SNAP and the House of Representatives

A great deal has been written recently regarding the abuse of food stamps. The recent legislation passed in the House has cut nearly $40 billion from this vital program. I decided to do some research to try to understand the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) a little better. I was surprised to learn that the maximum benefit a couple could receive was $6.11 per person per day, based on a 30 day month.

This amount does not leave much room for abuse and pretty much puts to sleep the stories of exorbitant amounts of money spent in stores for food and other “goodies.” I was also surprised to read about what you can and cannot buy. I must also add that the $6.11 amount is the “maximum” daily benefit; the SNAP benefit is reduced using a formula, if there is any additional income. I for one would not want to try figure out how I would prepare three meals a day with six bucks.

With many of our retirees having to retire without pensions or with reduced pensions, it is becoming more important that we make sure that our elected officials do not become over zealous in their attempt to reduce the deficit, that they created, on the backs of our retirees. While there may be misuse in the system, I hope they concentrate on addressing those issues instead of attacking the safety net of the young and elderly who have come to need this benefit just to be able to feed themselves.

Bill Pienta, SOAR President

The Chained CPI

The People Speak, A Movie for Mike Pence

The Mystery of the Ship of Fear
by Jim Hicks
Honolulu

The freighter Pomona, scabrous with rust, heavy-loaded with scrap iron, was a week off the California coast, westbound for Formosa, when her first mate, Alf Olsen, realized he had not seen the captain for a day and a half. this was not unusual. In 30 years at sea Capt. Jacob Natvig, 51, had developed a real attachment for whisky and he often stayed below. But Olsen decided to investigate. He rapped on the captain’s unlocked door and went into the sitting room. A chair was overturned and papers from the desk littered the floor. Olsen stepped uneasily to the adjoining bedroom and stopped in horror. The captain lay on his bunk, his head gashed below the right ear. Blood sheeted the walls and filmed the porthole so that a ghastly pink glow spread over the room. A big green fire axe which normally hung outside the door lay by the body.

Hands shaking, Olsen backed from the cabin, locked it and ordered the ship turned toward the nearest port. And she lies there now (above), tight-warped to a pier, filled with frightened men and the smell of death. She brought to land a story of violence. terror and appalling drunkenness at sea -- and the Honolulu waterfront dubbed her the “hell ship.”

The Pomona is a Liberty ship, built in the U.S. in 1943, now owned in Brazil, registered in Liberia and crewed in Norway. She sailed from Stavanger, Norway last October with a mixed crew of Norwegians, Finns, Spaniards and West Indians who hated each other almost from the beginning. Within a week a finnish sailor lost his mind and ran screaming through the hip until he was caught and subdued. He was put ashore at Bilbao, Spain.

But the trouble had started and the chief cause was the captain himself. Jacob Natvig was a convivial man. This cruise to last a year, would bring him to retirement. He like to have a glass or two over his nightly pinochle game and more over stories of his years at sea and ore for any reason at all. “The captain was a good guy,” a seaman said much later. “He was always drunk. We didn’t see him much when we were at sea.” Captain Natvig often drank with his chief steward, Anker Baardsen, though less for affection than for convenience. Baardsen was a tall and gloomy man given to fits of violent emotion. When not drinking with the captain, Baardsen was demolishing bottle after bottle with other officers. The abstainer among the officers, said the crew, was First Mate Olsen, 34, a round-faced man with curly hair and a worried look.

The crew was also drunk most of the time and fight among them were constant and savage. After Spain, the ship lurched through a half-dozen Caribbean ports. At Port-of Spain, an alcohol-crazed sailor jumped overboard and was recovered. Later he jumped ship at Guadalupe. The crew pilfered from the argo and when the captain accused a sailor of theft, the man called him a liar and went unpunished. Two stowaways boarded at Caribbean ports and rode untroubled to Baltimore Chief Steward Baardsen was seeing airy schools of flying fish that no one else could see.

From Baltimore the Pomona rounded through the Panama Canal and bore north for California. Another crewman tried suicide and was taken ashore. The ship was filthy. Cleaning was the chief steward’s duty and he was rarely sober enough to remember it. Litter coated the decks. Paint hipped and everywhere rust grew in ugly flecks. The heads -- shipboard bathrooms -- reeked. Nor was this the only neglect. Merchant ships normally conduct regular fire and lifeboat drills. But despite angry demands from the crew, again Natvig never held a single drill.

At San Pedro, Calif. the Pomona loaded scrap iron for Japan. She crossed the Pacific, lost another sailor to insanity and returned to California. On the bridge one night, the helmsman, Miguel Marriaga, and third mate, Reidar Klovnig, quarreled, Marriaga, who carried a long, wickedly sharp knife, snarled, “Try anything with me and you’re going to get a nice scar on your face.” Captain Natvig refused to punish Marriaga, and now all discipline vanished.

The men dared anything. The engine-room crew simply quit working. Officers took over and maintained steam until the crewmen were persuaded to go back to work. At San Pedro, the Pomona loaded scrap and set out for Formosa.

 A few days out, on a Wednesday night, Baardsen was in the captain’s cabin. Both were drinking heavily. It was the last time that Captain Natvig was seen alive. On Friday, May 15, Olsen found his body.

After turning the ship toward Honolulu, 600 miles to the southwest, Olsen went to Baardsen’s cabin. “You were drinking with the master Wednesday night,” he said. “What time did you leave?” Baardsen pondered, “About a quarter past midnight,” he said.

“What condition was the captain in?

“He was well, but drunk, of course. Why?

“The Captain’s been murdered,” Olsen said. “No!” Baardsen cried. “You’re crazy!” Olsen thought he appeared genuinely surprised. He told Baardsen to remain in his cabin and went to Chief Engineer Svensen, with whom Baardsen had finished the night of drinking. Svensen recalled that Baardsen had joined him at about 3 a.m. -- much later than Baardsen remembered it -- and that they had drunk Scotch whisky until 7 a.m. when Svensen had collapsed. Olsen decided to lock Baardsen up, not as a suspect but just because he was the last man known to have seen Captain Natvig alive. The crew jumped to the conclusion that Baardsen had gone mad and the ship was going to Honolulu to put him ashore. With three men insane in seven months, that seemed a reasonable deduction. But Olsen knew, and the mates and the radio operator knew, that there was a murderer aboard. For three days to Honolulu, they walked warily through the passageways and did not sleep. At Honolulu, a bizarre legal situation developed. Since the crime had taken place at sea in the foreign vessel, it was outside U.S. jurisdiction, Honolulu police made a “courtesy investigation” but could do nothing. The ship was of Liberian registry, but a trial in West Africa seemed pointless. Finally Norway decided that since both the captain and Baardsen were Norwegian, it would send two detectives out from Oslo.

On the second day in port Baardsen broke his dinner plate, slit his left wrist with the sharp edge and wrapped himself in his blanket to die. He was taken to a hospital, crying, “I didn’t do it. Everyone’s against me.” Most of the seamen and Olsen himself do not believe that Baardsen killed the captain. Though there was a tiny blood spot on his shirt, it was too small to analyze and he said he had cut his neck. Even his attempted suicide was considered not indicative, for he often was deeply depressed. He is tall and the Pomona’s men do not believe he could have swung an axe while drunk without striking the ceiling on the upswing. The captain’s ceiling is unmarked. Baardsen, recovering in a hospital, has agreed to accompany the detectives to Oslo, but there is no sign that he will be charged. The U.S. Immigration Service allows the men to go ashore, but they must report daily to the ship. They want to go home, but the company is trying to hold them to their year-long contracts and compel them to sail together again.

The authorities seem to have no suspects for captain Natvig’s death. No fingerprints were on the axe and no clues were found in the cabin. Most of the men on the ship believe that the murderer is still aboard and they are deeply frightened. They have individual cabins, but they have paired up for protection and those who sleep aboard do so with knives in their fists. They have refused to stand night watches. Officers move about the ship with their backs pressed to the steel bulkheads. The men will not work and the filth piles up on decks. Curiosity draws people to the pier to stare up at the crewmen at the rail. The men stare back. At night no one domes. The Pomona rocks slowly, her rusty plates creaking as they rub against the pier’s bumpers. On an upper deck Third Mate Klovning paces steadily, taking quick little dat glandes over his shoulder. He is afraid, as every man aboard is afraid, that the man who murdered the captain will strike again.

