Social Security & Cost of Living...2010

Sen. Sanders Set to Save Cost of Living Increase for Social Security Recipients

Due to the economic recession, Social Security trustees have projected that there will be no cost of living allowance (COLA) increase, which is tied to an inflation index, for 2010 and 2011. For many recipients, the lack of an adjustment will mean that their monthly checks will actually go down, because Medicare prescription drug payments deducted from Social Security are scheduled to increase next year. "Faced with these realities, it would simply be unacceptable for seniors on fixed incomes to not receive additional income in the coming year, something that hasn’t happened in over three decades," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said in a statement. "As soon as Congress gets back in session, I will be introducing emergency legislation that will provide seniors with financial support during this coming year." The last time there was no Social Security COLA was in 1975.

Senior`s & Health Care Reform...8/30/09

Senior`s Benefit from Health Care Reform...

New Report Shows Seniors to Benefit from Health Insurance Reform A new report, "America's Seniors and Health Insurance Reform: Protecting Coverage and Strengthening Medicare," was issued Thursday by the Department of Health and Human Services. The report, available at http://healthreform.gov/reports/seniors/index.html, shines a light on what retirees have to gain from health reform, as well as the wholly unacceptable medical and financial consequences of inaction. According to the study, if no action is taken, Medicare premiums and out-of-pocket costs will soon eat up more than one-third of a retiree's Social Security benefits. A typical older couple would need to save $300,000 for medical bills not covered by Medicare."Health reform is an opportunity to close the Medicare Part D 'doughnut hole,' lower prescription drug costs, help early retirees afford health care coverage, and assist middle-class families with the costs of long-term care. A strong public plan option will hold insurance companies accountable and keep their premiums and business practices in check." The report also shows how health reform can both expand Medicare's benefits for seniors and strengthen Medicare's finances by eliminating wasteful taxpayer subsidies to big insurance companies.

Editorial : How can any Senior be against this kind of reform ? Wait a minute, I`m a Senior and I am for this !

Goodyear & United Steelworkers Negotiations Progress

Union: Talks with Goodyear Progressing
Associated Press, 08.29.09, 05:05 PM EDT
CLEVELAND --

The Steelworkers union says progress is being made in contract talks with Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. as a deadline looms. Wayne Ranick, a spokesman for the United Steelworkers of America, said Saturday the talks are progressing in Cincinnati, where negotiations have been under way since June. The contract was to expire at midnight for about 10,300 employees at seven plants in Ohio, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Kansas and Tennessee. The expiration deadline has been extended twice. Goodyear, the biggest U.S.-based tiremaker and third largest globally, operates more than 60 plants in 25 countries and has nearly 70,000 employees. The union said the talks are focused on job security, keeping plants open and health care costs. Ranick has said that affected locals have voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike if necessary, but the company and union were mindful of the economy. Goodyear reported last month that it lost $221 million in the second quarter as U.S. auto industry upheaval and the global recession cut sales 25 percent from a year ago.The loss excluding one-time items was half Wall Street's expectations, however, and Goodyear said it was seeing early indications of an economic turnaround.The company launched 19 new products in the second quarter, cut costs by another $200 million and eliminated 1,700 jobs. Added to 3,800 first-quarter staff cuts, the company has passed its full-year goal of 5,000.

Bob Corker(R) Tennessee ~ Opposes Health Care Reform

Senator Bob Corker (R) Tennessee ~ Opposes Health Care Reform
By: Don Jones...8/29/09

I have read in this mornings Jackson Sun Newspaper, that U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R)Tennessee was the guest speaker at the Chamber of Commerce in Jackson Tennessee and that we needed to take a pragmatic approach to Health Care reform, we needed to be cautious. This from a U.S. Senator from Tennessee who opposes health care reform and speaking to the Chamber of Commerce who also opposes health care reform ! The Chamber of Commerce like Senator Corker represents the most affluent and wealthiest individuals in our nation. The Chamber, remember opposes labor unions as well as health care reform. The Chamber being one of the largest unions in our country, opposes free democratic labor unions. What is good for the goose evidently is not good for the gander ? ! Both U.S. Senators from Tennessee Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker, both republicans, are opposed to health care reform. Tennessee is kinda like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders. Yet, we vote these wealthy affluent individuals to office. Both Senators Alexander and Corker are two of the wealthie$t Senators in the Senate ! We Tennesseans buy the best Health Care Insurance for both of these representatives. WHY ? They are both opposed to the public option. If you make minimum wage in Tennessee, not only can you not afford health insurance, you barely make enough to eat. These two Senators not only do not identify with most Tennesseans. Bob Corker says, that government role in health care should be limited. I agree, lets drop his health care(The Best that your/our tax money can buy) insurance that you and I pay for ! The public option is vital to those of us, who do not have the greatest health care provided by US ! It seems to be alright for the tax payer to provide the best for our representatives, but not ourselves ? Wake up Tennesseans ! Senators Alexander and Corker, seem to talk out of both sides of their mouth at the same time. What`s good for them, is good enough for us. I`ll take their coverage, as I think most Tennesseans would. Goose and Gander again ! Bob Corker is worth somewhere between $17.1 million and $87.6 million according to a personal financial released by his office. Lamar Alexander is worth somewhere between $9.6 million and $36.6 million as released earlier this year. If the American public does not get health care reform, then I believe we do not need to purchase the best health care tax money can buy for our elected representatives. These two Senators can afford to buy their own health insurance. Let them. Even with their money, one catastrophic illness and they will be among the working/middle class without health care insurance. Wake up Tennesseans.

