Take These Chains Off My CPI (Consumer Price Index)

 The deficit crowd cheered when the President included a concept called “Chained CPI” in his 2014 Budget. This is a proposal to change the way the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is calculated. This change is about as wonky as wonk-dome can get, but here’s a try. Currently the CPI grows based on overall increases inContinue reading “Take These Chains Off My CPI (Consumer Price Index)”

Has Budget Crisis du Jour Got You Down?

The debate about the national economy seems to have slipped into the shadows. You may be breathing a sigh of relief. Shadows on the budget are inevitable with the Congress focusing on immigration and the press focusing on the attack in Boston.

Political Donations and the Securities Exchange Commission

Over the last year and a half, the Alliance for a Just Society and Main Street Alliance have participated in efforts to mitigate the corrosive effect that secret corporate political donations have on the political process.

Paul Ryan Nomination Has Huge Implications for Medicaid

The decision by the Romney campaign to tap Representative Paul Ryan for the Vice-Presidency will have implications for the health care advocacy community. This nomination is sure to make the debate over Medicaid a national debate, not just a state-by-state one. This will happen because the Republican Campaign seems to be embracing the entire RyanContinue reading “Paul Ryan Nomination Has Huge Implications for Medicaid”

If your state chooses not to expand Medicaid…you get to pay anyway.

Bill Daley is the Federal Issues Policy Director at The Alliance for a Just Society. The surprising ruling by the Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act has tempted a spate of Governors to suggest that their states will not participate in the expansion of Medicaid.

Daley’s View from Washington: Minority Health Month Cheers and Jeers

Bill Daley is the Federal Issues Policy Director at The Alliance for a Just Society. May was Minority Health Month and a couple of things happened that deserve a bit of attention. And it’s also important to note that not enough happened and more attention is needed.

When the Supremes Hit the Extremes What Happens?

Throughout most of our history the Supreme Court has been accorded a special place as a fair and impartial arbiter of legal issues. Sometimes the Court has failed in this role, but, for the most part it has been an important force in the unity of the nation because seemed to deserved respect. The currentContinue reading “When the Supremes Hit the Extremes What Happens?”

Time to Revive the Public Option

What if the Supreme Court…..? On Wednesday, March 28th, three days of argument ended at the Supreme Court over the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Given the hostility shown a number of Supreme Court Justices, there is every chance that at least the individual mandate will be invalidated. There is a whole bunch of hand-wringing thatContinue reading “Time to Revive the Public Option”

Medicaid and the Supreme Court Case

The case challenging the Affordable Care Act has a lot in it to think about. Much of the public debate and the stories in the press are about the requirement that everyone have insurance – the individual responsibility requirement. But there also is a challenge to the Medicaid expansion.