Meet Those Responsible for the Shutdown

Alliance Friday Alert 10-4-13

Headlines:
Activists at U.S. Capitol Warn: “Don’t Use Shutdown to Cut Benefits for Seniors”;
Rolling Stone Explains How Wall Street Wins at Public Workers’ Expense;
Video Explains Affordable Care Act as it Applies to Seniors;
Arizona Alliance Convention is Held in Phoenix;
California Alliance Holds its 10th Annual Convention

Activists at U.S. Capitol Warn: “Don’t Use Shutdown to Cut Benefits for Seniors”
Scores of seniors came to the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, joined hands with Members of Congress, and formed a human chain in opposition to the Chained CPI formula and all benefit cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. The Congressional Progressive Caucus hosted the demonstration, as Alliance members joined with Social Security Works and other allies. The event was emceed by Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-Chair Keith Ellison (D-MN). Other Members of Congress at the event included Reps. Cheri Bustos (IL); David Cicilline (RI); Yvette Clarke (NY); John Conyers (MI); Elijah Cummings (MD); Rosa DeLauro (CT); Alan Grayson (FL); Mike Honda (CA); Steven Horsford (NV); Barbara Lee (CA); Sheila Jackson Lee (TX); Alan Lowenthal (CA); Daniel Maffei (NY); Carolyn Maloney (NY); Jerrold Nadler (NY);  Mark Pocan (WI); Jan Schakowsky (IL); Mark Takano (CA); and Paul Tonko (NY). Politico wrote about the event at http://tinyurl.com/pp6e7te.

“Congratulations to everyone who made today a success or got this event started by hosting a human chain event on July 2nd,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance.

“Seniors sent a message today: We are standing up for our hard-earned benefits and will not allow a government shutdown to force cuts to our Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid!” said Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance. “But today was also a part of a timely revolt against Republicans' hostage taking strategy. Whether shutting down the government to protest Obamacare or using a debt crisis to force the Chained CPI on seniors, Americans have had enough,” Coyle continued.

Go to http://youtu.be/Y75JKaLvwgQ to see video of Rep. Ellison from the day’s event. Group shots from the day’s demonstration, including video footage of Rep. Honda saying, “Cut the Crap, Scrap the Cap,” are at http://tinyurl.com/nhwct34. Go to http://tinyurl.com/pvf3c2w for video of the entire event. Click on http://tinyurl.com/o4krdww and http://tinyurl.com/nw2qhtn to see Facebook photos.

Rolling Stone Explains How Wall Street Wins at Public Workers’ Expense
Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone magazine writes, “All across America, Wall Street is grabbing money meant for public workers.” The piece explains how Rhode Island was used as a test case for the rest of the country, “at the behest of powerful out-of-state financiers with dreams of pushing pension reform down the throats of taxpayers and public workers from coast to coast.”

“This scathing, much-talked-about article explains how Wall Street benefits, while public workers are losing their pension funds,” said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. Read the piece at: http://tinyurl.com/kjag4xj.

Video Explains Affordable Care Act as it Applies to Seniors
Kaiser Health News’s Mary Agnes Carey appeared on the PBS Newshour last Thursday night to answer questions from seniors uncertain of how the Affordable Care Act will affect older Americans and what changes are coming for Medicare recipients. That video is available at http://tinyurl.com/onj5mm5.

On Tuesday, the online health insurance marketplaces — the centerpiece of President Obama’s health-care law — opened for business despite the government shutdown. The plan is for millions of Americans to go online to compare health plans, find out if they’re eligible for federal help with premiums and buy coverage. The Obama Administration acknowledged that the debut was not flawless - with some computer glitches - but officials expect the kinks to be ironed out soon.

An exchange is a Web site designed to make it easy to find health coverage. Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries aren’t eligible for them. Those who are in the country illegally are barred from them, and most workers at bigger companies that provide health coverage won’t use them.

Each state will have an exchange. Some states are running their own; the rest are either partnering with the federal government or relying on the federal government to operate theirs. Exchanges are designed for the uninsured, people who buy their own coverage, and those whose employer-provided coverage is too expensive or lacks important benefits. Initial open enrollment is Oct. 1 through March 31. Those who are eligible can find an exchange at www.healthcare.gov.

Arizona Alliance Convention is Held in Phoenix
Seventy-five Arizona Alliance members attended the group’s state convention at the new Painters' Union Hall in Phoenix on Monday. Sam Wercinski, with the Arizona Advocacy Network, showed the Bill Moyers film "The United States of ALEC" and then led a discussion surrounding ALEC's influence in politics. Rich Fiesta, Director of the Department of Government and Political Affairs for the Alliance, gave an invigorating talk about the political landscape for the 2014 election cycle and administered the Oath of Office for the new board. Alex Lawson from Social Security Works trained the attendees on messaging and winning words. Karen Gilgoff from AFSCME’s retirees also shared her expertise. The following officers were elected: Doug Hart, President; John Campbell, 1st Vice President; Bill Engler, 2nd Vice President; Dan Pollard, Treasurer; and Tino Torres, Recording Secretary. To see photos on Facebook, go to http://tinyurl.com/o8bb6gc.

California Alliance Holds its 10th Annual Convention
The California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA) celebrated their 10th anniversary on Oct 1st and 2nd as part of their 10th Annual Convention, held in Sacramento.  Over 250 delegates attended from around the state.  Keynote speakers included Ms. Easterling; Dr. William Vega from the USC Roybal Institute on Aging; Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones; California Secretary of Labor Marty Morgenstern, and Lenny Goldberg, Executive Director of the California Tax Reform Association.  Workshops included Becoming an Empowered Elder and The Affordable Care Act and Seniors. Over 200 phone calls were made at a phone bank regarding the protection of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to the state Congressional delegation. New board members were elected and installed; President Nan Brasmer was reelected, as was Secretary Dawn Bronsema.



For a printable version of this document, go to http://tinyurl.com/q8sj9hd. 

I.U. Health's Well Kept Secret

I.U. Health’s Well Kept Secret

Recently, I was diagnosed with a problem which required surgery. My family doctor, Dr. Dennis Dalphond in North Judson, scheduled an appointment with a specialist in Laporte, IN. After additional testing was done, I was instructed to make an appointment with a surgeon.  I was given the choice of three surgeons from which to choose. All were in LaPorte.

I preferred having the procedure done in Knox and I asked if there was a physician on the list from here.  I was told that there was a general surgeon in Knox but they didn’t know if this surgeon was “recommended” for this surgery. After waiting ten days with no call back, and getting the impression that the hospital in Laporte didn’t want the hospital in Knox to do the job, I called the office of Dr. Mangalore Subba Rao at the Starke Hospital and Physicians and was given an appointment.

I want everyone to know how great the employees at the Starke County hospital are and that their surgeons are second to none.  All were wonderful and I couldn’t have asked for better treatment. Everyone I came in contact with was kind and considerate, treated me with dignity and respect.  All were professional in every way, from the maintenance people to the  technicians, nurses, and surgeon.

The next time you need professional healthcare, my recommendation for people in the Knox area is to give the Starke Hospital and Physicians a try. You’ll be glad you did. I hope more patients will be encouraged to use IU Starke Hospital. 

Many thanks to Starke Hospital and Physicians employees, and special thanks to Dr. Mangalore Subba Rao.

Affordable Care Act vs. Obamacare

House Republicans' Shutdown Turns Seniors into Hostages

For Immediate Release
September 30, 2013
Contact: David Blank – 202/637-5275 or dblank@retiredamericans.org

House Republicans’ Shutdown Turns Seniors into Hostages

We must make sure these tactics are not “Rewarded” with Cuts to Social Security and Medicare

The following statement was issued today by Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans.

"The Affordable Care Act offers seniors free preventive care and closes the doughnut hole gap in prescription drug coverage. For House Republicans to say that they don’t like it, and are therefore going to shut down the government over it, is a preposterous attempt to take our government – and seniors - hostage.

"The United States is a country of laws, and the Affordable Care Act is the law of this land. Health care reform was not only signed into law by President Obama in 2010 – it was also ratified once again by the American people when the elections of 2012 took place.

"As a result of furloughs and service cuts during the last shutdown, claims for Social Security and disability benefits were not being taken and callers were denied service on the Social Security Administration’s 800 number.

"During the 1995-96 shutdowns, veterans also saw their disability benefits and pension claims delayed.

"We must stand firm against these tactics, and not allow the House Republicans’ unreasonable demands to erode the Social Security and Medicare benefits that seniors rely on. In particular, we must make sure that these hostage-taking schemes are not used to negotiate the Chained CPI formula change to seniors’ future Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, cutting their benefits. That is one of the results that these hostage-takers would love to see happen most of all. We must also beware of attempts to shift Medicare costs to beneficiaries."