USWA & Goodyear Negoiations update...8/28/09

Negotiations Intensify, While Deadline Looms
8/28/09

As the deadline of 11:59 PM, August 29 approaches, both parties continue to work to reach a new labor agreement that is fair and equitable to those involved. Although progress has been slow, some movement has been made toward reaching a resolution to the current talks. Large issues concerning wages and benefits for all of our members remain obstacles to a new contract at this time. Over the next day, your Policy Committee will be working around the clock to reach an agreement prior to the deadline of August 29, 2009. The Policy Committee believes that both parties are interested in culminating these negotiations at or before the deadline. If these issues cannot be resolved in a reasonable fashion before the deadline the membership should be prepared for the possibility of a labor dispute. Though a strike remains a possibility, the Committee remains focused on obtaining an agreement.

Editorial : Better be ready to be shocked as to what you did`nt get and what you did give up ! As I have said before, this is not the time to be militant or demanding. Goodyear has all the cards at this point in time ! Your Policy/negotiating Committee is doing all it can do to > SAVE UNION CITY TENNESSEE Plant ? City/County and those surrounding.

Richard Trumka ~ Support Public Option...8/23/09

Public Option

Richard Trumka, Executive Vice President of the Alliance and Secretary-Treasurer of the AFL-CIO, warned in an interview last weekend in Pittsburgh that "labor may pull its support from Democrats who don't fight for a government-run insurance plan." He said that the AFL-CIO is drawing a line in the sand when it comes to a public option in the health care bill, and he repeated the message on Tuesday night on The Rachel Maddow Show. Meanwhile, a group of progressive members of the House of Representatives also made it clear on Monday that they will not support a health care bill that doesn't include a government run option for insurance coverage.

Goodyear to Close Museum in Akron...8/22/09

Goodyear to Close World of Rubber Museum...

AKRON, Ohio, Aug 19, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. announced it is closing the 61-year-old museum dedicated to the corporation in Akron, Ohio. The company said the World of Rubber, which traces Goodyear's history from its founding until the early 1980s and contains a replica of founder Charles Goodyear's workshop, a World War II Corsair aircraft fuselage, a lunar buggy tire and Indy-style race cars, will be closed permanently Aug. 28, the Akron Beacon Journal reported Wednesday. Goodyear spokesman Scott Baughman said executives decided to close the museum in part because exhibits have not been updated for decades and the number of visitors to the free museum has been declining in recent years. "We can go days without activity," he said of the museum's waning popularity as an attraction on the fourth floor of Goodyear Hall, across the street from the corporation's headquarters. Baughman said the recent sale of Goodyear Hall put the final nail in the museum's coffin. The company said many of the museum exhibits will be moved to other areas where they can be viewed by the public while others will find new homes with buyers.

Editorial : I have visited this museum, it was a wonderful history of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company...I really hate to see it become a sign of the new management theory. I`m afraid that history is being re-written. With the museum we could have, taught our children, that "Once Upon a Time" we did build Goodyear Tires in the United States ? "Thanks, Buddy" for This One !

CEO Tom Kilgore & Tennessee Valley Authority...8/22/09

Tennessee Valley Authority ~ Mismanaged !
by: Don Jones...8/22/09

Now, please do not misunderstand me, just because I`m a (TVA) Tennessee Valley Authority customer. I realize that CEO Tom Kilgore needs more money, he only makes a tad over $3 million dollars a year, he received a $500,000.00 this year alone ! TVA has announced that the massive coal ash spill alone will take up to three(3) years at a cost of $3 million dollars or more. We might get it cleaned up by 2010 ? Now the TVA board has announced that they are raising my/your rates another eight(8) per cent effective October 1, 2009 ! The increase in the basic rate will add $5.52 monthly to the average households bill. TVA has said, the rate increase was necessary to fund a $3 billion liability that includes bolstering the pension plan, paying for the cleanup of a massive coal ash spill at the Kingston Fossil Plant in East Tennessee and funding capital projects. As well as TVA is run, don`t ya think that CEO ole Tom Kilgore needs another pay increase ? Did`nt someone from TVA say that the cost of the spill would not be passed along to the TVA customer`s ? It seems to this writer that TVA is totally mismanaged. If another disaster should occur, I`m not sure we can afford good ole $Tom Kilgore$ !

A Letter to President Obama...Don`t Give Up on Health Care Reform...8/19/09

An Open Letter to President Barack Obama > Re: Single Payer Health Insurance...By: John Deegan

