A million signatures were turned in today to begin the formal process of forcing a recall election for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. The petitions delivered to the Government Accountability Board arrived on a truck and weighed over 3000 pounds. The signatures collected and submitted were 460,000 more signatures than required to force a recall. In addition to the Governor, Wisconsinites also turned in the required signatures to recall the Lieutenant Governor and three state Senators.
Retirees in Wisconsin, including WI Alliance members, were active in circulating hundreds of petitions to recall the Governor and the Lt. Governor. In addition to circulating petitions, Wisconsin retirees from all walks of life volunteered time to data entry and validating the signed petitions.
While presidential candidate Mitt Romney noshed at a recent Palm Beach fundraiser co-hosted by a sugar baron and a pro sports owner, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans members gathered nearby for a more simple meal: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
The idea for the “Regular Man’s Picnic,” according to event organizer Tony Fransetta, a UAW retiree and Florida Alliance president, was to contrast Mitt Romney and his financial backers with the daily struggles of seniors in Florida and across the nation. Speaking near the Romney event, Tony Fransetta said:
“Those inside are advancing the interests of the 1%, while we are outside today to speak up for the 99% who are too often silenced in this country.”
The Alliance for Retired Americans is gearing up for its largest-ever grassroots mobilization, seeking to educate current and future retirees on the issues and where the candidates stand. Alliance president Barbara J. Easterling said today:
“Mitt Romney’s America would have seniors buying their Medicare from the big insurance companies and anxiously watching Wall Street gamble away their retirement savings through a privatized Social Security.”
Earlier this week, activists gathered in Pershing Square in Downtown Los Angeles to fight for SB 810 ~ The California Universal Healthcare Act: Healthcare for the 99%.
The action included a New Orleans-style funeral march, speak-out and rally at "Insurance Giant" headquarters.
Under a new law pushed by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, 84 year-old Ruthelle Frank of Brokaw, WI (pop. 107) has lost the right to vote. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Frank does not have a driver’s license, and lacks a birth certificate needed to get a state identification card. She does however have Social Security and Medicare cards, as well as a baptism certificate. Even if she were to pay $20 to get a birth certificate, her maiden name was misspelled by the attending physician at her home birth. To rectify this, she would need to petition the courts and pay a $200 fee.
Frank, an elected member of her Village Board since 1996, recently became a plaintiff in a lawsuit to block the new law, which is similar to proposals in other states.
Our generation, and those who came before us, fought and died for the right to vote. We cannot let politicians take this away. For the latest developments on voting rights, visit http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/projects/voting_rights.
Photo by Dan Young/Wausau Daily Herald of Ruthelle Frank
The New York City Alliance for Retired Americans along with a number of other senior organizations coordinated an event with the Occupy Wall Street Movement last Monday the 21st. The event included a solidarity march in which occupiers and seniors marched to Zuccotti Park. Before the march there was a forum held called “Intergenerational Dialogue” Forum where many speakers talked about cuts to Medicare, Social Security, and Medicare and how these cuts would affect the 99%.
A number of labor speakers that talked about how these cuts would affect them and people like them. Many of these speakers are part of the senior movement, including Michael Burgess, who is a policy consultant for New York Statewide Senior Action Council and was the former Director of the New York State Office for the Aging. Natasha Perez also spoke; she is the Regional Field Director for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. Also the Alliance’s very own Nancy True, Director of IBT Local 237 Retirees Division delivered remarks.
This successful demonstration brought a lot of attention to senior issues. These types of demonstrations are necessary to call attention to senior issues such as Medicare and Social Security. Congress needs to know that they cannot simply cut senior programs without a major backlash that they will feel both in the media and the polls.
Retirees with the Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans held a meeting Friday, November 18th at Senator Patty Murray’s office in Tacoma, as the "Super Committee" entered the final hours of their deliberations. This wasn’t a discussion about abstract financial debates, or complex political agreements - it was about real people. These retirees weren’t political insiders that understand the games that politicians play or lobbyists that are paid by powerful special interests. They were regular people who live in Washington State, working hard every day to get by in tough times, and relying on Senator Murray to remember their stories as the "Super Committee" finished its work.
Senator Murray’s office was moved by the presentation of hand-written stories from members across generations identifying the impact of potential cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid as well as by personalized testimonies from members Bette Reed from Seattle, and Nancy Lawson from Gig Harbor.
The Washington Alliance put real faces on real problems.
Bette Reed from Seattle is solely dependent on Social Security for her income, and she is by no means alone. She explains the hardship that cutting Social Security would cause for her and others, and the direct impact it would have on increasing the poverty rate among seniors and other populations in Washington and nationwide. She also points out that she does not expect to receive Social Security for nothing. In fact, Reed has contributed to Social Security throughout her entire life, beginning in 1951. Watch her compelling testimony here.