###

The Alliance for Retired Americans is a national organization that advocates for the rights and well-being of over 4 million retirees and their families.

Contact information: David Blank, Alliance for Retired Americans, 815 16th Street, NW 4th floor, Washington, DC 20006

Get Ready For Obamacare

Friday Alert, 9-27-13

Headlines:
Latest on a Possible Shutdown of the Federal Government
Debt Ceiling: A Threat to Social Security and Medicare
Human Chain Event to Take Place on October 3 at the U.S. Capitol
Rep. Linda Sanchez’s Social Security Legislation Already Has 30 Co-sponsors
Social Security Benefits Likely to be Paid on Time Even if There is a Shutdown

Latest on a Possible Shutdown of the Federal Government
On Thursday, top House Republican leaders rejected the short-term spending plan expected to be passed by the Senate in coming days, increasing the possibility of a government shutdown next week. Asked if the House would pass the bill unchanged once it is sent from the Senate, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) replied, “I do not see that happening.”

According to The Washington Post, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), using rules allowing him to change the wording of a spending measure passed last week by the House, is expected to strip out language that would defund the health reform law, change the expiration date on the funding bill to Nov. 15, and pass the measure with a simple majority achieved entirely with Democratic votes.

Once the bill returns to the House, any move to change it would by necessity mean that the fight over funding the government would almost certainly continue at least until the final minutes of the fiscal year late on Monday night, since the Senate’s rules would make swift consideration unlikely. More at http://tinyurl.com/p92kxgg.

Debt Ceiling: A Threat to Social Security and Medicare
While a relatively short shutdown may not imperil Social Security beneficiaries, the failure by lawmakers to raise the nation's borrowing limit could.

“The biggest risk to Social Security payments is the debt ceiling,” said Charles Konigsberg, who was assistant director of the White House budget office during the last shutdown.

If the ceiling isn't raised, the Treasury Department will eventually run short of funds to pay all its bills. The debt limit will be reached “no later than October 17,” Treasury secretary Jack Lew wrote to Speaker Boehner on Wednesday.

According to Bloomberg News, Senate Republicans have a strategy for lifting the U.S. borrowing limit: offer what President Barack Obama asked for in his budget, then dare him to refuse. Republicans would be willing to replace some of the $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts to domestic and military programs over the next nine years in exchange for cuts to Social Security and Medicare, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said.

In July, the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax policy, released drafts that include the Chained CPI formula to cut Social Security benefits, along with reducing payments to hospitals and other providers under Medicare. The ideas were borrowed from President Obama’s fiscal 2014 budget and proposals put forward by his 2010 deficit-reduction commission. By contrast, in their budget plans, Republicans advocated converting Medicare to a voucher program and changing Medicaid to a state-based block-grant system. More at http://tinyurl.com/nhxxmce.

Human Chain Event to Take Place on October 3 at the U.S. Capitol
The Congressional Progressive Caucus plans to host a Human Chain press conference in opposition to the Chained CPI next Thursday, October 3 at 10 a.m. at the House Triangle. This Human Chain press conference follows the success of nationwide Human Chain events organized by the Alliance for Retired Americans in conjunction with our coalition partners on July 2, 2013.  The July 2 events took place in more than 50 cities with support from the labor movement, Social Security Works, and other allies. More than 20 Members of Congress have agreed to participate on October 3.  If you are in the DC area, please RSVP to attend here: http://tinyurl.com/oqq278r. Regardless of where you are, join the event remotely and share it with your friends and allies via this Facebook event: http://tinyurl.com/pylbnof.

“Activists are going to be heard at the right time – while budget issues are red-hot,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance.

Rep. Linda Sanchez’s Social Security Legislation Already Has 30 Co-sponsors
For a list of current cosponsors of H.R. 3118, the Strengthening Social Security Act of 2013 introduced by Rep. Linda Sanchez, (D-CA), go to http://tinyurl.com/ps8zvxa. Instead of offering a cold, calculated benefit cut like the Chained CPI, this legislation would actually increase annual Social Security benefits by an average of $800. “By using a cost-of-living formula like the CPI-E that more accurately reflects the expenses of Social Security beneficiaries, and by raising the cap on taxable income so that the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share towards Social Security, we can extend the life of the Social Security Trust Fund and provide better benefits to Americans who worked hard their entire lives,” said Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance.

Social Security Benefits Likely to be Paid on Time Even if There is a Shutdown
According to CNN, in the event of a shutdown, it's very likely that the nearly 58 million people who receive Social Security benefits would still be paid on time. The money used to fund Social Security benefits is automatically authorized and not dependent on Congress coming to a compromise on a new federal spending measure by Monday night. However, what isn't automatically authorized is the money that Congress appropriates every year to run the Social Security Administration and pay its employees to process those benefits.

During the last two government shutdowns in the mid-1990s, Social Security checks were sent out on schedule. That happened even though the Social Security Administration was grossly understaffed during the first -- and shorter -- of the two shutdowns. It had kept on just under 5,000 employees. Once it realized how many more were needed to carry out essential duties, the agency was quick to staff up. By the second shutdown, which lasted 21 days, the agency required the majority of its employees (55,992) to keep coming to work, furloughing just 10,203 workers.

“Applicants for new benefits would be in much greater danger of facing delays than current beneficiaries would,” said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance.

For a printable version of this document, go to http://bit.ly/15yQa8I. 

Sign Up October 1 for Health Insurance

Alliance for Retired Americans Friday Alert 9-20-13

Headlines:
Rep. Linda Sanchez Introduces the Strengthening Social Security Act in U.S. House
Census Data: Social Security Kept Over 15 Million Americans Out of Poverty in 2012
Minimum Wage and Overtime Protections Extended to Home Care Workers
Missouri Alliance Helps Defeat Dangerous Anti-Senior and Anti-Union Legislation
New Hampshire Alliance Demonstrates in Front of Senator Ayotte’s Office
New Film Exposes Rise of Income Inequality in America
Detroit Retirees at Risk of Losing Pensions Tell Their Stories in Court

Rep. Linda Sanchez Introduces the Strengthening Social Security Act in U.S. House
This week, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA), introduced the Strengthening Social Security Act, H.R. 3118, in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would increase Social Security benefits by approximately $70 per month by modifying the formula used to calculate benefits. In sharp contrast to the chained CPI benefit cut, the Strengthening Social Security Act would also increase Social Security Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA’s) by using a COLA formula that more accurately reflects the living expenses of Social Security beneficiaries. The bill also extends the life of the Social Security trust fund by gradually eliminating the payroll tax cap so that the wealthiest Americans contribute their fair share. The bill is the House companion to S. 567, introduced by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) in March. You can learn more about the Strengthening Social Security Act at http://tinyurl.com/nuyd7zs. To ask your Representative to co-sponsor the bill, go to http://tinyurl.com/l3lhvp2.

“At a time when the retirement income deficit is $6.6 trillion, the American people are calling for strengthening – not cutting – Social Security,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance. “It is essential that Congress work to strengthen this lifeline of retirement, disability and survivors’ security to ensure that Americans of all ages can count on the benefits that they have been promised.”

Census Data: Social Security Kept Over 15 Million Americans Out of Poverty in 2012
According to a new report released by the U.S. Census Bureau, the country’s poverty rate and real household median income (adjusted for inflation) have remained essentially unchanged since last year’s report. This is an improvement over recent years, when poverty increased and median household income declined. The report also included a Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which gauges the impact of various federal benefit programs on poverty. According to the SPM, Social Security kept 15.3 million people out of poverty in 2012. The data also revealed that out of pocket medical costs are the most common cause of poverty. Go to http://tinyurl.com/kxqwn5e to view the report. Analysis from thinkprogress.com is at http://tinyurl.com/lopbek5, and the Economic Policy Institute has some of the key numbers at http://tinyurl.com/k5mqy3b.

“While it is good news that the bleeding from the great recession appears to have halted, we need more than just stagnation,” said Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance. “Wall Street may have recovered from the recession, but the vast majority of Americans, including seniors, are still struggling to stay on their feet. In these economically perilous times, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are more important than ever.”

Minimum Wage and Overtime Protections Extended to Home Care Workers
The Obama administration announced this week that home care workers who care for seniors and disabled Americans will be covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act starting in 2015. This means that it will be legally required for home care workers to be paid at least minimum wage and to receive time-and-a-half overtime payment when they work more than 40 hours a week. The majority of American workers already receive these protections, but home care workers have been exempt because they were classified as “companionship services,” the same category as baby sitters. The New York Times has more information on the new protections at http://tinyurl.com/lb2qkw8.