Dear President Obama,

I don’t want a compromise. I don't want a co-op. I am furious that the same vested interests (insurance companies, entrenched interests, and those with a conservative agenda) that have prevailed so often before may prevail again. I’ll tell you why. Health care reform is nothing new. It has been under consideration since FDR and Medicare has been a fact since Nixon. In 1973 [Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act (MMA) of 2003] resulted in Medicare + Choice, which allowed the insurance companies to control costs by denying some procedures and restricting choice of medicines. The insurance companies grew rich and the CEOs of this new profit center prospered to the tune of tens of millions of dollars each. The support infrastructure cast out tentacles into the economy that would continue to spread like cancer. I should be dead - but I’m not. I am here to speak for the dead who were not as lucky as I am. I got sick in the 1990s, quit work in 2000 and went to the VA for help. Yes, I’m a Viet Nam Era vet. I had end-stage liver disease. The VA would only give me palliative medication for terminal cirrhosis. I went to UCLA and they said I was a good candidate for a transplant but without insurance they wouldn’t list me. I applied for Medicare and was told to fill out an application. I did and wound up my affairs is anticipation of my death. For 24 months I suffered controlling the encephalopathy, enduring the embarrassing results of diuretics, losing my friends, and fighting for life. I went to the UCLA support group and watched others, wraiths on this earth among others like me on IVs. The walking dead have few friends. We waited for organs that for the most part did not come. We became statistics of hope unrealized. The months counted down and in 2003 my waiting period ended and I began evaluation at UCLA. But nothing ever comes easy. I was diagnosed with liver cancer that had developed during my waiting period.
I finally got my transplant in May of 2003. I felt like I had been through a war and memories of those who struggled with me but fell are vivid in my mind.I am here to witness for them, my brothers and sisters in the good fight. I am finally 65 this month and continue to enjoy single-payer Medicare. President Obama, do not waver in your commitment to universal health care. The opponents who are not part of the medical industrial complex are merely sniping at your heels looking to draw blood on any issue to diminish your agenda. Single Payer or Regulated Utility Competition seems to be high on the list of objections. I say that, since health care is a life or death need of all, it should nationalized or become a regulated utility like the gas company, the electric company. Like the police or fire department, we cannot do without them. It is the prospect of profit by the rapacious that stands between “we the people” and responsible governance. Capitulation to those opposed to single payer or a private option is irresponsible and I will continue to oppose it.

John Deegan,

Aug 18, 2009

Editorial : I could have written this. I agree with it wholeheartedly !

Health Care ~ Public Option...8/19/09

Public Option Must Be Part of Health Care Reform
by Mike Hall, Aug 18, 2009

If Senate and House members vote against including a public health insurance plan option in health care reform, they very well could lose the backing of working families and their unions in the next elections, says AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka. Trumka issued the warning in an interview with Sam Stein of Huffington Post after recent news reports indicated a public option to allow working families to choose between a private plan or a public plan that offers quality care could be pulled from health care reform legislation. Trumka told Stein: We’ll look at every one of their votes. If they’re against the Employee Free Choice Act, if they’re against health care for that reason, I think it’ll be tough for them to get support from working people. He also said union members are mobilizing to show lawmakers, especially those who may be wavering, that there is strong and board support for a public plan option that would provide competition to the private, for-profit insurance industry and help bring down soaring costs.
We’re also going to keep politicians strong, so that they don’t listen to the moneymen and continue to erode away or negotiate away a program [so much that it] ultimately becomes useless. Right now, without a public option, [reform] becomes useless. It won’t change the current system.Yesterday AFL-CIO President John Sweeney called a public health plan option “a crucial part ” of health care reform: A quality public health insurance option is a crucial part of health care reform to keep private insurance companies honest, hold down costs and ensure that everybody has a health care choice available. Key to holding down costs for families, for businesses and for the federal budget is forcing insurance companies to compete. And the only way to force real competition on the insurance companies is a strong public plan option. Meanwhile, a group of 60 House members who are strong backers of comprehensive health care reform have told Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that without a public option, they will not vote for a health care bill. In a letter to Sebelius, the group said: Americans deserve reform that is real—not smoke and mirrors. We cannot rely solely on the insurance companies’ good-faith efforts to provide for our constituents. A robust public option is essential, if we are to ensure that all Americans can receive health care that is accessible, guaranteed and of high quality. To take the public option off the table would be a grave error; passage in the House of Representatives depends upon inclusion of it.
A public plan option is a cornerstone of the health care reform principles.

Editorial : I urge you to find out the details of public option ! You can do this from this article, just click on the links that are highlighted !

Life & Death to Goodyear Union City TN. 8/18/09

China going to White House over Tires...
(Reporting by Lucy Hornby; Editing by Ken Wills and Sanjeev Miglani)

BEIJING (Reuters) – China is sending a vice minister of trade to Washington to lobby U.S. administration officials against imposing duties on Chinese-made tires, the Ministry of Commerce said on Monday.The Obama administration has until September to decide whether to levy duties up to 55 percent, in the first of a growing list of trade issues with China.Chinese vice commerce minister Zhong Shan will argue that slapping duties on Chinese exports would raise costs for U.S. auto manufacturers and consumers. He will meet with U.S. departments including State, Treasury, Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative.The duties, recommended by the U.S. International Trade Commission in late June, could reach up to 55 percent in the first year, 45 percent in the second year and 35 percent in the third year.The petition to restrict tire imports came from the United Steelworkers union, which argues that the tire imports are destroying U.S. industry. The Steelworkers represent 15,000 workers employed at 13 plants in nine U.S. states that together account for nearly half of U.S. tire production.Their petition says consumer tire imports from China increased 215 percent in volume and 295 percent by value from 2004 to 2008, causing U.S. manufacturers to cut jobs.China says its tire exports to the U.S. were worth $2.2 billion in 2008.(Reporting by Lucy Hornby; Editing by Ken Wills and Sanjeev Miglani)

Editorial : Whatever China wants...China gets ! Goodyear can build them in China for $0.42 ... yes that's forty-two cents per hour. In the meantime, Goodyear close`s Union City TN. plant ? "Thanks Buddy" for this.

Health Care Reform..Only The Facts !...8/15/09

The Latest on Health Care Reform...
8/15/09

Tired of battling over health care at every contract negotiation? Sick of worrying about what happens to your health care if you lose your job ? Think our system costs too much, covers too little and excludes too many ? If you do, you’re not alone. The good news is that we are finally close to reforming this failed system. Health Care Reform is Underway – Before Congress adjourned for their August recess, the House of Representatives finished drafting a bill – H.R. 3200 – that would go a long way towards what we need to see for reform. Those who have employer-provided care can keep their same coverage; those who don’t will have access to affordable care. Getting a Real Solution to the Health Care Crisis Won’t be Easy – The Senate has not yet finished their work on a bill, and it could be weaker than the House bill. Meanwhile, corporate-backed anti-health care reform and anti-government groups have begun an aggressive – and at times violent – smear campaign to stop this needed reform. Their goal is to create the impression that a movement against health reform exists, but in reality they are a small, misled fringe that’s frightened because we’re so close to real reform.

