Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Voters Needed
Did you know you can register to vote online? You can! It's easy. Just click on the headline, complete your information, and press submit. The California Secretary of State will mail you an official registration request for signature. And they even pay postage!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The Time to Fix Medicare & Social Security is Now!
Yesterday, the silence was deafening. The trustees who monitor Social Security and Medicare announced that the trust funds backing these two critical resources for older persons are running out of money faster than had been contemplated. This should have been front page news and blaring off the cable news outlets. Instead, there was relative silence. In Sacramento, the story was buried on page 12 and CNN carried a tepid blurb on this massive problem
And this announcement came on the heels of the Secretary of Treasury announcing, just yesterday, that it will cost at least $40 trillion to fix the problem. That is correct: $40 trillion. One of the national commentators sniffed and said: "We won't be able to afford anything else." Well, give me a break, we have time to put the best minds together to come up with a solution. We need leadership.
Almost since it’s inception, the Social Security Trust Fund has needed occasional fixes and the same holds true for Medicare. While there is a reasonable amount of time to take on Social Security, the horizon for serious Medicare reform is way too close.
It is obvious that the senior troops are being mobilized to roll out a political sunami to support national health care reform. The proponents will demand that seniors wear their colorful T shirts and swell the crowds demanding health care restructuring. The leadership in the House of Representatives have said that they want as few days of hearings as possible on the proposed legislation and want to have it passed before Congress takes their three week recess for the Fourth of July. Should we not address Social Security and Medicare along with health care reform?
Now is the opportunity for seniors to stand tall to force Congress to begin addressing the short fall in the trust funds before rolling over like trained dogs in a show to do political bidding on health care restructuring. The question, “Where have all the seniors gone?” should be answered by, “We are here, and we are as mad as hell over these political shenanigan.” And even madder about the silence.
And this announcement came on the heels of the Secretary of Treasury announcing, just yesterday, that it will cost at least $40 trillion to fix the problem. That is correct: $40 trillion. One of the national commentators sniffed and said: "We won't be able to afford anything else." Well, give me a break, we have time to put the best minds together to come up with a solution. We need leadership.
Almost since it’s inception, the Social Security Trust Fund has needed occasional fixes and the same holds true for Medicare. While there is a reasonable amount of time to take on Social Security, the horizon for serious Medicare reform is way too close.
It is obvious that the senior troops are being mobilized to roll out a political sunami to support national health care reform. The proponents will demand that seniors wear their colorful T shirts and swell the crowds demanding health care restructuring. The leadership in the House of Representatives have said that they want as few days of hearings as possible on the proposed legislation and want to have it passed before Congress takes their three week recess for the Fourth of July. Should we not address Social Security and Medicare along with health care reform?
Now is the opportunity for seniors to stand tall to force Congress to begin addressing the short fall in the trust funds before rolling over like trained dogs in a show to do political bidding on health care restructuring. The question, “Where have all the seniors gone?” should be answered by, “We are here, and we are as mad as hell over these political shenanigan.” And even madder about the silence.
Vote YES on May 19
Next Tuesday there will be a special election to alleviate California's fiscal crisis. This newest form of participatory democracy was crafted to move the current budget to be signed, and the temporary fiscal gridlock solved. It did manage to raise some taxes, much to the discomfort of some Republican legislators, who now face political annihilation having violated a "No new taxes pledge". It is a historical fact that those who participate in a special election, do so for a specific cause, and the idealists gamble on the lack of interest gives the advantage to the proponents. The vitriolic manner in which the electorate are taking off after the "tax heretics," on the tax pledge, means their interests will be represented loud and clear. After the dust settles, the No side will propel the legislature and the Governor back to the treadmill of budget solutions going nowhere.
Special interests thrive on legislative dysfunction. They can use the power of political contributions to keep control. Perhaps hope lies in the Redistricting Commission which will develop a post-decennial census plan for re-apportionment. You will remember how hard the special interests fought against this measure, so there must be something right about it. Recently, a leader of one of the Senior organizations in California said that the reason seniors lose out in these cutbacks is they have no monetary support behind their positions, in other words in order to play, they would have to pay by way of campaign contributions.
California is too great of state to be governed by slogans like : "No new Taxes," "Cut Spending," or creating ballot propositions to play to the crowd. We need statesman who can plan, be permitted to raise new funds if needed, and reduce spending. It takes the right folks in public office to step up to the plate on the interests of all Californians, and not the interest of the few of either political party. In 1894, Samuel Walter Foss wrote a poem entitled: The Coming Americans. A famous line was: "Bring me men and (women) to match my mountains." A renewal of this spirit can get us through the current trauma.
Special interests thrive on legislative dysfunction. They can use the power of political contributions to keep control. Perhaps hope lies in the Redistricting Commission which will develop a post-decennial census plan for re-apportionment. You will remember how hard the special interests fought against this measure, so there must be something right about it. Recently, a leader of one of the Senior organizations in California said that the reason seniors lose out in these cutbacks is they have no monetary support behind their positions, in other words in order to play, they would have to pay by way of campaign contributions.
California is too great of state to be governed by slogans like : "No new Taxes," "Cut Spending," or creating ballot propositions to play to the crowd. We need statesman who can plan, be permitted to raise new funds if needed, and reduce spending. It takes the right folks in public office to step up to the plate on the interests of all Californians, and not the interest of the few of either political party. In 1894, Samuel Walter Foss wrote a poem entitled: The Coming Americans. A famous line was: "Bring me men and (women) to match my mountains." A renewal of this spirit can get us through the current trauma.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
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