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Community, Economy

Justice Sotomayor Issues Challenge to a Century of Corporate Law

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By JESS BRAVIN

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125314088285517643.html

WASHINGTON — In her maiden Supreme Court appearance last week, Justice Sonia Sotomayor made a provocative comment that probed the foundations of corporate law.

During arguments in a campaign-finance case, the court’s majority conservatives seemed persuaded that corporations have broad First Amendment rights and that recent precedents upholding limits on corporate political spending should be overruled.

But Justice Sotomayor suggested the majority might have it all wrong — and that instead the court should reconsider the 19th century rulings that first afforded corporations the same rights flesh-and-blood people have.
elections

Cong. Kucinich: Single Payer National Healthcare is only Affordable Solution

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Medicare_for_allKucinich: Take Insurance Industry Profits to Pay for Universal Health Care

Posted Sep 18, 2009 07:00am EDT by Aaron Task

Related: AET, CI, WLP, UNH, ^HCX, ^DJI, ^GSPC

Sen. Max Baucus’ health-care bill got the cold shoulder from Republicans, but the Montana Democrat isn’t making any friends on the (true) left of the political spectrum either.

“The people of the United States deserve a lot better than this,” Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) says of the Baucus plan. “Unless you have a public option there is no way that you can drive down the cost for health care because the insurance companies won’t have any competition.”

We can have it all, according to Kucinich: Universal health care without higher taxes or soaring deficits. How? By taking the profits away from the insurance industry and using them to pay for health care.

“If we take that money” — $800 billion a year by Kucinich’s reckoning – “and put it into care we cover everyone,” he says. “So of course we can afford it. When people know a plan exists where there’s no more premium, co-pays and deductibles, where everyone is covered and where no one has to go broke…I think people will listen.”

You may say Kucinich is a dreamer, but he’s a political realist too and understands the current environment doesn’t support his vision. Still, he’s disappointed with President Obama for supporting what Kucinich calls a “minimalist” approach to health-care reform.

Go here for video of Kucinich interview: http://tinyurl.com/qrko86

health care

A Message to Progressive Democrats from the Congressional Progressive Caucus

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logo“Medical Security Is The Name Of The Game”

September 17, 2009, Washington, DC

On Thursday, September 17, Congressional Progressive Caucus Co-chair Rep. Raul Grijalva, sent the following message to the members of Progressive Democrats of America:  

As co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), I want to thank the PDA community for its ongoing support of Medicare for All. Who knows where we would be in this debate without your moral and compassionate voices railing against the status quo.

These have been trying times, in Congress, as the CPC has worked to muster support for a real and robust public option against a well-funded corporate opposition. The CPC is confident that we will influence this debate and we remain committed to a robust public option that:

  • Enacts concurrently with other significant expansions of coverage and must not be conditioned on private industry actions.
  • Consists of one entity, operated by the federal government, which sets policies and bears the risk for paying medical claims to keep administrative costs low and provide a higher standard of care.
  • Be made available to all individuals and employers across the nation without limitation.
  • Allows patients to have access to their choice of doctors and other providers that meet defined participation standards, similar to the traditional Medicare model, promotes the medical home model and eliminates lifetime caps on benefits.
  • Has the ability to structure the provider rates to promote quality care, primary care, prevention, chronic care management and good public health.
  • Utilizes the existing infrastructure of successful public programs, such as Medicare, in order to maintain transparency and consumer protections for administering processes, including payment systems, claims and appeals.
  • Establishes or negotiates rates with pharmaceutical companies, durable medical
    equipment providers and other providers to achieve the lowest prices for consumers.
  • Receives a level of subsidy and support that is no less than that received by private plans.
  • Ensures premiums are priced at the lowest levels possible, not tied to the rates of private insurance plans.

I urge you to continue to rally citizens and your representatives to support the Kucinich and Weiner amendments. Although Congress does not appear to have the stomach to pass HR 676, there’s every reason to believe that we can secure Medicare for All, once states begin to pass their own single-payer bills.

The CPC will do its best to ensure that the public option is as close to Medicare as we can get it. I hope you will do your best to continue to build support for the Kucinich and Weiner amendments.

Girjalva serves on the PDA Advisory board.

elections, health care

Sen. Baucus Declares War on American People – $20 billion in Fines to Uninsured – Tax on Healthcare Benefits

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 Seven Important Facts in the Baucus Bill’s CBO Report
By: Gregg Levine Wednesday September 16, 2009 8:00 pm

http://www.firedoglake.com

Today, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) released the Chairman’s mark of his health care reform bill along with a CBO report on the legislation. I’ve found seven interesting and important issues in the report.

1. It looked like Baucus purposely left himself a small possible giveaway to liberals. His bill in fact saves $49 billion, which could be used to increase subsidies by that amount while still keeping it budget neutral. A little “look, liberals won something”:

According to CBO and JCT’s assessment, enacting the Chairman’s proposal would result in a net reduction in federal budget deficits of $49 billion over the 2010–2019 period

2. It appears that the CBO agrees with almost every health care reform expert and also concluded that Conrad’s small state-based co-ops are worthless.

The proposed co-ops had very little effect on the estimates of total enrollment in the exchanges or federal costs because, as they are described in the specifications, they seem unlikely to establish a significant market presence in many areas of the country or to noticeably affect federal subsidy payments.