Make sure to educate yourself on the facts as this debate continues !

Key aspects of H.R. 3200 include:

A public health insurance option that would compete with private insurer plans to drive down costs, An employer “pay or play” requirement that makes sure free-rider companies – those that don’t pay for employee’s health care coverage who ultimately dump their health care costs on the rest of us – either provide insurance or pay their fair share to help fund coverage, Curbs to insurance company abuses so that pre-existing conditions will be covered and discriminatory practices are no longer tolerated, A temporary reinsurance program which would help employers and voluntary employees' beneficiary associations (VEBAs) cover health care for retirees who are not yet eligible for Medicare by providing assistance with catastrophic expenses, thereby encouraging employers and VEBAs to continue providing retiree health care coverage, And, H.R. 3200 will not tax health care benefits that we receive through our jobs.

Goodyear Union City & United Steelworkers in a Fight to Save Plant !...8/14/09

Saving Union City Tennessee...

by: Don Jones...8/14/09

In case you are not aware of it, The United Steelworkers Local 878-L = Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, Union City Tennessee are in the fight/negotiation`s of their lives ! USWA Local 878-L Policy Committee members, President Ricky Waggoner, Jerry Ivey and David Wilson are in Cincinnati Ohio trying to save the Union City Plant from closing. Negotiations is a term/word used to describe rational and accountable beings ! It is hardly a set of Negotiations. These men are giving their best effort`s to save Union City ! The question is, how much does Goodyear Corporate want in return to keep Union City open ? It is not a question of the USWA getting anything for their members, with the exception of staying open and making tires. These men/policy committee members are virtually in a fight not just to save the Union City Plant, but, they are trying to save Union City Tennessee as a growing and viable municipality. If The City is not aware of this fact, someone should inform them. As for Governor Bredesen, he needs to be made aware that losing this plant to China would be a catastrophe in Northwest Tennessee. I know that Rep. Judy Barker is aware of the seriousness of this. I have contacted State Senator Roy Herron (Roy Herron is running for Governor) about this, I have received no reply, thus far. If Union City thinks that bad times are here now ? If the Union City Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company Closes/shuts down ? Talk about a catastrophe, money lost , tax-revenue lost, real estate collapses, Business`s close. I`m hoping that Union City Mayor Terry Hailey, and Board of Aldermen/Women is actively pursuing a remedy for this ? If they are not or have not, what are they waiting on ? once it is closed, it is closed. I say to the Policy Committee in Cincinnati, I have talked with President Waggoner, he is doing his best to keep our plant OPEN ! He has assured me that both Ivey and Wilson are of the same mind. I pray for them and those who men and women who work at the Union City Plant, please do the same. Remember those of you working at the plant, they are trying to save the plant, thus saving you and your jobs. I do not envy them. I believe it will take a concerted effort by all of those mentioned above to save our plant ! I drove by the old Mayfield Kentucky General Tire Plant, not too long ago, they are now tearing it down for the metal scrap. So, do not say it can`t happen here. The American Union Worker is the best worker in the world, those at Union City fit into that category. The crux of the problem is unfair competition from Goodyear China, they pay their employees 0.42 per hour. The American/Union City worker cannot compete with those starvation wages ! So in closing, I say, pray and pray hard for your Policy Committee and Goodyear`s negotiation committee across the table. That these negotiations are fruitful and thus Union City is saved !

Health Reform Helps Seniors !

Seniors, Health Care Reform, and the White House...
8/14/09

A mailing from the 60 Plus Association, which bills itself as a "conservative alternative to AARP," warns – falsely - that proposed Medicare changes will mean "longer wait times at hospitals and doctors offices, less money for new treatments, restrictions on care, prescriptions and what's best for you -- the patient!" Partly as a result of incorrect claims such as these, barely one-third of seniors support a health-care overhaul, several polls have found. White House officials said on Saturday that they are considering several options for reaching out to skeptical seniors. They have launched a "myth-busting" web site, > http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck <, and scheduled several public appearances by the President. At his Tuesday town hall event in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, President Obama stated that his plan for reform holds concrete benefits for people who already have health insurance as well as for those who do not. Obama is talking about finding hundreds of billions in savings from Medicare - cuts supporters say will trim fat from the program - including slashing $156 billion in subsidies to private insurers under Medicare Advantage. Many seniors wonder how it is possible to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicare without affecting medical care. However, Congress has been careful not to meddle with Medicare essentials in the House bill. There is no attempt to limit basic services covered in the bill. The bills under consideration are intended to help more seniors on Medicare afford drugs and provide some people who are not yet Medicare eligible with subsidies to pay for private insurance. White House officials last week assured drug makers that the administration stood by a deal to block any Congressional effort to extract cost savings from them beyond an agreed-upon $80 billion. In return, The New York Times reports that the White House assented to decisions to move away from ideas like the government negotiation of prices or the importation of cheaper drugs from Canada. “The best way to help seniors is to close the doughnut hole and allow Medicare to negotiate prices with the drug companies,” For an updated comparison of the various health reform bills in the House and Senate, go to www.retiredamericans.org and click on “Health Care Reform.”

USWA & Goodyear Extend Contract Talks !...8/12/09

USWA & Goodyear Extend Contract Talks !...