“This decision is good news for seniors as well as for home care workers,” said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “The number of older Americans requiring assistance at home is expected to double by 2030. By providing home care workers with fair compensation for their labor, we can ensure that there will be more high quality workers to meet this need.”

Missouri Alliance Helps Defeat Dangerous Anti-Senior and Anti-Union Legislation
Thanks to the hard work of a broad coalition of activists, including the Missouri Alliance for Retired Americans, two toxic bills were defeated by a bipartisan coalition in Missouri’s General Assembly last week. One piece of legislation, HB 253, would have implemented a tax on seniors’ prescription drugs and forced cuts to education and health care in order to pay for tax cuts on the wealthiest Missourians. The other, SB 29, would have weakened public employee unions and hurt thousands of middle class workers. The Kansas City Star has more at http://tinyurl.com/mta5yto.

“We are very proud of the Missouri Alliance and their allies,” said Ms. Easterling. “These extremist bills were supported by corporate money and lobbyists, but they proved to be no match for a dedicated group of activists.”

New Hampshire Alliance Demonstrates in Front of Senator Ayotte’s Office
The New Hampshire Alliance for Retired Americans has organized weekly demonstrations in front of the Manchester office of Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) to ask her to protect retirees in the upcoming Congressional budget battles. Retirees wave signs and blow whistles to make sure Senator Ayotte gets the message loud and clear: No cuts to Social Security benefits! The latest demonstration was held yesterday. For a photo, go to http://tinyurl.com/lkyamc2.

New Film Exposes Rise of Income Inequality in America
Inequality for All, a new film featuring former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, is coming to theaters on September 27th. The film documents the dramatic increase in income inequality in America in the last thirty years through gripping personal stories, interviews with experts, and compelling graphics.  To find a showing of the movie near you, go to http://tinyurl.com/nj6d3ae.

Detroit Retirees at Risk of Losing Pensions Tell Their Stories in Court
This Thursday, over 50 Detroit residents spoke out against the city’s decision to file for bankruptcy at a court hearing held by Judge Steven Rhodes, who is hearing the bankruptcy case. The speakers included many retirees who are at risk of losing their hard earned pensions due to the bankruptcy. These men and women told compelling stories of working thirty years or more at physically demanding jobs, only to be at risk of falling into poverty if their pensions and medical benefits are cut or eliminated. Rhodes said that he will consider the retirees’ testimony in making his final decision on Detroit’s eligibility to file for bankruptcy, which will come after an Oct. 23rd trial. The Detroit Free Press has more on the hearing at http://tinyurl.com/kopyago.

For a printable version of this document, go to http://bit.ly/16uYcjg. 

The Ship of Fear

My Destroyer, the U.S.S. Walker, was tied up in Pearl Harbor.

The Newspaper headlines for several days along with lengthy articles told of a merchant ship, "the Pomona" that was tied up in Honolulu waiting for crew to take it to the far east. The Captain had been murdered while at sea and the crew was afraid that the murderer was still aboard. The ship finally got underway again and my memory is that it had rudder problems and had to return to port. Then, after getting underway again it had a fire on board and had to return again.

While on liberty one day in Honolulu, I stopped in at a saloon on my way back to my ship. There, I met a merchant sailor who happened to be a sailor aboard the Pomona. He offered to take me back to the ship and let me come aboard her. We did and headed for the bow of the ship where there was a lot of noise. There sitting on the deck were a number of sailors, mostly drunken, talking about their predicament.

This occurred sometime between 1961 and 1965. I've searched over the years for some information about the Pomona which in one headline was named "The Jinx Ship" but had a difficult time finding any when one day, I did find an article on line from the Life Magazine from 1964. Here is the link if your interested. I think it would make a good book or even a movie. It's a little difficult to read on the website below so I'm transcribing it here:

The Mystery of the Ship of Fear
by Jim Hicks
Honolulu

The freighter Pomona, scabrous with rust, heavy-loaded with scrap iron, was a week off the California coast, westbound for Formosa, when her first mate, Alf Olsen, realized he had not seen the captain for a day and a half. this was not unusual. In 30 years at sea Capt. Jacob Natvig, 51, had developed a real attachment for whisky and he often stayed below. But Olsen decided to investigate. He rapped on the captain’s unlocked door and went into the sitting room. A chair was overturned and papers from the desk littered the floor. Olsen stepped uneasily to the adjoining bedroom and stopped in horror. The captain lay on his bunk, his head gashed below the right ear. Blood sheeted the walls and filmed the porthole so that a ghastly pink glow spread over the room. A big green fire axe which normally hung outside the door lay by the body.

Hands shaking, Olsen backed from the cabin, locked it and ordered the ship turned toward the nearest port. And she lies there now (above), tight-warped to a pier, filled with frightened men and the smell of death. She brought to land a story of violence. terror and appalling drunkenness at sea -- and the Honolulu waterfront dubbed her the “hell ship.”

The Pomona is a Liberty ship, built in the U.S. in 1943, now owned in Brazil, registered in Liberia and crewed in Norway. She sailed from Stavanger, Norway last October with a mixed crew of Norwegians, Finns, Spaniards and West Indians who hated each other almost from the beginning. Within a week a finnish sailor lost his mind and ran screaming through the hip until he was caught and subdued. He was put ashore at Bilbao, Spain.

But the trouble had started and the chief cause was the captain himself. Jacob Natvig was a convivial man. This cruise to last a year, would bring him to retirement. He like to have a glass or two over his nightly pinochle game and more over stories of his years at sea and ore for any reason at all. “The captain was a good guy,” a seaman said much later. “He was always drunk. We didn’t see him much when we were at sea.” Captain Natvig often drank with his chief steward, Anker Baardsen, though less for affection than for convenience. Baardsen was a tall and gloomy man given to fits of violent emotion. When not drinking with the captain, Baardsen was demolishing bottle after bottle with other officers. The abstainer among the officers, said the crew, was First Mate Olsen, 34, a round-faced man with curly hair and a worried look.

The crew was also drunk most of the time and fight among them were constant and savage. After Spain, the ship lurched through a half-dozen Caribbean ports. At Port-of Spain, an alcohol-crazed sailor jumped overboard and was recovered. Later he jumped ship at Guadalupe. The crew pilfered from the argo and when the captain accused a sailor of theft, the man called him a liar and went unpunished. Two stowaways boarded at Caribbean ports and rode untroubled to Baltimore Chief Steward Baardsen was seeing airy schools of flying fish that no one else could see.

From Baltimore the Pomona rounded through the Panama Canal and bore north for California. Another crewman tried suicide and was taken ashore. The ship was filthy. Cleaning was the chief steward’s duty and he was rarely sober enough to remember it. Litter coated the decks. Paint hipped and everywhere rust grew in ugly flecks. The heads -- shipboard bathrooms -- reeked. Nor was this the only neglect. Merchant ships normally conduct regular fire and lifeboat drills. But despite angry demands from the crew, again Natvig never held a single drill.

At San Pedro, Calif. the Pomona loaded scrap iron for Japan. She crossed the Pacific, lost another sailor to insanity and returned to California. On the bridge one night, the helmsman, Miguel Marriaga, and third mate, Reidar Klovnig, quarreled, Marriaga, who carried a long, wickedly sharp knife, snarled, “Try anything with me and you’re going to get a nice scar on your face.” Captain Natvig refused to punish Marriaga, and now all discipline vanished.

The men dared anything. The engine-room crew simply quit working. Officers took over and maintained steam until the crewmen were persuaded to go back to work. At San Pedro, the Pomona loaded scrap and set out for Formosa.

 A few days out, on a Wednesday night, Baardsen was in the captain’s cabin. Both were drinking heavily. It was the last time that Captain Natvig was seen alive. On Friday, May 15, Olsen found his body.

After turning the ship toward Honolulu, 600 miles to the southwest, Olsen went to Baardsen’s cabin. “You were drinking with the master Wednesday night,” he said. “What time did you leave?” Baardsen pondered, “About a quarter past midnight,” he said.

“What condition was the captain in?

“He was well, but drunk, of course. Why?