Continue reading Sen. Baucus Declares War on American People – $20 billion in Fines to Uninsured – Tax on Healthcare Benefits →

health care, labor

AFL-CIO Convention Endorses Single-Payer National Health Care

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AFLCIOAFL-CIO Convention Endorses Medicare for All

September 16, 2009, Pittsburgh, PA

In a historic vote that adds the nation’s leading voice of American workers to a broad national campaign, the AFL-CIO voted unanimously at its national convention here today to endorse the enactment of single-payer, universal healthcare for all Americans.

The resolution was sponsored by the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, AFL-CIO, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, and the Alameda County (California) Central Labor Council.  

In urging its support, CNA/NNOC Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro, an AFL-CIO National Vice-President, noted the recent death of Crystal Lee Sutton, the real-life union organizer from the film Norma Rae who died last week after a long battle with cancer, exacerbated by her own three-year fight with her insurance company.

Continue reading AFL-CIO Convention Endorses Single-Payer National Health Care →

elections, health care

The Kiss of Death – Sen. Arlen Specter Calls for “Expensive” Public Option in Health “Insurance” Bill

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p971504731by Randy Shannon

September 15, 2009

In his message posted below Sen. Arlen Specter states his support for the hotly debated public option. The public option was originally proposed as a large inexpensive Medicare- administered plan to allow access to good healthcare for the 46 million uninsured and the millions of under-insured. As the White House slowly moves to accomodate the powerful corporate health insurance lobby, opportunists like Specter are climbing aboard offering support with qualifiers that further water down the public option.

Now the public option will only cover a few million persons. And if Specter has his way it will have to cost no less than what the private insurance companies charge. This means it will be unaffordable and offer no competition to hold down the cost of private insurance. The current legislation being considered does not control the rising insurance premiums. It does call for restraining the outlays for Medicare, even though Medicare is the most affordable and most efficient administrator of healthcare outlays.

The bill makes it a crime for an individual not to buy junk insurance. It’s no wonder that Wall Street is already celebrating the victory of health insurance reform over healthcare reform by bidding up the stock prices of their favorite insurance companies and hospitals.

In a recent Pittsburgh Post Gazette article, Congressman Jason Altmire is quoted saying that he will probably vote for the health insurance bill after he voted against it in committee. Mr. Altmire is a former lobbyist for the Federation of American (for-profit) Hospitals and UPMC.  This is another sign that the bill will favor the large corporate entities such as UPMC and hurt the working people of the 4th Congressional District. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09256/997454-114.stm

See Specter’s message on next page…

Continue reading The Kiss of Death – Sen. Arlen Specter Calls for “Expensive” Public Option in Health “Insurance” Bill →

health care

Grove City Democrats Show “Sicko”

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by Randy Shannon

The Grove City Democrats club headed by Lou Razzano hosted a showing of Michael Moore’s Sicko at Rudy’s Restaurant on Sept. 10. The film was screened by the W. PA organizer for Democracy for America Lou Hancherick.   Joe Talarico, coordinator of the W PA Progressive Network answered questions after the film.

Following dinner from 5:00 to 6:30 some 55 people viewed the film and responded with enthusiastic applause and cheering. Bob Lark, head of the Mercer County Democratic Committee attended.

Economy, Environment

Shameful PA Budget Deal Takeaway from Working Families Giveaway to Gas Drillers

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Plan would destroy state forests on altar of natural gas industry

Drilling Rig on Marcellus Shale
Drilling Rig on Marcellus Shale

The proposed budget deal announced September 11, 2009 includes a massive giveaway to huge, multi-national energy corporations that want substantial and immediate access to drill, baby, drill in our public forests and parks.

Tell your state legislators that opening up much of the state’s forest lands to gas drilling is NOT the way that Pennsylvania should solve its budget crisis.

Greedy gas companies spent more than one million dollars lobbying state government this year, and it looks like it paid off. The state budget does not include a severance tax on natural gas drilling even though it injures Pennsylvania taxpayers. To add insult to injury, the budget deal also opens up state parks and forests to gas drillers. Because gas prices have fallen, gas leasing prices have also fallen, so now giant multi-national energy corporations will be able to make a sweetheart deal to lock up leases at bargain basement prices.

Continue reading Shameful PA Budget Deal Takeaway from Working Families Giveaway to Gas Drillers →

Community, elections

PA Republican Senator Vogel Instransigent on State Budget Cuts to Children

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Child CareBeaver County Daycare Providers Meet Republican Senator Elder Vogel: Dismayed by His Lack of Concern for Children

By Tina Shannon

September 10, 2009

Last Thursday night, five daycare providers sat down with Pennsylvania 47th District Senator Elder Vogel and his aide Joe Weider to talk over the state budget. I arrived at the Senator’s office in the hilltop neighborhood of upper Rochester about 6:30 pm, even though the meeting didn’t start until 7:00.

Charlie Hamilton, my friend who had helped set up the meeting with Senator Vogel, was waiting . Charlie is a retired postal worker who has extensive experience dealing with legislators.

Several weeks earlier I had gone on an angry rant about the budget proposed by Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled State Senate. I wanted to have a public meeting denouncing Vogel, who is our newly elected Republican Sate Senator. Charlie counseled restraint. “First you have to give the guy a chance to do the right thing,” he said.

So Charlie graciously set up the meeting.

I contacted several of my colleagues, looking for people who understood the importance of maintaining social services in our county by funding them in the budget. A handful of wonderful women responded. I also brought an articulate impassioned young woman who is one my clients.

Continue reading PA Republican Senator Vogel Instransigent on State Budget Cuts to Children →