8/12/09

Deadline Extended:

The Union and Company have agreed to a fourteen day extension of the current Collective Bargaining and Pension & Insurance Agreements. Sufficient movement over the past two weeks prompted both sides to agree to the extension, as an agreement could not be reached by the August 15, 2009 deadline. The new expiration date is August 29, 2009 at 11:59 PM. While the situation remains fluid, the Union continues to bargain in good faith to get an agreement that is fair and equitable to our members.

Health Care Reform Facts !...8/12/09

Here Are the Real Facts on the Proposed Health Care Reform
by Mike Hall, Aug 12, 2009

Last night at a Portsmouth, N.H., town hall meeting on the health care reform proposal now making its way through Congress, President Obama said there is room for disagreement, but that disagreement should center on what is actually in the legislation, not “wild misrepresentations.” Telling the crowd it was time to ”set the record straight,” Obama went point by point: Under the proposed health care reform, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. The majority of Americans will still get their health care from private insurers under the plan. One key goal of reform: Make sure private insurers are treating you fairly. This is not about putting the government in charge of your health insurance. Having a public option as part of that would keep the insurance companies honest. Insurance companies will be prohibited from denying coverage because of a person’s medical history. Period. Insurance companies will not be able to drop your coverage if you get sick. Another myth that we’ve been hearing about is this notion that somehow we’re going to be cutting your Medicare benefits. We are not. Obama also pointed out that reform will help bring down the soaring health care costs that are eating working families’ paychecks with fast-rising premiums, growing co-payments and staggering out-of-pocket expenses as insurance companies reduce or drop coverage altogether. No one holds these companies accountable for these practices…that will change when we pass health care reform. A provision in the House bill allows Medicare to reimburse people for consultations about end-of-life care, setting up living wills, the availability of hospice care and other difficult decisions families face. But that has been deliberately spun by reform opponents as government “death panels.”
The rumor that’s been circulating a lot lately is this idea that somehow the House of Representatives voted for “death panels” that will basically pull the plug on Grandma. I am not in favor of that. So I just want to clear the air here. the intention of the members of Congress was to give people more information so that they could handle issues of end-of-life care when they’re ready, on their own terms. It wasn’t forcing anybody to do anything. The bottom line, said Obama:
If you don’t have health insurance, you will finally have quality, affordable options once we pass reform. Click here for more health care facts.

Editorial : Be armed with the facts ! Do not believe hear say and innuendo ! Big Insurance is spending millions on false ad`s !

Top Five Lies About Health Care Reform...8/12/09

Top Five Health Care Reform Lies...8/12/09

Lie #1: President Obama wants to euthanize your grandma !!!

The truth: These accusations—of "death panels" and forced euthanasia—are, of course, flatly untrue. As an article from the Associated Press puts it: "No 'death panel' in health care bill. What's the real deal ? Reform legislation includes a provision, supported by the AARP, to offer senior citizens access to a professional medical counselor who will provide them with information on preparing a living will and other issues facing older Americans.

Lie #2: Democrats are going to outlaw private insurance and force you into a government plan!!!

The truth: With reform, choices will increase, not decrease. Obama's reform plans will create a health insurance exchange, a one-stop shopping marketplace for affordable, high-quality insurance options. Included in the exchange is the public health insurance option—a nationwide plan with a broad network of providers—that will operate alongside private insurance companies, injecting competition into the market to drive quality up and costs down.If you're happy with your coverage and doctors, you can keep them. But the new public plan will expand choices to millions of businesses or individuals who choose to opt into it, including many who simply can't afford health care now.

Lie #3: President Obama wants to implement Soviet-style rationing!!!

The truth: Health care reform will expand access to high-quality health insurance, and give individuals, families, and businesses more choices for coverage. Right now, big corporations decide whether to give you coverage, what doctors you get to see, and whether a particular procedure or medicine is covered—that is rationed care. And a big part of reform is to stop that.
Health care reform will do away with some of the most nefarious aspects of this rationing: discrimination for pre-existing conditions, insurers that cancel coverage when you get sick, gender discrimination, and lifetime and yearly limits on coverage. And outside of that, as noted above, reform will increase insurance options, not force anyone into a rationed situation.

Lie #4: Obama is secretly plotting to cut senior citizens' Medicare benefits !!!

The truth: Health care reform plans will not reduce Medicare benefits.10 Reform includes savings from Medicare that are unrelated to patient care—in fact, the savings comes from cutting billions of dollars in over payments to insurance companies and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.

Lie #5: Obama's health care plan will bankrupt America!!!

The truth: We need health care reform now in order to prevent bankruptcy—to control spiraling costs that affect individuals, families, small businesses, and the American economy. Right now, we spend more than $2 trillion dollars a year on health care. The average family premium is projected to rise to over $22,000 in the next decade—and each year, nearly a million people face bankruptcy because of medical expenses. Reform, with an affordable, high-quality public option that can spur competition, is necessary to bring down skyrocketing costs. Also, President Obama's reform plans would be fully paid for over 10 years and not add a penny to the deficit.We're closer to real health care reform than we've ever been—and the next few weeks will decide whether it happens. We need to make sure the truth about health care reform is spread far and wide to combat right wing lies.

