Tag Archives: medicare

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Black Friday: We Stand with Walmart Workers


We are writing you today to let you know that on this Black Friday, we join thousands of people of faith who are gathered at different Walmart stores across the country in support of Walmart associates and Walmart-contracted warehouse workers demanding respect, better wages and safer working conditions.


tbi_black_fri.jpgWe see an endless stream of customers and thousands of items flying off the shelves. By the end of the day, Walmart will make millions
in sales and profits. The hardworking associates and warehouse workers, however, will go home with barely enough to make ends meet.

There is no reason for those who work at your stores and your contracted warehouses to go without basic necessities such as food and shelter. Yet, many of them live in poverty because Walmart does not pay fair wages.

As people of faith, we call for a Jubilee at Walmart as the company celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Jubilee is the biblical covenant requiring the cancellation of debts, freeing of slaves and redistribution of resources every 50 years to limit inequality.

Walmart is the glaring example of inequality, and for 50 years it helped legitimize an economy benefiting the interests of a few wealthy executives at the expense of working people.

This year, as you and your company celebrate the values of “hard work, “entrepreneurship,” and “the American dream,” we remember and pray for the 1.4 million Walmart workers in the United States earning poverty wages while having to work in dangerous environments with limited access to insurance and benefits.

We call on Walmart to share its corporate wealth with workers by providing what is due to store associates and to those contracted to provide and move Walmart goods: a living wage, benefits and a safe workplace.

Thank you,
The Black Institute

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The Black Institute
http://www.theblackinstitute.org/

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Don’t let Republicans Cut Your Social Security!


Right now, some politicians in Washington are considering cramming cuts to our Social Security benefits into a last-minute budget deal.
Please sign the petition today! Don’t Let Washington Cut Your Social Security Check!
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Between now and the holidays, the President and Congress are considering a deal that would change Social Security cost of living increase calculations and lower benefits by $112 billion in the next 10 years alone. That’s money directly out of the pockets of those American’s who need it the most.

The proposal assumes that when the cost of something you normally buy goes up, you will substitute a lower-cost item. Many seniors, though, spend much of their money on prescription drugs, utilities and heath care costs that don’t have a lower-cost substitute.

It’s time Congress took a serious look at how short-sighted budget deals like this will affect seniors across America.

Take action today: Urge your representative not to make devastating changes to Social Security as part of a last minute budget deal!

care2 Thanks for taking action,Ellen B.
Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team
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Medicare Advantage …


Medicare Advantage is George Bush’s plan to “privatize” Medicare and it FAILED.

Posted by Steven Bradley:

Paul Ryan‘s plan doubles down on this failed plan to “privatize Medicare” giving millions to insurance companies.

In contrast President Obama gives savings back to seniors by filling the prescription “donut hole.”

Ryan proposes giving all the donuts ($) to the insurance companies.

“Medicare Advantage” failed to reduce costs through competition in the marketplace. Costs under these “Advantage” plans skyrocketed as expenditures for things like “health club memberships” were incurred to entice membership.

The Republican plan is real “crony capitalism.” It feeds profits and waste back into an already bloated insurance industry.

Don’t let Republican ads fool you into thinking that “Medicare Advantage” and “Medicare” are the same thing.

The privatization of Medicare through Medicare Advantage is a bad idea.

It’s an idea that has already been proven a failure.

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Further information below

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The Affordable Care Act — The law makes significant reductions to Medicare Advantage, a subset of Medicare plans run by private insurers. Medicare Advantage was started under President George W. Bush, and the idea was that competition among the private insurers would reduce costs. But in recent years the plans have actually cost more than traditional Medicare. So the health care law scales back the payments to private insurers.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/sep/06/bill-clinton/clinton-says-ryan-attacked-obama-medicare-cuts-ref/

Note:

This article shared on the Daily Kos under pen name “Jack Ryan”.  Share it with others on Facebook, twitter, and in e-mail.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/24/1149298/-Medicare-Advantage-is-George-Bush-s-plan-to-privatize-Medicare-and-it-FAILED

Let people know “Medicare Advantage” is no advantage at all.  It depletes Medicare funds for all.  Republican political candidates are presenting the “reining in of exorbitant costs of this private insurance plan (Medicare Advantage) as cuts to Medicare.

REPUBLICAN MEDICARE LIE EXPOSED

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Tommny Thompson caught on tape


Sep 24, 2012 by    

Originally uploaded by WIUSSenateFootage http://www.youtube.com/user/WIUSSenateFootage
I converted the original so that the video and audio sync properly on youtube.
From the original description:
Tommy Thompson at a meeting of the Lake Country Area Defenders Of Liberty Olympia Resort, Oconomowoc, WI May 4, 2012

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Did you hear … that some members of Congress plan to cut Social Security?


National Women's Law Center
Have you heard about the plan to cut Social Security? If you haven’t, here’s what it looks like:
Step 1: Talk about the plan behind closed doors
Step 2: Claim to not be cutting Social Security benefits, just adjusting the Consumer Price Index
Step 3: Keep the public in the dark with technical language such as “chained CPI”
Right now this is EXACTLY what some members of Congress are doing. They’re looking for additional programs they can cut to reduce the deficit, and Social Security is on the table. They’re looking at a stealth way to cut Social Security benefits: by switching the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment to a new measure of inflation, the chained CPI.
The chained CPI would cut Social Security benefits by reducing the annual cost-of-living adjustment — and the value of benefits — every year. These cuts start small, but get deeper every year. The older you get, the deeper the cut from the chained CPI.
That’s why we need your help to educate the public. Will you help share this important message? The image below explains what these cuts would really mean.
Infographic - Stealth cuts to Social SecurityPlease spread the word!

Why are we so worried? This stealth plan to cut Social Security would be a triple whammy to women:

  1. Since women live longer than men on average, they would face deeper cuts in their Social Security benefits.
  2. Elderly women rely more on income from Social Security, so these cuts would represent a larger share of their total income in retirement.
  3. Since older women are already more economically vulnerable, these cuts would leave many of them unable to meet basic needs.

We are worried about women like Jeannette, from Medford, Oregon. She worked her whole life, up until she was 73, but has no pension. Her only income, apart from a little help from her adult children, is her Social Security check. She described to us how she manages.
“I’m a very frugal person. Always have been. I don’t have cable…that’s a luxury. I shop for food very carefully, too. I can’t afford meat anymore, but every once in a while if I see a great bargain, I’ll splurge on a small piece of meat. There’s a special discount cheese that I like. I make very thin slices…. I’m careful about keeping my clothes in good condition. I know that I don’t have the option to buy new ones.”
Jeannette’s story is not unique. She is one of millions of women who rely on Social Security to survive. And she can’t afford ANY cuts to her Social Security. And this is exactly why we need your help.
Please help spread the word by sharing our new graphic today.
Sincerely,
Joan Entmacher Joan Entmacher Vice President, Family Economic Security National Women’s Law Center   

P.S. Do you or a loved one have a Social Security experience that you can share? Add your story to our storybank! Stories help our advocacy efforts by putting a face on programs that make a difference in women’s lives.
P.P.S. Please help us continue to advocate for policies that protect and improve economic security for women and their families by making a generous donation today.