Tomorrow, Tuesday, October 1 will be the day the new Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) health exchanges go into effect, as you can see at Healthcare.gov. People who do not have employer-provided health insurance, are not on Medicare, Medicaid or military medical care will be able to get competitive coverage at reasonable rates.
Most purchasers of moderate means will get tax subsidies to help pay for their policies. This will include individuals who make up to $45,960 and families of four who make up to $94,200. A family of six will get help up to an income of $126,000. After tax breaks, the costs will be bargains. In Pennsylvania, for instance, a 27-year-old earning $25,000, choosing a mid-level silver plan
which covers about 70 percent of medical costs, would pay $145 a month after their tax break assistance. A family of four with two children under the age of 18 that earned $50,000 a year would pay $282 per month after tax breaks for the same silver plan.
As President Obama has been saying in recent days, people will be able to get health insurance protection for about the same cost as their cell phone bills. These bargains are possible due to the exchanges, which will allow people to compare the offerings of the various insurers in their states directly across the board from each other on the exchange web sites. The provision that at least 80% of premium revenues must then be spent on health care by the providers, and the requirements of what must be provided in each level of the plans also helps make sure that services provided are adequate and readily comparable for all competitors at each level. Upper-income Americans have had some taxes raised to help pay for the subsidies, as shown at this IRS site.
The relative simplicity and economy of the coverage will provide an attractive option for folks looking to protect themselves against the medical vicissitudes of life. Though the enrollment begins October 1, people will have until March 31 to secure their coverage or they will have to pay a fine.
As I write this the Republican effort in the House of Representatives to tie the overall U.S. budget to the repeal or postponement of the health care roll out is still underway. There is no way the Democratic Senate or President Obama will go along with this, so the result of GOP stubbornness on this, if they persist, can only be a government shutdown. The reason for their frantic eagerness to try to gut the law was revealed by Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who has been leading the fight to kill Obamacare. He said, "Once they taste the sugar of subsidized health care we'll never get rid of it." Indeed. Once people can afford to take their kids to the doctor they won't want to give that up. Yes, that certainly makes sense to me. What doesn't is why anybody would think that's a bad thing.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Liberal Principles
Here is my list of the principles we liberals believe in:
Ethics
as the bedrock of our worldview, founded on truth, honesty and love for one
another.
Peace
with our neighbors and among all nations, beginning with peace within
ourselves.
Equality
of all people at all times.
Freedom
to be, love, do, say and believe as we will, and from preventable wrong and
harm.
Community of others whose well-being we foster, particularly those in greatest need.
Opportunity
to pursue our dreams.
Meeting
Human Needs with compassion, ingenuity and resolve.
Democracy
as the foundation of any just political system.
Empathy
for our fellows as the wellspring of the causes we champion.
Progress
or faith in the improvement of the human condition if we work for it in good
will.
Science
as a means to discover and employ fact and reason to better our world.
Justice
under the law and as the framework for fairness in society.
Security
of our persons, rights and dignity, individually and as a nation.
Practicality
in the ways we pursue our goals and implement our policies.
Diversity
of people celebrated within the
Unity
of the human family.
Civil
Rights enshrined and protected.
Service
as the means to realize these principles in our society and world.
Love
as the source of all the good we do and are.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Greg Collins Comes to COS
Visalia City Councilman Greg Collins paid a visit to the College of the Sequoias Young Democrats meeting and had some prescient observations to go along with giving the group some insights into his common sense approach to city governance. Greg brings the training and experience of a professional urban planner to his decisions and votes on the council.
He emphasized his long-held view that infill, or developing vacant and unused land within the built-up parts of town, needs to provide the basis for short-term growth. It's more efficient in a number of ways. First, it saves the city money because necessary infrastructure, such as water, sewer, roads and electrical are already in place. Second, when development is compact it reduces driving mileage, cutting down on air pollution and the frequency of traffic accidents. Third, it reduces emergency response times. Finally, avoiding sprawl saves Valley farmland.
