Florida Seniors Speak Out Against Voter Suppression
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Laura Markwardt, senior communications associate at the Alliance for Retired Americans, sends us this.
Hundreds of Florida seniors and others turned out for a rally in Tampa Friday against voter suppression. The rally was followed by a hearing inside the courthouse about the new law chaired by Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin who came to investigate whether the state law denies voters their constitutional rights. Durbin is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights.
Recent changes in Florida’s election rules will have a dramatic impact on Florida’s seniors and other voters. The new law passed in the Florida legislature cuts early voting from 14 days to seven days before the election, which hurts many seniors who vote early because they are physically unable to stand in a long line or make it to the polls on Election Day. Limiting the ability to vote early will indeed impact Florida’s seniors and will disproportionately affect African Americans, Latinos, working families and young voters.
Florida Alliance for Retired Americans President Tony Fransetta spoke at the rally about his concerns about voter suppression saying,
The law is an effort to limit voter turnout – and it shouldn’t stand.
In addition to his senior peers, who will be severely impacted by the new law, Fransetta, a retired Read the rest of this entry »
Affordable Care Act Helps Real People in Real Ways
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Republican presidential campaign pyrotechnics can’t hide the record of a party that has turned its back on ordinary Americans. It’s worth remembering how, a year ago, the Republican-majority House of Representatives tried to repeal the 2010 Affordable Care Act.
What would have happened if they had succeeded?
- 2.5 million young adults would have no health insurance.
- 2.65 million seniors would have paid $1.5 billion more for prescription drugs.
- 24.2 million seniors would pay for preventative services they are getting for free.
And that’s just the beginning. A short report from the White House highlights how the Affordable Care Act is making insurance more available and affordable for millions of Americans.
It’s good reading at a time when the Affordable Care Act repeal is still a GOP battle cry, with all the presidential hopefuls and most Republicans in Congress vowing to overthrow the law—and trying to scare voters in the process.
Check out the Center for American Progress’ animated video (above) explaining the benefits of reform. The video was developed by MIT economist Jon Gruber, an adviser on both the Affordable Care Act and the Massachusetts health care reform program.
Romney to Seniors: Let Them Eat PB & J
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Alliance for Retired Americans Communications Director Michael Buckley sends us this report.
While presidential candidate Mitt Romney noshed at a recent Palm Beach fundraiser co-hosted by a sugar baron and a pro sports owner, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans members gathered nearby for a more simple meal: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
The idea for the “Regular Man’s Picnic,” according to event organizer Tony Fransetta, a UAW retiree and Florida Alliance president, was to contrast Mitt Romney and his financial backers with the daily struggles of seniors in Florida and across the nation. Speaking near the Romney event, Fransetta said:
Those inside are advancing the interests of the 1%, while we are outside today to speak up for the 99% who are too often silenced in this country. Read the rest of this entry »
More Older Americans Slipping Into Poverty
When the U.S. Census Bureau updated its model for calculating the nation’s poverty rate, it arrived at an unexpected result: nearly twice as many older Americans qualify as poor than had been previously thought. The new data suggest that 16 percent of those 65 and older are poor. Under the old formula, which failed to accurately reflect housing and medical costs, the poverty rate for older Americans stood at 9 percent.
The Los Angeles Times reports:
[M]edical costs are pushing low-income seniors living on fixed incomes over the brink, said Kathleen S. Short, a U.S. Census Bureau economist.
For many, that fixed income amounts to Social Security benefits and not much else, due to the declining numbers of Americans who have a traditional pension.
Romney Is No Better than Perry on Social Security
If you’ve watched any of the Republican primary debates, it’s possible to mistake presidential wannabee Mitt Romney as the voice of reason in that group, most of whom long ago teetered off the edge of rational discourse.
But a new chart comparing the views of Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry shows that when it comes to Social Security, the nation’s most successful safety net, Romney is no better than “Social Security Is a Ponzi Scheme” Perry.
