Released to the Press September 25, 2013 New Report Analyzes Interest Group Influence in Blocking Proposed Cost Saving Measures in Medicare Report Finds Influence of Pharmaceutical Industry as Major Impasse to Common Sense Budget Fixes Congress has failed to act on a commonsense, good-government approach to controlling health care costs. The significant resources theContinue reading “Bad Medicine Report Details Influence of Pharma in DC Budget Failure”
Tag Archives: corporate influence in politics
Low-Wage Workers Not Covering Basic Needs
Today’s minimum wages are a far cry of what it actually takes to survive. Last Thursday, thousands of fast food workers staged a strike in 50 cities across the country to draw attention to corporate wage gaps. Fast food workers are demanding $15 hourly wages; currently, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. PerhapsContinue reading “Low-Wage Workers Not Covering Basic Needs”
Sorting through the business lobbies’ diverse interests on tax reform
This fall a major showdown is brewing over tax and budget priorities in our nation’s capital. Senator Max Baucus (D-Montana) and Congressman Dave Camp (R-Michigan) have been laying groundwork for a rewrite of the U.S. tax code.
Women with Cancer: Prisoners’ rights versus the Profit of Corporations
Rahul Gupta and Danisha Christian Contributed to this Series Sherrie Chapman found a lump in her breast. A prisoner in a California Corrections facility, Sherrie persisted in demanding an examination by prison medical personnel. Her pleas were not answered until 9 years later, when lumps were visibly protruding from her breast. Even after receiving aContinue reading “Women with Cancer: Prisoners’ rights versus the Profit of Corporations”
The Great Big PhRMA Medicare Heist
Part 1: Rigging the System is Profitable While millions of Americans struggle to pay for their prescription medication, big pharmaceutical companies reap $600 billion in annual profits. $116 million is spent on direct lobbying, and with a 77,500% return, the investment certainly pays off. Profits have been bolstered by pharmaceutical companies’ myriad of policyContinue reading “The Great Big PhRMA Medicare Heist”
Conservatives Continue Their Budget Myths While Threatening to Make Childhood Hunger a SNAP
Who crashed the economy? If one turns the pages of Paul Ryan’s spine-chilling budget one sees who conservatives like himself believe to be the biggest threats to the US Economy: Hungry children and pregnant mothers.
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 toContinue reading “Austerity versus Dignity for Senior Citizens: A Case for Strengthening Medicare”
Tax Havens for Big Business? Small Business Owners Say ‘Not so fast’
Multi-Partisan small business owners spoke out earlier this month, further distinguishing their interests from those of Big Business. Wednesday, in his post “Has the Budget Crisis Du Jour Got You Down?” Bill Daley pointed out that if Congress were to close one tax loophole on offshore accounts, it could be enough to create a ‘jobContinue reading “Tax Havens for Big Business? Small Business Owners Say ‘Not so fast’”
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.
Does the U.S. Chamber of Commerce speak for small business? Maine small business owner says: “No!”
Melanie Collins, a small business owner and leader with the Maine Small Business Coalition, traveled to Washington, DC on October 19 to speak at a press conference outside the headquarters of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Her message was simple: “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce doesn’t speak for small business, and it doesn’t speak forContinue reading “Does the U.S. Chamber of Commerce speak for small business? Maine small business owner says: “No!””