Greg pointed to new projects underway. One of these is an arrangement to return 13 million gallons of city-treated sewage water to agricultural use in exchange for 6.5 million gallons of new clean water. The pure water will be pumped into local ponding basins to recharge the city's falling water table. As Greg said, "We live in a desert. If we don't protect our water resources the cost will be more than we can afford to pay." Visalia is the only local city to have a project like this. He also indicated his support for a city legal action to oppose Cal Water's plan to drastically increase water rates for Visalia residents.
Councilman Collins is a registered Democrat but the ballot is non-partisan and Greg agrees that's how he sees his service. "There's no Democratic or Republican way to fix a pothole," he explains. He described himself as fiscally conservative, insisting on balancing the city's $250 million budget. The city did a lot of belt-tightening during the Recession, which Greg points to as the main reason the city is in strong fiscal shape now, unlike some other California cities that have or may face default.
Yet he is at the same time liberal on his commitment to quality of life issues. With revenues returning, he now sees scope for some improvements. A new animal shelter will soon go out to bid, and is expected to cost $5-6 million. Bids for a new water treatment plant have come in up to $30 million under expectations. He wants to give city employees a raise, feeling that their willingness to accept pay cuts while taking on additional work during recent lean times has earned them a well-deserved reward now that financial conditions are improving.
Greg became the youngest Visalia City Councilman ever when he first got elected back in the 1970s. He was spurred to do so because as a recent college graduate in urban planning, he and some friends decided to attend a council meeting and saw them approving projects that went completely against the principles and industry standards he had learned in school. Instead of going along with the old boys network he walked the city door to door and got elected.
Greg Collins has been on and off the council over the past thirty-plus years, serving as mayor at times but also sometimes facing strong political and monetary opposition from developers who want every project approved no matter what. His principles, track record and common-sense approaches indeed mark him as a fine leader who can resist pressure and is truly the "quality of life candidate." He richly deserves re-election to the Visalia City Council on November 5.
He emphasized his long-held view that infill, or developing vacant and unused land within the built-up parts of town, needs to provide the basis for short-term growth. It's more efficient in a number of ways. First, it saves the city money because necessary infrastructure, such as water, sewer, roads and electrical are already in place. Second, when development is compact it reduces driving mileage, cutting down on air pollution and the frequency of traffic accidents. Third, it reduces emergency response times. Finally, avoiding sprawl saves Valley farmland.
Greg pointed to new projects underway. One of these is an arrangement to return 13 million gallons of city-treated sewage water to agricultural use in exchange for 6.5 million gallons of new clean water. The pure water will be pumped into local ponding basins to recharge the city's falling water table. As Greg said, "We live in a desert. If we don't protect our water resources the cost will be more than we can afford to pay." Visalia is the only local city to have a project like this. He also indicated his support for a city legal action to oppose Cal Water's plan to drastically increase water rates for Visalia residents.
Councilman Collins is a registered Democrat but the ballot is non-partisan and Greg agrees that's how he sees his service. "There's no Democratic or Republican way to fix a pothole," he explains. He described himself as fiscally conservative, insisting on balancing the city's $250 million budget. The city did a lot of belt-tightening during the Recession, which Greg points to as the main reason the city is in strong fiscal shape now, unlike some other California cities that have or may face default.
Yet he is at the same time liberal on his commitment to quality of life issues. With revenues returning, he now sees scope for some improvements. A new animal shelter will soon go out to bid, and is expected to cost $5-6 million. Bids for a new water treatment plant have come in up to $30 million under expectations. He wants to give city employees a raise, feeling that their willingness to accept pay cuts while taking on additional work during recent lean times has earned them a well-deserved reward now that financial conditions are improving.
Greg became the youngest Visalia City Councilman ever when he first got elected back in the 1970s. He was spurred to do so because as a recent college graduate in urban planning, he and some friends decided to attend a council meeting and saw them approving projects that went completely against the principles and industry standards he had learned in school. Instead of going along with the old boys network he walked the city door to door and got elected.