“The Captain’s been murdered,” Olsen said. “No!” Baardsen cried. “You’re crazy!” Olsen thought he appeared genuinely surprised. He told Baardsen to remain in his cabin and went to Chief Engineer Svensen, with whom Baardsen had finished the night of drinking. Svensen recalled that Baardsen had joined him at about 3 a.m. -- much later than Baardsen remembered it -- and that they had drunk Scotch whisky until 7 a.m. when Svensen had collapsed. Olsen decided to lock Baardsen up, not as a suspect but just because he was the last man known to have seen Captain Natvig alive. The crew jumped to the conclusion that Baardsen had gone mad and the ship was going to Honolulu to put him ashore. With three men insane in seven months, that seemed a reasonable deduction. But Olsen knew, and the mates and the radio operator knew, that there was a murderer aboard. For three days to Honolulu, they walked warily through the passageways and did not sleep. At Honolulu, a bizarre legal situation developed. Since the crime had taken place at sea in the foreign vessel, it was outside U.S. jurisdiction, Honolulu police made a “courtesy investigation” but could do nothing. The ship was of Liberian registry, but a trial in West Africa seemed pointless. Finally Norway decided that since both the captain and Baardsen were Norwegian, it would send two detectives out from Oslo.

On the second day in port Baardsen broke his dinner plate, slit his left wrist with the sharp edge and wrapped himself in his blanket to die. He was taken to a hospital, crying, “I didn’t do it. Everyone’s against me.” Most of the seamen and Olsen himself do not believe that Baardsen killed the captain. Though there was a tiny blood spot on his shirt, it was too small to analyze and he said he had cut his neck. Even his attempted suicide was considered not indicative, for he often was deeply depressed. He is tall and the Pomona’s men do not believe he could have swung an axe while drunk without striking the ceiling on the upswing. The captain’s ceiling is unmarked. Baardsen, recovering in a hospital, has agreed to accompany the detectives to Oslo, but there is no sign that he will be charged. The U.S. Immigration Service allows the men to go ashore, but they must report daily to the ship. They want to go home, but the company is trying to hold them to their year-long contracts and compel them to sail together again.

The authorities seem to have no suspects for captain Natvig’s death. No fingerprints were on the axe and no clues were found in the cabin. Most of the men on the ship believe that the murderer is still aboard and they are deeply frightened. They have individual cabins, but they have paired up for protection and those who sleep aboard do so with knives in their fists. They have refused to stand night watches. Officers move about the ship with their backs pressed to the steel bulkheads. The men will not work and the filth piles up on decks. Curiosity draws people to the pier to stare up at the crewmen at the rail. The men stare back. At night no one domes. The Pomona rocks slowly, her rusty plates creaking as they rub against the pier’s bumpers. On an upper deck Third Mate Klovning paces steadily, taking quick little dat glandes over his shoulder. He is afraid, as every man aboard is afraid, that the man who murdered the captain will strike again.

http://books.google.com/books?id=XUEEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA47&lpg=PA47&dq=mystery+on+ship+of+fear&source=bl&ots=Z3yxeU2mZt&sig=i5k6nFhOfEcwU86lEa0b7t0Irr0&hl=en&ei=0OKETMXDBYednwee0v3nAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=mystery%20on%20ship%20of%20fear&f=false

Jackie Walorski Refuses to Care For The Most Vulnerable

Why Vote To Repeal a Law That is so Popular?

Obamacare is helping so many people that I find it interesting that I have yet to speak with a single person who claims to be against it even though my Congressperson, Jackie Walorski, continues to vote to repeal the law.

Alliance for Retired Americans Friday Alert 9-13-13

Headlines:
U.S. Income Inequality Reaches Highest Level Since 1928
Affordable Care Act Will be a Boon for Early Retirees
Alliance Members Share Their Personal Medicare Stories
Far-Right House Republicans Continue to Threaten Government Shutdown
Colorado Alliance Holds its Tenth Constitutional Convention

U.S. Income Inequality Reaches Highest Level Since 1928
A new economic study reveals income inequality between the wealthiest Americans and the rest of the population continues to increase. According to an analysis of IRS figures dating to 1913 by economists at the University of California, Berkeley, the Paris School of Economics and Oxford University, the richest 1% earned 19.3% of all household income in 2012 and the richest 10% earned 48.2%. The incomes of the richest 1% also rose by 20 percent last year, while the remaining 99% experienced only a 1% increase.  Since the economic recovery began in 2009, over 95% of all income gains have gone to the top 1%, while ordinary Americans have seen their incomes stagnate. For more, see a CBS article http://tinyurl.com/ovsp3zn and the study http://tinyurl.com/o7zo3mm.

“With so much of the country’s wealth concentrated in the hands of a small number of wealthy individuals, it is harder than ever for ordinary Americans to save for retirement,” said Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance. “Yet House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan and his allies continue to insist that we need to further cut taxes for the rich, while slashing Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid benefits. They are flat-out wrong; it is time for the wealthiest Americans to contribute their fair share to ensure a secure retirement for all.”

Affordable Care Act Will be a Boon for Early Retirees
The Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges, set to open this October, are expected to make health insurance less costly and easier to obtain for early retirees. Currently, many Americans who retire before 65 and are no longer insured through their employers find it extremely difficult to obtain health insurance. Many insurers charge higher premiums, or even refuse coverage, based on age or pre-existing conditions that are common among older Americans. Under the Affordable Care Act, it will be illegal for insurers to charge higher premiums based on pre-existing conditions, and there will be a cap on how much premiums can rise based on age. Additionally, low-income individuals will receive subsidies to help purchase insurance. To learn more, read a New York Times article at http://tinyurl.com/owoee93.

“It is not always possible to delay retirement until 65, particularly for those Americans who work at physically demanding jobs,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance. “Unfortunately, many early retirees are forced to spend years uninsured, since they are not yet eligible for Medicare. The Affordable Care Act will greatly improve these people’s lives by making it possible for them to purchase reasonably priced health insurance.”

Alliance Members Share Their Personal Medicare Stories
Politicians in Washington are keeping Medicare cuts on the table in debt ceiling and budget deal negotiations. To combat these efforts to slash Medicare, the Alliance is sharing with members of Congress stories  from retirees who benefit from the program, but who still struggle to keep up with out-of-pocket costs. The stories illustrate that now is not the time to cut Medicare or shift costs onto beneficiaries. “My prescriptions take 1/5 of my income,” said Michael Madamas of West Springfield, Massachusetts. “Between my prescriptions and medical expenses, my life savings were wiped out in about five years. I now live check to check.” For more stories, visit http://tinyurl.com/pb95ptg.

Far-Right House Republicans Continue to Threaten Government Shutdown
This week, the Republican leadership of the House of Representatives delayed a planned vote on a bill to fund the government, after a group of far-right House Republicans rebelled against the plan. To force a Senate vote, the plan would have included a vote on a separate bill to defund the Affordable Care Act.  However, the Senate would have been able to vote down the defunding bill  and pass  the bill that fund the government.. The breakaway group of Republicans insists that they would rather force a government shutdown than vote for any legislation that would fund the government while leaving the ACA intact. The vote has been postponed until next week. If no funding bill is passed, the government will shut down on October 1st.  More from the New York Times at http://tinyurl.com/lluwbpc.

“In such a rapidly changing situation, we must keep a watchful eye for any threats not just to the Affordable Care Act but also to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid,” said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “President Obama must maintain his resolve not to negotiate with this group of irresponsible extremists.”

AFL-CIO Delegates Elect Richard Trumka, Liz Shuler, and Tefere Gebre
On Tuesday, delegates to the 2013 Quadrennial AFL-CIO Convention in Los Angeles elected a trio of top officers to lead the labor movement. In his acceptance speech, re-elected President Richard Trumka, a Pennsylvania coal miner who rose to the presidency of the Mine Workers (UMWA) and then served as AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer until his election to the top post in 2009, called himself “an example that a man or woman can be carried far by those who came before.” AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Shuler was elected to a second term and Tefere Gebre, a 45-year-old Ethiopian political refugee who immigrated to the United States as a teenager, was elected executive vice president. Ms. Shuler’s union career began with the Electrical Workers (IBEW) in Portland, Ore., and she has served as AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer since 2009. Mr. Gebre was a former Director of Government Relations of the Laborers (LIUNA) Local 270, as well as a member of the Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and IBEW. He also served as the Executive Director of the Orange County (Calif.) Labor Federation and as Executive Director of Frontlash, the first youth and college arm of the labor movement. More at http://tinyurl.com/nkm9qpr.

Colorado Alliance Holds its Tenth Constitutional Convention
Yesterday, sixty activists gathered in Denver amidst serious flooding for the Colorado Alliance’s 10th Constitutional Convention. The Colorado Alliance honored State Senators Lois Tochtrop and Mary Hodge for their 100% voting record on senior issues for 2013. Elected to office were:  Ed Augden of American Federation of Teachers (AFT) as President and Bob Knapp of the United Steelworkers (USW) was re-elected as Secretary. Mr. Coyle joined Congressmen Perlmutter and Polis, as well as Senator Udall in honoring and thanking Frank Lay for his service to Colorado seniors. Coyle said, “We thank Frank Lay for his years of service. The Colorado Alliance has become a force in one of the crucial swing states of presidential elections thanks to his leadership.”