Editorial : WE must give credit, where credit is due...Big Insurance and Pharmacy are sparing no money to fight this. If they win You and I Lose ! I do not like to call people liar`s, but in this case, it is a truth ! E-mail John Tanner, District#8 Congressman, tell him you appreciate his support of the President Healh Care reform bill ! Just click on the title of this article or this link below. > http://www.house.gov/tanner <

Town Hall Meetings ~ Or Orchestrated Meeting ?...8/11/09

Town Hall Meetings ?...8/11/09

By: Don Jones

I have today watched some of the town hall meetings be conducted by some of our elected officials ! It seems that some people will believe almost anything if they see it on television or get it on the computer. I`m here to tell you, do not believe all that you see and hear on these two communication tools ! The town hall meetings, where constituents can supposedly ask questions of their elected official, it seems are being manipulated somewhat by the opposition ! The town hall meeting I was watching was Senator Arlen Spector`s Pennsylvania, being conducted in Lebanon PA. Giving Senator Spector`s recent change from the republicans to the democrats, I thought it might be interesting ? However, what I saw and heard were prepared political statements, not questions being asked. As far as Senator Spector is concerned, he was more polite than I thought he could/should be. He was not afforded an opportunity to answer very many questions. Those he did answer were straight and to the point. When, I see people reading prepared statements at a public meeting, I begin to wonder if perhaps, just perhaps that these were orchestrated moves by the opposition party ? "I Think So"! These meetings conducted by our elected officials, should be fact finding meetings for the constituents of that particular elected representative. not trying to manipulate and orchestrate an opposition party's will ! If we as a free democracy ask our elected officials to conduct and act in accordance with honesty and truth, should we not comply ourselves ? One can ask a question without making a political statement. I`m saying, treat our public servants as you would want to be treated. You can tell them you oppose certain legislation, that's not only acceptable but mandatory. But you do not need to scream and cause dissention among those in attendance. Remember, it is to be a fact finding meeting. Some of the statements I heard were straight out of the opposition`s and rightist playbook ! Do we need these meetings ? ABSOLUTELY ! Lets just keep them on higher plane. We just do not need the created chaos !

Health Care Myth`s & Facts...8/10/09

Just The Facts on Health Care !

Myth: Health care reform is socialized medicine.
Fact: Health care reform will preserve the employer-based health care system.

Fact: For people buying coverage for themselves, there would be a range of private health plans to choose from, as well as the so-called “public plan” that would give American consumers another choice .

Myth: Health care reform means rationed care.
Fact: None of the health reform proposals being considered would stand between individuals and their doctors or prevent any American from choosing the best possible care.

Fact: Health care reform will help ensure doctors are paid fairly so they will continue to treat Medicare patients.

Myth: Health care reform will hurt Medicare.
Fact: None of the health care reform proposals being considered by Congress would cut Medicare benefits or increase your out-of-pocket costs for Medicare services.

Fact: Health reform will lower prescription drug costs for people in the Medicare Part D coverage gap or “doughnut hole” so they can better afford the drugs they need.

Myth: Health care reform is too expensive – we can’t afford it.
Fact: The President and Congress have committed to producing legislation that will be paid for so it won’t saddle our children and grandchildren with debt.

Fact: If we do nothing to fix health care, families with Medicare or employer-based coverage will likely see their premiums nearly double again in the next seven years.

Myth: Health reform means the government can make life-and-death decisions for you.
Fact: Health care reform will NOT give the government the power to make life-and death decisions for anyone regardless of their age. Those decisions will be made by individuals, their doctor and their family.

For more information, visit > http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/?e=10&ref=text <

Editorial : Republicans have you believing that if Health Care is passed...The End of the world is coming...such crap ! Scare tactics is all they have.

Chinese Tires Give Obama his first Trade Test
By: David Nicklaus
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH...08/09/2009

Barack Obama campaigned on a pledge to cushion American workers from the effects of trade, but he has governed as a president who values close ties with the rest of the world.A dispute over tires may soon force him to choose sides. In the first big trade case to land on Obama's desk, he must decide by Sept. 17 whether to impose a tariff on Chinese passenger-car tires.Coincidentally, that deadline falls one week before a Group of Twenty summit in Pittsburgh, where Obama will want to be a gracious host to China and the other G-20 members. Pittsburgh, though, is also home to another group the president can't afford to ignore: the United Steelworkers union.The Steelworkers, who represent about 15,000 workers in tire factories, complained in April that Chinese tire imports are costing American workers their jobs. The U.S. International Trade Commission backed their complaint last month and recommended heavy tariffs: 55 percent the first year, then 45 percent and 35 percent for the next two years. The case then went to the U.S. trade representative's office, which held a hearing Friday and will offer advice to Obama.The applicable U.S. trade law, called Section 421, allows the president to impose trade sanctions even if China has done nothing wrong. The Steelworkers merely had to show that the domestic industry has been harmed.That wasn't difficult: The union counts 4,000 jobs lost in tire plant closings between 2004 and 2008, with 3,000 more expected this year. Tire imports from China have tripled since 2004, and domestic producers' market share has shrunk from 63 percent to 50 percent.Such injury deserves punishment, the Steelworkers argue. Not so fast, says the Tire Industry Association, a trade group that represents retailers and distributors. If the supply from China dries up, the association says its members might be forced to lay off workers, and consumers would certainly pay more for their tires.What's more, punishing China wouldn't save the U.S. tire industry. Some of the Chinese tires are made by global firms like Goodyear, which could simply shift production to other countries. Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, finds it notable that no U.S. tire producer joined the union in asking for relief from imports. "It's a clue that if China is blocked out of the market, they (tires) are going to come from Brazil and Mexico. I don't think it is an appropriate use of U.S. trade law," he said.Hufbauer adds that jobs saved in the tire plants will be offset by job losses at the firms handling imports and at companies selling other consumer goods. If consumers have to pay more for tires, after all, they'll have less money to spend on other things."It's not going to be a job-gain story at the end of the day, and it may well be a negative," Hufbauer said. "At best, it's going to be a wash."Under Section 421, Obama isn't bound by the ITC's ruling. He can do more or less than the commission recommended, or he can do nothing. "This is very much a test case for how Obama leans on trade issues," Hufbauer said. "He is torn between his internationalist instincts, which are clearly quite strong ... and his union backers."Let's hope that by the time of the G-20 summit the president is still viewed as a courageous leader, not the political captive of a narrow special interest.

