AFL-CIO Lap Dogs

Over on our partner group blog, UNHC-Skagit, an article was posted that really drives home what many of us have been saying and working towards for quite some time now.  Please take a moment to read this and share it with all your friends.  We all have in some small (or big) way the ability to drive the agenda for our congress and other organizations that we belong to. Do you want more of the same, such as coming from these “K” street folks?   Read more here.

AFL-CIO Diluted

 Alas,  the AFL-CIO has caved-in (again).  The AFL-CIO , True Majority,  and a surrogate “K” Street oganization called “Health Care For America NOW!” are all pimping a newly-unveiled,  inadequate  health care ”plan”.  They are calling it “Health Care For America NOW” Below is a letter I sent to True Majority, with copies to Health Care For America NOW, and the AFL-CIO.  Please note:  Nowhere in the AFL-CIO/True Majority/Health Care For America NOW  scheme is single-payer even mentioned!  (I’m sure glad those characters aren’t negoiating for my union.  If they were we’d come up short!)

The Solution to the U.S. Health Care Crisis

“Health care has now become a major part of our national expenditures. The premium for an individual now averages more than $4,000 per year, while a good family policy averages more than $10,000 per year, comparable to the minimum wage and nearly one-fourth of the median family income. As a consequence, though the US spends far more on health care than any other nation, we leave millions of our people without any coverage at all. And those who do have coverage increasingly find that their plans are inadequate, exposing them to financial hardship and even bankruptcy when illness strikes”  Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) – 2007  (Go to UFHC.org  or Healthcare-NOW.org  for more information.)

The above figures represent premium costs only.  They do not include deductibles or co-payments,  which usually add several thousand additional dollars to total health care costs.  In addition, most self-describing “full coverage”  health care plans are in reality something less than that.   Dental, vision, hearing aid, prescription drugs, mental health, durable equipment, and nursing home care are often excluded from “full coverage” plans.  Then too, we are only talking about people who are “lucky” enough to “afford”  health insurance.  What about the others?

Nation’s Mayors’ Take Stand

The U.S. Conference of Mayors held their annual convention this month. A national organization representing cities of more than 30,000. A resolution