Nancy Lawson from Gig Harbor speaks to Patty Murray here:
The Super Committee announced Monday, November 21st that they could not come to a bi-partisan agreement to reduce the federal deficit by $1.2 trillion. This came as good news to seniors in Washington state and across the country as reports indicated many cuts on the table would have fallen on those least able to afford them – seniors and low-income individuals who rely on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid just to survive – instead of large corporations and the wealthiest individuals. However, the budget deficit debate is not over and retirees will remain engaged and vocal. They will continue to work to make sure that the budget is not balanced only on the backs of seniors and working people who did not create the current crisis and cannot afford to solely fix it.
Early November was an ominous time for many social programs, including Social Security and Medicare. The Super Committee was closing in on its November 23rd deadline and scrambling to make their $1.2 trillion mark. This meant that Social Security and Medicare were on the congressional chopping block, and seniors were not going to take it laying down. Their frustration and outright rage at lawmakers nickel and diming the elderly finally spilled over on November 7th as seniors took to the streets with the Occupy Movement in Chicago. A number of senior groups joined the protestors in Federal Plaza, including the Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans.
The seniors were fearless in order to gain support for their cause, they joined the protestors as they marched a block from the park into the intersection of Jackson and Clark. They achieved their goal by bringing traffic to a standstill as protestors stood and sat in the middle of the intersection. Police quickly ushered protestors off the street and issued over 40 citations, however the seniors and protestors would not be discouraged. Many said they would do whatever it took to ensure their benefits weren’t cut. They scoffed at the idea jail, saying that would be a small price to pay to ensure there were no cuts to Medicare and Social Security. "People are already living on starvation amounts of money. It's not time to cut," said protester Tom Wilson.
Seniors are finding support among other politicians as well. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin said:
Social Security has served America for over 70 years. Let's stand behind Social Security and make it strong.
Representative Danny Davis, that represents the 7th district of Illinois echoed Durbin’s thoughts saying: “Get your hands off Social Security. Get your hands off Medicaid. Don't mess with Medicare." It is clear that the seniors’ message is heard and supported. This is evident by the failure of the Super Committee to reach any kind of deal on November 23rd.It is now a matter of holding politicians’ feet to the fire, making sure they stand by their words and their constituents. "We are citizens too. We vote too," said Ruth Davis, one of the protesters in Chicago.
The overall outcry from protestors garnered the attention from lawmakers. Many agree, now is not the time to cut. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) came to speak at the protest, admonishing Washington for trying to balance the budget on the back of seniors. This month, joining the Alliance Retired Americans and the Strength Social Security campaign, Schakowsky unveiled a report titled The High Cost to Illinois of Raising the Medicare Age. The report details how increasing the retirement age to 67 negatively impact on the state, costing individuals; businesses and the State of Illinois a whopping $524 million more in the first year alone. The answer to the states’ and country’s debt problems are not rooted in social programs.
Congress should remember that as the 2012 elections are around the corner, and senior issues promise to be a key campaign issue.
Be sure to hold the following dates for the Alliance’s 2012 Regional Meetings:
* Western Regional: February 29 – March 2, 2012 Las Vegas, Nevada - Bally’s Hotel
* Midwest Regional: March 5-8, 2012 Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Hilton Hotel Milwaukee
* Southern Regional: April 29 – May 1, 2012 Orlando, Florida – Buena Vista Palace Hotel
* Northeastern Regional: May 14-16, 2012 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Sheraton City Center Hotel
Additional information will be available soon. Questions? Please call Event Coordinator Joni Jones at 202-637-5377 or e-mail jjones@retiredamericans.org
A new report issued this week by Strengthen Social Security & the Alliance for Retired Americans shows Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid provide benefits to 1 out of every 9 residents in Maryland's 8th district and contribute $2.9 billion per year to 8th district’s economy.
The report comes out just as Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland’s 8th District finishes his work on the congressional Super Committee tasked with reducing the federal deficit. The Committee must recommend at least $1.2 trillion in spending cuts by November 23. The full Congress must then approve these recommendations by the end of the year, or it will trigger automatic deficit reduction.
On a conference call Wednesday, David Waugh, 80, of Bethesda explained the ways that Social Security and Medicare helps Americans who have worked hard all their lives. Waugh began paying into Social Security at the age of 16 when he worked a factory job. When he found himself a widower in his 40’s while working full-time, Social Security allowed him to continue working and put his kids through school. Waugh's family again received vital help from Social Security when one of David’s sons was disabled in adulthood. David is now a retiree and Social Security has again become a key part of his financial stability, along with with Medicare. Without Medicare, he would have been unable to afford his surgery and the treatment to help him recover from his recent had emergency surgery for a brain tumor. David Waugh said:
“Social Security has taken a burden from the family…I don’t know how I would plan my life without it. Without Medicare, I would have been wiped out and deep in debt. I cannot imagine a world without it.”