Editorial : Will our race to the bottom continue ? Perhaps President Obama will put the brakes on ?

The Truth on Health Care Reform !...8/10/09

Republicans Propagating Falsehoods in Attacks on Health-Care Reform
By Steven PearlsteinFriday, August 7, 2009

As a columnist who regularly dishes out sharp criticism, I try not to question the motives of people with whom I don't agree. Today, I'm going to step over that line. On This Story.
Republicans Propagating Falsehoods in Attacks on Health-Care Reform
How We Can Achieve Bipartisan Health Reform The recent attacks by Republican leaders and their ideological fellow-travelers on the effort to reform the health-care system have been so misleading, so disingenuous, that they could only spring from a cynical effort to gain partisan political advantage. By poisoning the political well, they've given up any pretense of being the loyal opposition. They've become political terrorists, willing to say or do anything to prevent the country from reaching a consensus on one of its most serious domestic problems. There are lots of valid criticisms that can be made against the health reform plans moving through Congress -- I've made a few myself. But there is no credible way to look at what has been proposed by the president or any congressional committee and conclude that these will result in a government takeover of the health-care system. That is a flat-out lie whose only purpose is to scare the public and stop political conversation. if Under any plan likely to emerge from Congress, the vast majority of Americans who are not old or poor will continue to buy health insurance from private companies, continue to get their health care from doctors in private practice and continue to be treated at privately owned hospitals. The centerpiece of all the plans is a new health insurance exchange set up by the government where individuals, small businesses and eventually larger businesses will be able to purchase insurance from private insurers at lower rates than are now generally available under rules that require insurers to offer coverage to anyone regardless of health condition. Low-income workers buying insurance through the exchange -- along with their employers -- would be eligible for government subsidies. While the government will take a more active role in regulating the insurance market and increase its spending for health care, that hardly amounts to the kind of government-run system that critics conjure up when they trot out that oh-so-clever line about the Department of Motor Vehicles being in charge of your colonoscopy. There is still a vigorous debate as to whether one of the insurance options offered through those exchanges would be a government-run insurance company of some sort. There are now less-than-even odds that such a public option will survive in the Senate, while even House leaders have agreed that the public plan won't be able to piggy-back on Medicare. So the probability that a public-run insurance plan is about to drive every private insurer out of business -- the Republican nightmare scenario -- is approximately zero. By now, you've probably also heard that health reform will cost taxpayers at least a trillion dollars. Another lie. First of all, that's not a trillion every year, as most people assume -- it's a trillion over 10 years, which is the silly way that people in Washington talk about federal budgets. On an annual basis, that translates to about $140 billion, when things are up and running. Even that, however, grossly overstates the net cost to the government of providing universal coverage. Other parts of the reform plan would result in offsetting savings for Medicare: reductions in unnecessary subsidies to private insurers, in annual increases in payments rates for doctors and in payments to hospitals for providing free care to the uninsured. The net increase in government spending for health care would likely be about $100 billion a year, a one-time increase equal to less than 1 percent of a national income that grows at an average rate of 2.5 percent every year. The Republican lies about the economics of health reform are also heavily laced with hypocrisy. While holding themselves out as paragons of fiscal rectitude, Republicans grandstand against just about every idea to reduce the amount of health care people consume or the prices paid to health-care providers -- the only two ways I can think of to credibly bring health spending under control. When Democrats, for example, propose to fund research to give doctors, patients and health plans better information on what works and what doesn't, Republicans sense a sinister plot to have the government decide what treatments you will get. By the same wacko-logic, a proposal that Medicare pay for counseling on end-of-life care is transformed into a secret plan for mass euthanasia of the elderly. Government negotiation on drug prices ? The end of medical innovation as we know it, according to the GOP's Dr. No. Reduce Medicare payments to overpriced specialists and inefficient hospitals? The first step on the slippery slope toward rationing. Can there be anyone more two-faced than the Republican leaders who in one breath rail against the evils of government-run health care and in another propose a government-subsidized high-risk pool for people with chronic illness, government-subsidized community health centers for the uninsured, and opening up Medicare to people at age 55 ? Health reform is a test of whether this country can function once again as a civil society -- whether we can trust ourselves to embrace the big, important changes that require everyone to give up something in order to make everyone better off. Republican leaders are eager to see us fail that test. We need to show them that no matter how many lies they tell or how many scare tactics they concoct, Americans will come together and get this done.
If health reform is to be anyone's Waterloo, let it be theirs.

Steven Pearlstein can be reached at pearlsteins@washpost.com.

Editorial : The truth is we cannot afford not to do Health Care Reform ! Our very existence may depend on it !

Saving Union City !...8/08/09...Read Carefully !