For a printable version of this document, go to http://bit.ly/18ZMI7T.

Obamacare Questions Answered

Barack Obama - The Peoples President

Because President Obama thinks through every situation before taking action, I think he's one of the smartest presidents our country has ever had. His deliberate and cautious way of dealing with the use of chemical weapons by Syria is simply amazing. We are very fortunate to have him as our president during this dangerous time in our history.

SOAR Chapter 30-18 15th Annual Retirees Reunion

Northern Indiana Public Service Company retirees celebrated their 15th Annual Retirees Reunion today at the Fulton County Round Barn Museum in Rochester, Indiana.

These retirees of NIPSCO continue to help retirees maintain their Social Security, Medicare, pension and Medical Insurance Benefits by sticking together and fighting back.

We Can't Afford To Be complacent

With so much going on in our lives, kids in school, harvesting our gardens, community service volunteering, reunions and the drum beats of war, we just can't afford to be complacent when it comes to saving Social Security and Medicare from those determined to undermine those programs. And we know who they are. Those who campaigned next to their elderly parents saying, "I'll never vote to cut Social Security or Medicare" and then vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamcare) which is helping so many workers and retirees.

We need to stay involved by attending rallies and demonstrations, writing our Congressional Representatives and letting them know how we think about these things.

Stand up and fight back, Brothers and Sisters. For our kids and grand kids more than anything.

Alliance for Retired Americans Friday Alert 9-6-13

Headlines:
This Grandparents Day, Talk with Your Grandchildren about Retirement Security!
Speaker Boehner Talks about Using Debt Limit to Go after Social Security
By Replacing Defined Benefit Pensions, 401(k) Plans are Increasing Inequality
Rhode Island Alliance Bestows the Hero Award on Rep. Langevin
Illinois Alliance Holds its Sixth Constitutional Convention

This Grandparents Day, Talk with Your Grandchildren about Retirement Security!
This Sunday, September 8th, is Grandparents Day. The holiday presents a unique opportunity for intergenerational conversations about retirement security. While Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are often considered seniors’ issues, they are important for all generations. Since many seniors live with other family members, any cuts to their benefits affect the entire household. A growing number of baby boomers will soon be seeking long term care services, and almost every American family will have to decide what services they need and can afford. We must address a coming shortage of long term care providers and work together to preserve Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Please click here to share a story: http://bit.ly/1fESUGc.

“Far too often, politicians and pundits try to pit one generation against the other to advance their own agendas,” said Doug Hart, President of the Arizona Alliance, and Laura Jasso, Co-Chair of the Arizona Grandparent Ambassadors. “This is insulting because it assumes people only care about themselves and others their own age. Grandparents Day is an occasion for generations to come together to improve the lives of people of all ages. Let’s not be the last generation to retire.”

Speaker Boehner Talks about Using Debt Limit to Go after Social Security
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), speaking about cutting Social Security benefits at a recent Republican fundraiser in Idaho, said, “We're going to have a whale of a fight.” Boehner went on to say, “I've made it clear that we're not going to increase the debt limit without cuts and reforms that are greater than the increase in the debt limit.” According to the Idaho Statesman, Boehner also said that getting the GOP-controlled House to agree to raise the U.S. debt ceiling will only come with a bipartisan deal to make cost-saving changes to Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, farm programs and government pensions. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has said that President Obama will not negotiate over the issue. The nation is fast approaching the limit on its ability to borrow and could reach it by mid-October. More at http://tinyurl.com/nmy9z9m.

“Already, this year’s budget cuts due to sequestration have hurt seniors in many ways,” said Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance. "There are now 4 million fewer Meals on Wheels. Two million fewer rides for seniors to their doctors.  300,000 seniors lost home heating assistance. Too many people in Washington want those with the least to sacrifice the most. We can’t allow the debt ceiling to be used as a tool to make that pattern worse.”

By Replacing Defined Benefit Pensions, 401(k) Plans are Increasing Inequality
According to a new analysis from Monique Morrissey and Natalie Sabadish at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the 401(k) plans that displaced many defined benefit pension plans over the last 20 years have contributed to inequality among retirees. The study found that in recent decades, retirement savings for the wealthiest Americans have increased considerably. At the same time, however, ordinary Americans have struggled to save for retirement. In the last two decades, the number of people participating in an employer-based retirement plan has dropped. This decline has been especially pronounced among minorities and those without a college degree.  To learn more, read a Washington Post article about the study at http://tinyurl.com/kmtxzfg and view the EPI report at http://tinyurl.com/mc9lzu8.

“It should come as no surprise that 401(k) plans, which often place the burden of retirement savings entirely on employees, are increasing inequality,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance. “The decline in defined benefit pensions means that Social Security, which is structured to benefit people of all income levels, is more important than ever.”

Rhode Island Alliance Bestows the Hero Award on Rep. Langevin
Last Friday, Rhode Island Alliance President John Pernorio presented Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) with its 2013 Social Security & Medicare Hero Award, in recognition of his outstanding leadership and support for Rhode Island seniors, the disabled, and veterans. Rep. Langevin told the 100 Johnston, RI Senior Center attendees at the award ceremony that he will continue to vote to block any cuts to Social Security and Medicare, including: efforts to privatize Social Security and implement the Chained CPI to calculate the yearly cost-of –living adjustment (COLA); Medicare vouchers; means testing for Medicare; and raising the retirement age. Also attending the celebration was Johnston, RI Mayor Joseph Polisena, who agreed wholeheartedly that Rep. Langevin is a hero. To see photos from the event, go to http://tinyurl.com/mnpjnzm.

More Seniors Choosing To Live in Urban Areas
According to data from Redfin, an online real estate brokerage, over a million members of the baby boom generation moved to areas within 5 miles of a city center between 2000 and 2010. Seniors who have moved from suburbs to the city cite their desire to be able to walk and take efficient public transportation to get from place to place instead of relying on cars. Many retirees also prefer to live in a smaller condo or apartment rather than maintaining large houses and gardens that are no longer necessary once their children have left home. To learn more about this trend, read a Washington Post article on the issue at http://tinyurl.com/m3883za.

“As more seniors relocate from suburbs to cities, it is important for urban areas to ensure that they provide a safe, comfortable environment for older Americans,” said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “Vibrant senior centers, senior-friendly public transportation, and access to quality health care all go a long way to make sure that seniors feel welcome in their new cities.”

Illinois Alliance Holds its Sixth Constitutional Convention
One hundred and sixteen Illinois activists attended the Illinois Alliance convention in Ottawa, Illinois on Wednesday. Speakers included Ms. Easterling and Michael Carrigan, President of the Illinois AFL-CIO. Re-elected to office were: Barbara Franklin, President; Homer K. Spaulding, Executive Vice President; Katie Jordan, Treasurer; and Jane Russell, Secretary. It was the Illinois chapter's 6th Constitutional Convention, and it was the largest attendance the group has had since their founding.

“Illinois is such an important state in every congressional election, and we are fortunate to have so many politically savvy seniors here,” said Ms. Easterling.

For a printable version of this document, go to http://bit.ly/15EHlQr.

Check out 10 health care benefits covered in the Marketplace

Check out 10 health care benefits covered in the Marketplace

Chained CPI is Bad For Seniors

Alliance for Retired Americans Friday Alert 8-30-13

Headlines:
Executive Director Ed Coyle Announces His Intention to Retire
Retirees Celebrate Labor Day
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew: Congress Must Raise Debt Ceiling by Mid-October
U.S. Justice Department Sues Texas over Voter ID Law
Appeals Court Rules in Favor of UMWA Retirees
Nevada Alliance Holds its Convention

Executive Director Ed Coyle Announces His Intention to Retire
Edward F. Coyle, who has been the Executive Director of the Alliance since its launch in 2001, announced this week that he plans to retire soon. During his dozen-year stewardship of the Alliance, Mr. Coyle steadfastly supported seniors on Capitol Hill through numerous battles over Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid; led the way for retirees to victories in key federal and state elections; and chartered 34 state Alliance affiliates with hundreds of local chapters. He said that he will stay until a successor is named.