Although Romney has not used the term “Ponzi scheme,” he has called it a fraud, according to the nonprofit group Strengthen Social Security. Here’s Romney:
Seniors: Dump Oil Subsidies, Save Medicare
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Congressional Republicans slapped older Americans and working people in the face earlier this week by voting to keep billions in subsidies for oil companies while supporting a budget plan that would make it even harder for seniors to visit a doctor and fill a prescription.
Even though polls show a majority of Americans want to keep Medicare intact, Republicans would prefer to reduce the federal deficit by ending Medicare rather eliminating the oil subsidies. Big Oil hardly needs the help. The nation’s five largest oil companies made nearly $1 trillion in profits in the past decade and profits are soaring even more with gas prices hovering today around $4 a gallon.
Study: Half of Seniors at Risk for Poverty
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Here’s one big reason congressional Republicans and the deficit hawks are dead wrong about cutting Social Security benefits: According to a new study, nearly half (47.4 percent) of all Americans between the ages of 60 and 90 will experience at least one year of poverty or near poverty and seniors of color are twice as likely to be affected.
The study by Mark Rank, a professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis, shows that 58 percent of seniors between 60 and 84 will, at some point, not have enough liquid assets to allow them to weather an unanticipated expense or downturn in income.
Iowa Labor 2010: Grassroots Outreach Among Retired Americans
Michael Uehlein, Field Communications director for the Iowa Federation of Labor, sends us this report.
In Iowa today, the Alliance for Retired Americans is on the ground talking with seniors and Iowans about issues that affect retired older Americans. A proud union partner, the Alliance works for the security of working families heading into retirement.
The organization is focused on strengthening Social Security as a safety net for those who have paid into it and, in Iowa and around the nation, is a valuable partner to the labor movement and working families. The Alliance “has been a fantastic asset,” says Iowa AFL-CIO President Ken Sagar.
They’re working not simply for Americans who are currently retired, but for those who will be retired in the future.
Doctors, Seniors Unite Behind House Health Care Bill
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| Members of CWA 3122 in Florida spread the word about the need for health care reform. | |
In a massive show of support for health care reform, the nation’s largest organization for doctors, the American Medical Association (AMA), today urged the House to pass the bill it begins debate on today, H.R. 3962, Affordable Health Care for America Act.
The AMA’s historical backing for health care reform follows this morning’s endorsement of the House bill by the largest U.S. advocacy group for seniors, the 40-million member AARP. As we noted yesterday, the bill has many provisions that will immediately benefit to seniors.
The American Cancer Society Action Network also is throwing its support behind the bill, calling it “an exceptional opportunity” to improve our health care system.
These groups are joining a broad coalition, from businesses to civil rights organizations, groups for youth and for seniors, unions, medical professionals and faith groups, all asking Congress to pass this critical bill that will expand health care coverage, cut costs and put patients first. This support is critical, as the closer we get to real reform, the harder the insurance companies and their lobbyists and front groups will fight to block it through scare tactics and falsehoods.
Want to get involved? Click here to call Congress.
Here’s What Health Care Reform Means for Working Families
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| The AFL-CIO is running an ad in support of health care reform in newspapers in the Washington, D.C., area. |
Within days, the U.S. House will vote on a historic health care reform bill that will cover everyone, cut costs and protect families from insurance company abuses.
The House bill, H.R. 3962—the Affordable Health Care for America Act—has provisions that will help families now and in the long term, all while decreasing the nation’s deficit.
Although some provisions of reform will require time to implement, here are key changes that will kick in immediately, providing direct and critical relief to millions of working families:
- An immediate insurance program for high-risk uninsured people to buy into.
- Ending “rescissions”—prohibiting insurers from nullifying coverage when patients file claims.
- Ending the lifetime caps on how much care insurers will cover.
- Allowing young people to stay on their parents’ policies until age 27.
- Allowing workers who have lost coverage because they lost their job to extend COBRA coverage.
- New incentive programs to increase the number of doctors.
- Funding for community health centers.
- Reducing the “donut hole” in Medicare prescription drug coverage—which right now doesn’t cover any drug costs between $2,700 and $4,050.
- A new fund to help employers pay for coverage for early retirees.
