We should take a moment to open our ears to the crooning of conservatives, in particular to their repeated incantation that we have to cut healthcare spending in order to cut the debt. Continue reading
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Austerity versus Dignity for Senior Citizens: A Case for Strengthening Medicare
It seems we keep referencing Bill Daley’s recent post Has The Budget Crisis Du Jour Got You Down?. Maybe that’s because it gives you have a pretty good sense of the impending debt lid crisis that
is due to hit in July, and that we need to be ready to push back against efforts to cut Medicare and Medicaid as the debate over the budget deficit heats back up.
Frankly, we need to move austerity off the table.
Continue reading
Daley’s View: A Trillion Here, A Trillion There
…And Pretty Soon it Adds Up to Unemployment
Well the new jobs numbers are out this Friday and the results are a paltry 88,000 new jobs in March. Private employment provided a mere 95,000 new jobs while federal cuts costing 14,000 jobs. There were offsets by slight increases in state employment, but overall government employment fell a total of 7000 jobs.
What could possibly be causing this?
Economists that actually study the economy rather than those who craft right wing talking points have been telling us that now is the worst possible time to be reducing government spending. But the entire Federal leadership has been in the spell of an austerity frenzy nonetheless. Remember the “Super Committee” and the caps.? These policies will reduce Federal spending $1.5 Trillion by 2020.
This year, stumped for a better idea, Congress began an automatic “sequester” that cuts another $1.2 Trillion starting March 1st. Jobless claims jumped immediately in March.
And there is more to come. Over time, the “sequester” will pull 750,000 jobs out of the economy according to the Congressional Budget Office estimates.
When the new jobs numbers were announced the conservative pundits were quick to pounce: “Our plan to keep cutting jobs is good for the economy. The real culprit here is the Affordable Care Act.” Yep, the ACA is to blame, so we have to repeal it – thereby pulling another pile of jobs out of the economy.
Some days I want to go episodic and stand on a street corner yelling “ARE YOU CRAZY?” (Only a few of my neighbors would notice and are unlikely to be surprised. So I’ll skip it.)
But I will beg progressive advocates to continue to ask our political leadership a simple question: “Why not reduce the deficits by growing the economy?” Why not start with President Obama’s 2013 Budget?
To the President’s credit, his recently released budget does include a $350 billion jobs program and other investments in education, job training, infrastructure, and research. But over time it cuts another trillion plus out of the public funding for many important things including Social Security, Medicare and other domestic spending. Overall there are some $900 billion in cuts. The President’s budget also increases taxes by $600 billion.
Compare this budget to what is being proposed in the U.S. House. This budget cuts nearly $6 trillion out of spending and also lowers taxes. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that 66% of the cuts will affect people with low or moderate incomes.
These are the parameters for the recovery of jobs in the economy – cut either another trillion or cut another six trillion. How will either of these approaches lead to a thriving economy and jobs for the unemployed?
Every time they get anything done they do more harm. To raise the debt lid they cut a trillion. To avoid the fiscal cliff they cut another trillion. Then they sequestered. Now we are looking at a “grand bargain,” another debt lid crisis, tax reform…
whitehouse.gov/issues/sequester/interactive-map
2012 Job Gap Report
“Broken Bootstraps: Falling Behind on Full-Time Work,” is the 14th annual installment of a joint study by Alliance for a Just Society and its affiliates in 7 states.
Unemployment rates in all states are still high. A modest $9.00/hr. minimum wage has been mentioned at the federal level. Even that income would leave most low-wage workers needing to utilize public assistance programs. Continue reading
Daley’s View: Are we winning the fight for the expansion of Medicaid?
The Supreme Court ruled that the Medicaid expansion in the ACA would have to be voluntary. The entire future of this expansion seemed to be in doubt. Resource strapped states were fighting to cut programs not to expand them. The entire expansion of Medicaid was challenged by Governors calling for the program to be “block granted,” or they were just flat out saying ‘no’.
The winds are shifting.
What we advocates have done exceptionally well to get people realizing the overwhelming benefit to states in saving benefits, saving lives and saving money. Keep pouring it on, you are winning. Continue reading
Medicaid Matters in Idaho
“Medicaid does more than provide health coverage and services for seniors, low-income children and families, and people with disabilities. It is also an economic engine.”
An Alliance report released just last month details the growing need for medicaid coverage in the state, while lawmakers are continuing a trend toward reducing more critical services. The result is a stark economic impact on local economy should the cuts continue.
“Despite Medicaid’s importance to Idahoans, the state has begun to slash its investment in the program. These cuts are already resulting in people going without the health care they need. They are also beginning to unravel the system of community-based services that have helped thousands of Idahoans…”
Daley’s Glossary: Guideposts in the Labyrinth of our current Fiscal Debate
Listening to the current national fiscal debate is like standing before a labyrinth with only your ears to guide you. There are strange terms and “impending deadlines” being thrown out into the airwaves and the only things to be sure of– is the spot marked “you are here.”
Because the wonky debate inside the DC Beltway will be conducted in head-spinning clichés that the media like so much, I feel compelled to offer a brief series of definitions to clarify the situation and make our imperative clear:
We must continue to push cutting prescription drug costs and increasing taxes on Wall Street to fill gaps in the government’s revenues. We must continue to insist that there be no cuts to social insurance programs American families need for their security. Stay strong. This is an historic fight.
Daley’s View: The Fiscal Cliff, the Grand Bargain, and the Great Fog of Unknowing
It is rarely helpful to use simple clichés when defining complex events –a lesson our media would do well to learn. For months the bloggers, political radio and television hosts, and pundits of all persuasions have been sending out an unrelenting stream of pabulum about the “Fiscal Cliff.” Continue reading
Oregon Health Equity Alliance launches 2013 legislative campaign
Alliance affiliates Oregon Action and Center for Intercultural Organizing are key organizations in the newly formed Oregon Health Equity Alliance (OHEA), which officially launched their 2013 legislative campaign at a celebration in Portland on November 29th. Continue reading
What We Can’t Afford to Give Up in the Budget Fight
A report released by AFL-CIO lays out the state-by-state impact of cutting Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare. Continue reading