In reaction to the announcement, Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance, said, “With Ed at my side, I have always known that the Alliance’s positions would further the organization’s goals of economic justice and increased retirement security for all Americans. He has been a pleasure to work with. We are sorry to lose him as our Executive Director, but we hold on to his creative spirit and forceful energy that he brought to the job every day. I think that all of our activists and staff join me in wishing Ed the best and saying a gigantic, collective ‘thank-you.’”

“Ed has been a true leader, and he has done an outstanding job,” added Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “He has been there for all of us. He will be sorely missed, but he promises to keep in touch.”

Retirees Celebrate Labor Day
This Monday, September 2nd, retirees around the country will come together to celebrate the contributions that working people and labor unions have made to America. Today, far too few young people grow up learning about unions - and how joining together with a collective voice means improving the quality of life and achieving more for the middle class. Labor Day is an opportunity for retirees to share their personal stories with younger generations and talk about how they made improvements for their lives and families. “Workers joined together in unions are able to secure and maintain significantly higher wages, better health insurance and better benefits – including retirement benefits,” said Ms. Easterling. “Monday is a day to share that message.”

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew: Congress Must Raise Debt Ceiling by Mid-October
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has informed Congress that it must act to raise the debt ceiling by mid-October to avoid a catastrophic government shutdown. Far-right Republicans have declared their refusal to raise the debt ceiling unless the Affordable Care Act is repealed. While House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has not stated his support for this plan, recent reports indicate that he instead plans to demand cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in return for agreeing to raise the debt ceiling and end the sequester. To learn more, read articles on the topic from The Washington Post at http://tinyurl.com/mvqm9rv and Politico at http://tinyurl.com/mm4ycrg.

U.S. Justice Department Sues Texas over Voter ID Law
The United States Justice Department, led by Attorney General Eric Holder, has filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas in an attempt to overturn recent changes in the state’s voting law. The Justice department’s lawsuit against a new Texas law requiring voters to have a photo ID argues that the law is illegal under section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which bans discriminatory voting rules. The Justice Department is also planning to become a co-plaintiff in a separate lawsuit, filed by civil rights groups, against a Texas redistricting plan.

Both the voter ID law and the redistricting plan were struck down by federal courts last year, but the state of Texas alleges that they are now legal due to the recent Supreme Court decision striking down section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act, which required Texas and 8 other states with a history of discriminatory voting laws to have any changes to their voting laws approved by the U.S. Justice Department or a federal court. The New York Times has more at http://tinyurl.com/pskgoh6.

“There is zero evidence that ‘voter fraud’ is a problem in this country,” said Mr. Coyle. “Seniors don’t always have photo identification. They should not be required to use their limited funds and spend hours standing in line to obtain a photo ID just to exercise the fundamental right to vote.”

Appeals Court Rules in Favor of UMWA Retirees
A U.S. Appeals Court has overturned a lower court’s ruling, in a victory for United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) retirees. Last May, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Eastern District of Missouri issued a ruling for the case of Patriot Coal, a company that was created by Peabody Energy in 2007 with 43% of Peabody’s liabilities but just 11 percent of its assets. Patriot declared bankruptcy in 2012. The bankruptcy court ruled that Peabody coal was not responsible for paying the retiree health cost that Patriot had taken on, despite the fact that the vast majority of these retirees actually worked for Peabody and were never employed by Patriot. The new ruling from the Appeals Court overturns the previous ruling and states that Peabody is required to provide health care benefits for 3,100 retirees and their families. UMWA retirees are pleased by the victory but are continuing to fight to preserve their benefits in the wake of Patriot’s bankruptcy.  More at http://tinyurl.com/pnypgjr.

“While this fight is far from over, the appeals court absolutely made the right decision,” said Ms. Easterling. “Patriot Coal was designed to fail from the start, so that Peabody could avoid its obligations to retirees by transferring them to a soon-to -be bankrupt company.”

Nevada Alliance Holds its Convention
The Nevada Alliance for Retired Americans (NARA) held its convention in Las Vegas on Monday through Wednesday of this week. The entire NARA Administration Team, including all officers and the Board of Directors, was elected by acclamation. Scotty Watts remains NARA's President, and Jo Etta Brown the Treasurer. Gail Dietrich is the new Recording Secretary. The 90 attendees heard from U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV); Mo Denis, state Senate Majority Leader; Kim Wallin, State Controller; Ross Miller, Nevada Secretary of State; Kate Marshall, State Treasurer; Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada Attorney General; Danny Thompson, NARA Vice President and Nevada State AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer; Mr. Coyle; Rich Fiesta, Director of Government and Political Affairs for the national Alliance; Steven Francy, AFSCME Retiree Coordinator; Erin Bilbray, congressional candidate; and several other notable speakers.



For a printable version of this document, go to http://bit.ly/1a5He1Z.

SOAR Retirees Reunion Flyer

Clicking on each section will enlarge it, then it can be downloaded.

Ave Maria on Musical Saw

Peach year is over for me

Peach crop is in. What a great year it was, too. We had our best crop ever. Plenty to freeze and plenty to give away.
Next year we will have fewer peaches but much larger because we're learning how to thin them out.

Help Bring Back One Million New Jobs

Alliance for Retired Americans Friday Alert 8-23-13

Headlines:
Retirees Observe 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s March on Washington
This Week Designated as Time to Focus on Health Care Reform Benefits for Seniors
New Report Exposes Fatal Flaws in Proposals to Cut Benefits for Older Americans
Seniors’ Hospital Discharge Instructions Are Often Inadequate
Washington State Alliance Holds its Convention
Coyle Speaks at DNC’s Senior Coordinating Council Meeting

Retirees Observe 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s March on Washington
August 28th, 2013 marks the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s historic march on Washington. In commemoration of the anniversary, Washington, DC will host a week of events dedicated to Rev. King’s vision of equality, freedom, and justice. Alliance members from around the country will be participating in the march, and many of them will be traveling great distances to do so. Tony Fransetta, President of the Florida Alliance, will travel 1,000 miles and 36 hours round-trip to attend. Speakers at the Saturday rally will include House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA); Rep. John Lewis (D-GA); Lee Saunders, President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU); Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT); and Rev. Al Sharpton. For more, go to http://tinyurl.com/lr5nobp.

This Week Designated as Time to Focus on Health Care Reform Benefits for Seniors
Organizations working to educate the public about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have designated this week to focus on seniors and ACA benefits. The organizations include Know Your Care, Protect Your Care, and Enroll America. Thanks to the ACA, Medicare beneficiaries are eligible for a free yearly medical checkup and preventative screenings. The law also gradually closes the Medicare “doughnut hole” that has forced many seniors to pay exorbitant drug costs. Additionally, the new health law has extended the life of Medicare by 9 years.

“It is great to see more and more seniors understanding the implications of the health care law, particularly since those ideologically opposed to the Affordable Care Act continue to confuse many Americans by spreading harmful misinformation about the law,” said Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance. “We encourage our members to reach out to their friends and family to educate them on why the ACA is good for seniors and all Americans.” Go to http://tinyurl.com/mg4gjgb to view an Alliance fact sheet about the myths and facts of the Affordable Care Act. For a Spanish language version, go to http://tinyurl.com/ms9yax2. For the latest information from the White House on how Obamacare helps you, go to http://tinyurl.com/krj7mds.

New Report Exposes Fatal Flaws in Proposals to Cut Benefits for Older Americans
Scott Lilly, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, has released a new report entitled “Slash Retirement Benefits or Raise Taxes? The Choice Congress Won’t Face Up To.” The report lays out just how devastating the benefit cuts proposed by Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budget and similar proposals would be to seniors. Ryan’s budget would replace Medicare with privately run insurance and give seniors a fixed amount of money with which to buy insurance. Lilly’s findings show that due to the increase in health care costs and the higher costs associated with private insurance compared to Medicare, the Ryan plan would cause health care expenses to consume an ever growing share of Social Security checks. By 2033, an average beneficiary’s entire Social Security check would go towards medical costs. Read the report at http://tinyurl.com/m684moz.

“This report makes it crystal clear that Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan would force seniors to choose between buying groceries, keeping a roof over their heads, and acquiring needed medical care,” said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance. “Rather than cutting already modest benefits, it’s really time to make the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share.”

Seniors’ Hospital Discharge Instructions Are Often Inadequate
A new study from the Yale School of Medicine found that many seniors who are admitted to hospitals receive confusing discharge information that leaves them unable to fully understand their own medical condition and how to seek follow-up care. According to the study, which followed 395 patients over the age of 65, only 60 percent of patients who had just been discharged were able to correctly describe their diagnosis. Only two-thirds of patients said that they had been asked about what type of support they had at home before being discharged. In some cases, their instructions used medical terms such as “myocardial infarction” in place of much better known terms such as “heart attack.” Reuters has more on the study at http://tinyurl.com/kjzdxcm. “Hospitals must work to accurately communicate with seniors about their medical needs,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance. “Discharge instructions should be written in clear language and thoroughly discussed with patients.”

