
The debate gave voters a clear choice: Do we continue to improve Medicare, or do we go back to a failed, broken health care system where CEOs profit at the expense of those most in need?
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Edward F. Coyle is the executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. Coyle sends us this.
Much of the vice presidential debate hinged on a fundamental question: Does Medicare exist to protect seniors’ health or insurance companies’ wealth?
In one corner: Vice President Joe Biden, talking about how he and President Obama are lowering the price of prescription drugs, giving seniors free access to life-saving tests and screenings and strengthening Medicare’s long-term finances by cracking down on Medicare over-paying private insurance companies.
In an other corner: Rep. Paul Ryan, who wants seniors to buy their Medicare coverage directly from insurance companies.
Sitting in the debate hall last night, I had two questions: 1) Doesn’t he know that we created Medicare to spare seniors the high cost and discriminatory practices of this industry? and 2) Other than Mitt Romney and Ryan, who really thinks that insurance companies need more profit and power?
The debate gave voters a clear choice: Do we continue to improve Medicare, or do we go back to a failed, broken health care system where CEOs profit at the expense of those most in need?
Don't Forget to Tune into the AFL-CIO Live Presidential Debate Chat
Don't Forget to Tune into the AFL-CIO Live Presidential Debate Chat
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j oin the AFL-CIO on Tuesday, Oct. 16, from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EDT, on the AFL-CIO Now blog for a live policy discussion and reactions to the presidential debate. Topics will include foreign and domestic policy.
Sign up for an email reminder in the box below. Visit www.aflcio.org/debatechat the night of the debate to tune in.
Text DEBATE to AFLCIO (235246) to join our text action team. (Standard messaging and data rates may apply.)
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j oin the AFL-CIO on Tuesday, Oct. 16, from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. EDT, on the AFL-CIO Now blog for a live policy discussion and reactions to the presidential debate. Topics will include foreign and domestic policy.
Sign up for an email reminder in the box below. Visit www.aflcio.org/debatechat the night of the debate to tune in.
Text DEBATE to AFLCIO (235246) to join our text action team. (Standard messaging and data rates may apply.)
Households making between $250K and $1M a year are not ‘middle class’ | Economic Policy Institute
Households making between $250K and $1M a year are not ‘middle class’ | Economic Policy Institute
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The figure below shows the distribution of tax filers by adjusted gross income. First, it illustrates where most taxpayers—i.e. the middle class—lie on the income distribution; according to IRS data, over 87 percent of taxpayers make less than $100,000 in adjusted gross income. Second, it shows just how far removed individuals making just under $1 million—which is more income than roughly 99.5 percent of Americans and nearly 20 times the average household—are from the middle class.
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The figure below shows the distribution of tax filers by adjusted gross income. First, it illustrates where most taxpayers—i.e. the middle class—lie on the income distribution; according to IRS data, over 87 percent of taxpayers make less than $100,000 in adjusted gross income. Second, it shows just how far removed individuals making just under $1 million—which is more income than roughly 99.5 percent of Americans and nearly 20 times the average household—are from the middle class.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
leo gerard on ed show bain outsourcing
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21st Century Socialism: Anti-poverty course behind Chavez victory
there will probably be a higher turnout to vote there than in ths us election next month
The Petulant Circus Clown Drowns Out any Substance | Madison Project
The Petulant Circus Clown Drowns Out any Substance | Madison Project
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tea party view of debate yesterday
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tea party view of debate yesterday
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Corporate Action Network | Stand Up, Live Better - October 10th, 2012
Corporate Action Network | Stand Up, Live Better - October 10th, 2012:
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Yet through OUR Walmart, these brave workers are starting to make real change by standing together with faith and community groups, elected officials, and other supporters and speaking out at work. But Walmart hasn’t gotten the message. That’s why on October 10, OUR Walmart members, along with community leaders and supporters will be standing up to Walmart executives in Bentonville, AR, calling for improvements in the workplace, an end to retaliation against those speaking out for change, and to urge the retail giant to work in partnership with community stakeholders to bring decent jobs to our neighborhoods.
As these brave workers take on the largest private employer in the world, community allies and supporters can show their support and stand with workers by taking action at Walmart stores on October 10 across the country.
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On October 10, OUR Walmart members, along with community leaders and supporters will be standing up to Walmart executives in Bentonville, AR.
As Americans debate the future direction of our country and decide on which candidate has the better vision to fix our economy, Walmart retail workers are looking to Walmart—the world’s largest company and private employer—to help set standards and create decent jobs to turn our country around. However, when workers from Walmart’s stores and contracted warehouses speak out for improvements and change in the workplace, they’re faced with retaliation, and even fired, for speaking out.Yet through OUR Walmart, these brave workers are starting to make real change by standing together with faith and community groups, elected officials, and other supporters and speaking out at work. But Walmart hasn’t gotten the message. That’s why on October 10, OUR Walmart members, along with community leaders and supporters will be standing up to Walmart executives in Bentonville, AR, calling for improvements in the workplace, an end to retaliation against those speaking out for change, and to urge the retail giant to work in partnership with community stakeholders to bring decent jobs to our neighborhoods.
As these brave workers take on the largest private employer in the world, community allies and supporters can show their support and stand with workers by taking action at Walmart stores on October 10 across the country.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Post election deficit deal threatens Medicare and Social Security | MyFDL
Post election deficit deal threatens Medicare and Social Security | MyFDL:
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Those who relentlessly scream at us and finance ads to persuade us that the deficit threatens our grandchildren are obscuring the truth. The fact is that the transfer of wealth from public funds and the rest of us to the super rich is the real crisis. But those who have gorged themselves on this massive transfer of wealth also seek to undermine the Medicare and Social Security which are our grandchildren’s heritage from generations of struggles for a better life.
The projected cuts are not minor but very harmful. Even a small decrease in the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment would deliver an ever increasing downward push on benefits while corporations continue to threaten secure pensions by turning them into lump sums that will fade with the stock market.
Raising the Medicare age to 67 would be disastrous. There will be no affordable health insurance for those in their 60’s. The Affordable Care Act allows private insurance companies to charge premiums three times higher based on age. Under popular pressure, there were regulations placed into the health care reform bill to stop insurance companies from charging higher premiums based on pre-existing conditions. But the companies were allowed to charge three times the premium based on age.