Greg Collins has been on and off the council over the past thirty-plus years, serving as mayor at times but also sometimes facing strong political and monetary opposition from developers who want every project approved no matter what. His principles, track record and common-sense approaches indeed mark him as a fine leader who can resist pressure and is truly the "quality of life candidate." He richly deserves re-election to the Visalia City Council on November 5.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
"Common Ground" Monday Night at Cafe 210
I'll be participating in a panel Monday night at Cafe 210. Everyone is invited. Cafe 210 is located at 210 W. Center Street in Visalia, and the program will run from 7:00 to 8:30 P.M. The topic is "Common Ground."
The program will start with two panelists, Porterville Mayor Virginia Gurrola and College of the Sequoias English instructor Jane Thomas, sharing their experiences and difficulties with finding common ground.
After them I will go on with my friend and COS History colleague Stephen Tootle. Stephen is faculty advisor for the College Republicans and I share the same role for the COS Young Democrats. Our aim is to search for common ground on a variety of issues while modeling civil and respectful dialogue between people who frequently disagree.
The application to current social and political discourse in our country should be rather apparent to anyone who is paying attention. I hope to see you there!
The program will start with two panelists, Porterville Mayor Virginia Gurrola and College of the Sequoias English instructor Jane Thomas, sharing their experiences and difficulties with finding common ground.
After them I will go on with my friend and COS History colleague Stephen Tootle. Stephen is faculty advisor for the College Republicans and I share the same role for the COS Young Democrats. Our aim is to search for common ground on a variety of issues while modeling civil and respectful dialogue between people who frequently disagree.
The application to current social and political discourse in our country should be rather apparent to anyone who is paying attention. I hope to see you there!
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Where I Stand on Poison Gas
There is understandably and rightly much talk about Syria right now, and I believe a lot of it misses the point. The point is poison gas. Some talk of doing more to encourage negotiations. Sure, that would be nice. No doubt that is being pursued behind the scenes by many with good intentions, from Ban Ki Moon to Switzerland to the U.S. State Department. For me, I do not expect there to be any negotiations any time soon with
Russia and Iran backing one side and the Saudis, Gulf States, Turkey and
France backing the other, not until one side feels it has lost on the
battlefield and is ready to capitulate. And none of that matters anyway, when it comes to poison gas.
A grand strategy would be good. Do we back all the rebels, just the nice rebels, or stay out? We seem to be rather unsure. Most of us don't want to get mired down in the Syrian Civil War. And I agree we shouldn't. But that is a separate issue from the use of poison gas, which has been illegal by international agreement since shortly after World War I.
As for me, I want to live in a world in which nobody ever uses poison gas and the ban on it is strictly enforced. Whoever uses poison gas needs to gets smacked, and hard. The calculation of any actor in the future has to include the certainty that if it uses poison gas it will lose its air force and a good many of its other assets capable of delivering more gas. Ruthless people will do anything they need to do to hold onto power until the cost outweighs the benefits. Arguments of any rationale that end with the conclusion that we need to let anybody get away with using poison gas are terribly naive, as far as I'm concerned. We stop this now or we will see more and more of it in the future. That's where I stand.
A grand strategy would be good. Do we back all the rebels, just the nice rebels, or stay out? We seem to be rather unsure. Most of us don't want to get mired down in the Syrian Civil War. And I agree we shouldn't. But that is a separate issue from the use of poison gas, which has been illegal by international agreement since shortly after World War I.
As for me, I want to live in a world in which nobody ever uses poison gas and the ban on it is strictly enforced. Whoever uses poison gas needs to gets smacked, and hard. The calculation of any actor in the future has to include the certainty that if it uses poison gas it will lose its air force and a good many of its other assets capable of delivering more gas. Ruthless people will do anything they need to do to hold onto power until the cost outweighs the benefits. Arguments of any rationale that end with the conclusion that we need to let anybody get away with using poison gas are terribly naive, as far as I'm concerned. We stop this now or we will see more and more of it in the future. That's where I stand.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
U.S. Moves Toward Intervention in Syria
President Obama met with his national security team yesterday to decide what to do about Syria amid mounting evidence the Bashar Assad regime has used chemical weapons recently in its civil war, purportedly resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians. Reports today indicate U.S. Naval forces are being moved closer to the Eastern Mediterranean nation.