Washington State Alliance Holds its Convention
The Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans (WSARA) held its 2013 Annual Convention on Wednesday at the Joint Council of Teamsters Hall in Tukwila. The nearly 100 delegates greeted Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), who discussed the looming budget situation and how it could affect Social Security and Medicare. The WSARA delegates also heard from Eva Dominguez, Legislative Representative of the Alliance for Retired Americans, on the national budget showdown and what’s at stake for retirees – now and in the future. Steve Kelly, Political Director for Teamster’s Local 252, was elected the new WSARA President.  Mr. Kelly was formerly the organization’s Secretary. The new Secretary is Jerri Wood, and Jackie Boschok is the new Treasurer.

“On behalf of the national Alliance, I want to join WSARA members in thanking Mike Warren for all his years serving as their President,” said Ms. Easterling. “Mike’s commitment to WSARA and the issues of seniors can never be surpassed. His leadership and passion for WSARA and its members will be forever appreciated. Additionally, I want to deliver a big thank-you to Kathy Wallentine, who stepped in as ‘interim’ treasurer last November. Kathy kept the WSARA treasury safe and strong.” For photos from the convention, go to http://tinyurl.com/krwr6ss.

Coyle Speaks at DNC’s Senior Coordinating Council Meeting
Mr. Coyle speaks today at the Democratic National Committee’s Seniors Coordinating Council Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Council was organized in the early 1990's so that the national Democratic Party could hear directly from senior leaders and activists on issues important to retirees and older Americans. Other speakers are expected to include: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL), who is also DNC Chair; Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (Baltimore, MD), DNC Secretary; and several other noteworthy guests.


For a printable version of this document, go to http://bit.ly/12w1vYY.

A Great Year for Peaches

This isn't even half of the peach crop this year. Two trees are two years old, two trees are four years old.
No spray used. Very few imperfections.
What a great year for peaches in Northern Indiana.

Alliance for Retired Americans Friday Alert, 8-16-13

Headlines:
Social Security’s 78th Birthday Receives Generous Attention
North Carolina Governor Signs Law that Threatens the Voting Rights of Seniors
AFL-CIO to Target Six Republican Governors in 2014
Contact Your Members of Congress During Summer Recess

Social Security’s 78th Birthday Receives Generous Attention
Social Security’s birthday on Wednesday received considerable attention on the state and national level. The Alliance for Retired Americans marked the anniversary with over 40 events in 22 states and by releasing special state-by-state reports with ally Social Security Works.

The Florida Alliance for Retired Americans made news in Panama City on Wednesday when they brought a cake, signs and numerous speakers to demonstrate their strong opposition to any cuts to Social Security, especially in the form of the chained CPI, in front of Rep. Steve Southerland’s (R-FL) office. AFSCME Retirees, the National Organization for Women (NOW), NAACP, Social Security Works, and numerous other partners joined FLARA at this event. “Social Security helps me get by – I’m very grateful for it. It is both sad and disgusting to me that politicians in Washington are talking about cutting one of the best programs we ever created. We should expand benefits by scrapping the payroll tax cap,” said Barbara DeVane, Secretary, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans. Harriett Myers of the Bay County National Organization for Women (NOW) pointed out to the crowd, “Cuts to Social Security are especially harmful to women.  On average women live longer than men, rely more on income from Social Security, and are more likely to be poor.  Cuts to Social Security through the chained CPI or other measure would be a real disaster for women.”

The Montana Alliance for Retired Americans teamed up with the Montana Organizing Project for birthday celebrations in 7 different cities on Wednesday. Check out photos from events around the country on Facebook here http://on.fb.me/15KiL9Q or on the web here http://bit.ly/17sQJCt.

The 2013 Social Security Works state reports include information that public officials, members of the press and advocates will find very useful for explaining the program’s history and vitality. They include real-life stories and statistics on the number of beneficiaries and types of benefits in each state, county and congressional district. Find your report here http://bit.ly/16ONnLK or look over the national here http://bit.ly/149eGMH.

Ross Eisenbrey of the Economic Policy Institute said it well this week in his article “Social Security is the Only Reason Most Americans Can Afford to Retire” http://bit.ly/14hheZs - as businesses do away with defined benefit pension plans, more and more Americans turn to to savings in 401(k)-type accounts and Social Security remains the great equalizer - the most reliable and equitable system of retirement savings. While 401(k)-type retirement accounts exacerbate economic inequality, Social Security does just the opposite. “The dialogue is finally shifting away from benefit cuts to increasing benefits as Tom Harkin and Mark Begich propose. This can and should be done by scrapping the cap on income subject to the Social Security tax,” said Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. You can support the measure here http://bit.ly/19mJCOe.

North Carolina Governor Signs Law that Threatens the Voting Rights of Seniors
This week, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory signed legislation modifying the state’s requirements for voting. The new law requires all voters to have a government-issued photo ID. It also shortens the early voting period from 17 days to 10 and ends same-day registration. The law will take effect in 2016. As discussed in last week’s Friday Alert, the US Supreme Court recently issued a decision striking down a key part of the Voting Rights Act, clearing the way for the North Carolina legislation and similar bills around the country. To learn more about the new North Carolina law, read a Washington Post article on the issue at http://tinyurl.com/qckc66m.

“All around the country, the fundamental right to vote is under attack, and older Americans are seriously concerned. Shortening the early voting period makes voting difficult for seniors who are not able to easily get to a polling station,” said Ruben Burks, Secretary-Treasurer of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “This type of voter suppression is just wrong. It is time for Congress to pass new legislation strengthening the Voting Rights Act, reversing the Supreme Court’s misguided decision.”

AFL-CIO to Target Six Republican Governors in 2014
The AFL-CIO announced that it will focus special attention on defeating six Republican governors in the 2014 elections. The governors are: Rick Scott (FL), Rick Snyder (MI), Scott Walker (WI), Paul LePage (ME), John Kasich (OH), and Tom Corbett (PA.) All six of them have worked to implement a far right agenda, despite representing moderate states that were carried by Barack Obama in the 2012 presidential election. For more of the story, see Politico’s coverage at http://tinyurl.com/m5juncp.

“These six men have aggressively pursued policies that are not just anti-union, they are also anti-senior. They have slashed state budgets and cut essential programs, while simultaneously cutting taxes for their wealthy friends and benefactors. Seniors are a key demographic in midterm elections, and in 2014 we will push back against these harmful policies by removing the governors from office,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance for Retired Americans.

Billy Feitlinger, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans said, “Governor Scott Walker has made it crystal clear that he is far more interested in taking care of large corporations and wealthy Wisconsin citizens than making sure seniors have property tax relief or making prescription drugs more affordable for them. Our members are experiencing the ill effects of Walker’s reign and will be very engaged in the 2014 elections.”

Contact Your Members of Congress During Summer Recess
Congress is in recess until Sept. 6th, and many legislators are holding town halls and other events in their districts. Call your members of Congress to find out if they are going to be at any events in your area in the upcoming weeks. These events are great opportunities to remind your representatives how important Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are to their constituents. To find contact information for your members of Congress, go to http://tinyurl.com/dgoqhk.

For a printable version of this document, go to http://bit.ly/1ePwSjJ.

Social Security in Good Shape

Since its inception, Social Security has been the foundation on which America's retirement security rests. It has demonstrated its strength by paying benefits without interruption in good times and bad, during periods of recession and disaster, and during recovery and healing. The program's strength is demonstrated yet again in this year's Trustees Report, which reflects the resilience of the Trust Funds. Their report is good news for working Americans and for seniors.

Social Security remains strong, and will be able to pay full benefits for decades to come -- until 2033, as was true last year. Thereafter, there will still be enough revenue coming into the program to pay 77 percent of all benefits owed.

Social Security remains well-funded. With the economy showing signs of recovery, the Trustees estimate that, in 2013, Social Security's total income will exceed its expenses by over $28 billion. In fact, the Trustees estimate that total annual income is expected to exceed program obligations through 2020.

The Trustees report there is now nearly $2.73 trillion in the social Security Trust Fund, which is $54 billion more than last year and that it will continue to grow by payroll contributions and interest on the Trust Fund's assets.

Source: copied from SOAR in Action Volume 8/3