In Tire Tariff Case, Obama Faces First Chinese Trade Policy Test
By: Annys Shin > Washington Post Staff WriterFriday, August 7, 2009

The Obama administration is considering imposing tariffs on some Chinese-made tires that could effectively ban them from the United States, a proposal that is shaping up to be the first major test trial of the White House's trade policy toward China. The case stems from a petition filed by the United Steelworkers, who blame surging Chinese tire imports for the loss of more than 5,000 U.S. jobs since 2004.
In a hearing scheduled for Friday, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will consider whether to endorse a recommendation by the International Trade Commission to impose tariffs of as much as 55 percent on Chinese-made tires for passenger vehicles and light trucks that are sold by independent tire dealers.
The trade commission is a quasi-judicial federal agency that provides trade policy advice to the legislative and executive branches of government. It recommended that the tariffs be imposed for three years. It is up to the president to decide whether to follow that recommendation, ignore it, or craft his own remedy.
The president must decide by Sept. 17, a week before he is scheduled to host Chinese President Hu Jintao in Pittsburgh at a gathering of leaders from the group of 20 industrialized and developing nations. "This is the administration's first real test on trade policy . . . [and] they're either going to implement new trade barriers or not," said Chad P. Bown, an economics professor at Brandeis University and a fellow at the Brookings Institution. Unlike the Buy American provisions in the $787 billion stimulus package, which Congress passed over the president's objections, "this is the first decision that has been in the administration's lap that they have direct responsibility over," Bown said.
In his short tenure, Obama has sent conflicting signals on trade. He has warned against policies that "send a protectionist message" and criticized trade barriers, saying they "hurt us all in the end." But the administration has also failed to stop policies that major trading partners have decried as protectionist. It has largely ignored complaints by Canada, its largest trading partner, over the Buy American policy. And it has failed to resolve a dispute with Mexico over Mexican truck access to U.S. highways. If Obama backs the tariff, he risks upsetting the Chinese at a time when the United States needs China to keep buying U.S. government debt to fund stimulus efforts. In recent months, administration officials have been trying to calm Chinese fears over the size of the U.S. deficit and assure them that the government will get the deficit under control once an economic recovery is firmly established. If Obama rejects the tariff, he could alienate labor unions and in particular the steel workers' union, which campaigned heavily for him during his 2008 presidential bid.
The tire case was brought under Section 421 of the Trade Act of 1974, which lets the government determine whether a product from China is being imported in such increased quantities that it causes "market disruption" to the domestic producers of similar or directly competitive items. It became law in 2000 after China agreed to the provision while negotiating to join the World Trade Organization. At least five petitions have since been filed under Section 421, and none earned the support of President George W. Bush.
In its investigation of the tire petition, the International Trade Commission found that between 2004 and the end of 2008, imports of passenger vehicle tires from China increased 215 percent by volume, while production by the U.S. tire industry fell 26.6 percent, net sales were down 28.1 percent, and more than 5,000 domestic jobs were lost. Chinese tire producers and suppliers were in Washington this week to try to persuade the White House to reject the tariff hike, calling them a form of protectionism that would put 100,000 Chinese out of work without creating jobs in the United States. "U.S. tire makers will not shift production back to the United States because they have their strategy. They want to produce high-profit tires in the United States and produce economy tires in China so even if the United States closes the border . . . they can not add more jobs," said Mary Xu, deputy secretary general of the China Rubber Industry Association. United Steelworkers President Leo Gerard said that imposing tariffs for violating a law that the Chinese agreed to abide by is not protectionism. He also said that higher tariffs would encourage domestic tire production because other countries with low-cost labor don't have the capacity to ramp up production to make up for the drop in Chinese imports.
U.S. tire makers have not taken a position on the union's petition. Chinese tire makers and suppliers have found allies in U.S. tire distributors and retailers who say tariffs would raise prices, hurting cash-strapped consumers. The Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition, a group representing manufacturers and distributors, has also objected to the proposed tariff. It fears that if Obama supports tariffs on Chinese tires, it could set off an avalanche of Section 421 filings that would lead to trade wars and harm global trade.

Health Care & Seniors...Posted on Blog by Ark Senior

Seniors & Health Care !...8/08/09


SeniorARK has left a new comment on your post "Social Security & Cost of Living Allowance...2010(...

We seniors are in a pretty good position.

(1) We have a fixed income--something much of the population would love to have.

(2) We have government-run, single payer health insurance (Medicare), something that 50-70 million Americans would fall on their knees to get.

(3) We received a 5.8% cost-of living adjustment last year, while cost of living is dropping this year.

(4) We have a health insurance premium (part B) that cannot go up if there is no cost of living increase next year.

(5) Obama has negotiated with drug companies to reduce the cost of medications, paid by seniors, by 50% in the donut hole. Obama has no control over whether there is, or is not, a cost of living adjustment. That was established by law many years ago. And his health proposals take NOTHING away from us. They will add to the health of Medicare, and care for us very well. Don't believe the trash being disseminated by greedy insurance companies. They succeed only on fear, and our fears are unjustified.

Posted by SeniorARK to Underdog at 8/08/2009 2:32 PM



Editorial : This Senior has done his homework ! Thanks, Senior from Arkansas.

Donate Life Tennessee..8/05/09

Organ/Donation is Truly the Greatest Philanthropy !
by : Don Jones, Heart-Transplant#189~Vanderbilt

Listen up all Tennessee Freemasons, Eastern Star and all interested partie`s ! The state of Tennessee now has a site entitled Tennessee Donor Registry, thats right, you can now register as a Organ/Donor on-line. Sign your Driver`s license and then inform your family of your wishs to become an Organ/Donor. Then proceed to this site and register on-line ! Or just click on the title of this article ! If you have any questions, just contact this writer. "The Gift of Life" What a loving thing to do !

"Give The Gift of Life, Be an Organ/Tissue Donor, it`s The Masonic Thing to Do"!

> http://www.tndonorregistry.org/index.aspx <

"The Gift of Life", what a loving thing to do !