Nancy Altman, who participated in the call yesterday said:
“Too often political and media elites talk about these programs as just cold, unfeeling facts and figures, as if they are divorced from the people whose lives they touch. Too often, the programs are talked about as ‘problems’ when in fact they really are ‘solutions’ – solutions that provide benefits that have been earned through the hard work of Americans.”
Although programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are widely scapegoated in federal deficit discussions, today’s report points out that they are not the true cause of the deficit. The report notes the large recent run-up in federal deficits resulted largely from 2001 and 2003 tax cuts; unpaid costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; the Great Recession which dramatically reduced tax collections, and the Wall Street bank bailout. Correspondingly, in seeking solutions to the federal deficit, the Super Committee should be looking at its causes and should not be cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, which are absolutely vital to the economic security of this nation.
Highlights from the new report:
• Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid spend a total of about $2.9 billion a year in Maryland’s 8th district, providing benefits to an average of 1 out of every 9 residents for each program. • Social Security provided benefits to more than 1 in 9 (12.2 percent) 8th district residents in 2010, with an average benefit of $14,368 per year. • Without Social Security, the elderly poverty rate in Maryland would increase from 1 out of 11 (9.2 percent) to one out of 3 (34.1 percent) residents. • Social Security never has and will never contribute to federal budget deficits because, by law, it does not have borrowing authority. • Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are a lifeline for residents of Maryland and the lifeblood of many small businesses, hospitals and nursing homes and home caregivers. Most of the jobs they create stay in America. Cutting these programs would threaten our families’ economic security and health and deepen our jobs crisis. • Two-thirds of all Medicaid spending is for seniors and people with disabilities. One out of every four (16 million) seniors and people with disabilities depended on Medicaid in 2010.
A new report came out yesterday outlining the importance of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid to residents in South Carolina’s 6th District and for the state’s economy.
Turns out, these three programs provide benefits to 1 out of every 5 residents and contribute $4.2 billion per year to South Carolina's 6th district economy alone.
This report comes out just as South Carolina Representative James Clyburn of the 6th District finishes his work on the congressional Super Committee tasked with reducing the federal deficit. The Committee needs to recommend at least $1.2 trillion in spending cuts by November 23. The full Congress must approve these recommendations by the end of the year, or it will trigger automatic deficit reduction.
Linda Pressley, a Nesmith resident, was on a press conference call Tuesday morning with the SC Alliance for Retired Americans and the Strengthen Social Security campaign. Pressley is just one South Carolinian who relies on Social Security. She worked hard for 17 years on assembly lines, spending the whole day on her feet in addition to serving as the primary caregiver for her father, mother, and nephew, who has mental health issues. Despite her need to stay in the workforce, Linda had surgery on both knees and can no longer do the work she’s trained to do. Without her job, her only income is Social Security long-term disability. This morning she said, “I’m one of the people who relies on Social Security to take care of myself. … Without Social Security, I would probably be homeless.”
Although programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are widely scapegoated in federal deficit discussions, today’s report points out that they are not the true cause of the deficit. The report notes the large recent run-up in federal deficits resulted largely from 2001 and 2003 tax cuts; unpaid costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; the Great Recession which dramatically reduced tax collections, and the Wall Street bank bailout. Correspondingly, in seeking solutions to the federal deficit, the Super Committee should be looking at its causes and should not be cutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, which are absolutely vital to the economic security of this nation.
Highlights from the new report:
Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid spend a total of about $4.2 billion a year in South Carolina’s 6th district, providing benefits to an average of 1 out of every 5 residents for each program.
Social Security provided benefits to 1 out of 8 (11.8 percent) residents in 2010, with a typical benefit received by a retired worker in South Carolina’s 6th district of $13,801.
Without Social Security, the elderly poverty rate in South Carolina would increase from 1 out of 9 (11 percent) to half of all (50.7 percent) residents.
Social Security never has and will never contribute to federal budget deficits because, by law, it does not have borrowing authority.
Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are a lifeline for residents of South Carolina’s 6th district, and the lifeblood of many small businesses, hospitals, nursing homes and home caregivers. Most of the jobs they create stay in America. Cutting these programs would threaten our families’ economic security and health and deepen our jobs crisis.
Medicare spending generally rises less than private health insurance. From 1997 - 2009, Medicare’s annual costs per beneficiary rose far less than those of private health insurance. Cutting Medicare’s benefits simply shifts costs to the sickest and oldest among us, forcing some seniors and people with disabilities to forego treatment, living shorter, less healthy – and more medically costly – lives as a result.
Two-thirds of all Medicaid spending is for seniors and people with disabilities. One out of every four (16 million) seniors and people with disabilities depended on Medicaid in 2010.