The president said a year ago that the use of lethal chemical weapons in Syria would constitute a "red line" necessitating an international response. It appears the Administration is currently analyzing evidence to make certain that a chemical attack did in fact occur. The president spoke with British Prime Minister David Cameron by telephone yesterday. The prime minister's office released a statement saying the use of outlawed chemical weapons would constitute a grave threat to international law and require a firm response. It also said that regime interference in United Nations inspection efforts indicates the Assad government "has something to hide."
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters it is pretty certain that such weapons were used. He said the Defense Department has presented the president with a range of options. He declined, however, to specify those options or to confirm reports that Navy warships were now massing within range of Syria.
President Obama has heretofore been reluctant to get directly involved in the Syrian civil war which has now raged for over two years, created up to two million refugees and cost, according to estimates, over 100,000 lives. A rising against the authoritarian Assad regime began in conjunction with the "Arab Spring" movement in 2011. The fighting has seesawed back and forth, with Arab states sending support to rebel groups and Iran and Russia backing Assad. The tangled forces involved in the fighting include Iranian-backed Hezbollah Shi'ite extremists on Assad's side and some al-Qaeda affiliated groups in the opposition. Obama has been concerned to keep aid to the rebels out of the hands of the al-Qaeda jihadist Sunni forces allied with the more democratic groups all fighting to oust Assad.
"If the U.S. goes in and attacks another country without a U.N. mandate and without clear evidence that can be presented, then there are questions in terms of whether international law supports it - do we have the coalition to make it work?" Obama said in a television interview broadcast Friday. "Those are considerations that we have to take into account." It seems the verification and the international backing are now being sought.
If action is taken, expect it to take the form of cruise missiles launched from Navy warships, the same type of action taken against the Libyan regime in its civil war. Targets would probably include Assad's air forces and artillery units, the regime forces most capable of delivering chemical agents against the Syrian populace and rebel fighters.
The president said a year ago that the use of lethal chemical weapons in Syria would constitute a "red line" necessitating an international response. It appears the Administration is currently analyzing evidence to make certain that a chemical attack did in fact occur. The president spoke with British Prime Minister David Cameron by telephone yesterday. The prime minister's office released a statement saying the use of outlawed chemical weapons would constitute a grave threat to international law and require a firm response. It also said that regime interference in United Nations inspection efforts indicates the Assad government "has something to hide."
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters it is pretty certain that such weapons were used. He said the Defense Department has presented the president with a range of options. He declined, however, to specify those options or to confirm reports that Navy warships were now massing within range of Syria.
President Obama has heretofore been reluctant to get directly involved in the Syrian civil war which has now raged for over two years, created up to two million refugees and cost, according to estimates, over 100,000 lives. A rising against the authoritarian Assad regime began in conjunction with the "Arab Spring" movement in 2011. The fighting has seesawed back and forth, with Arab states sending support to rebel groups and Iran and Russia backing Assad. The tangled forces involved in the fighting include Iranian-backed Hezbollah Shi'ite extremists on Assad's side and some al-Qaeda affiliated groups in the opposition. Obama has been concerned to keep aid to the rebels out of the hands of the al-Qaeda jihadist Sunni forces allied with the more democratic groups all fighting to oust Assad.
"If the U.S. goes in and attacks another country without a U.N. mandate and without clear evidence that can be presented, then there are questions in terms of whether international law supports it - do we have the coalition to make it work?" Obama said in a television interview broadcast Friday. "Those are considerations that we have to take into account." It seems the verification and the international backing are now being sought.
If action is taken, expect it to take the form of cruise missiles launched from Navy warships, the same type of action taken against the Libyan regime in its civil war. Targets would probably include Assad's air forces and artillery units, the regime forces most capable of delivering chemical agents against the Syrian populace and rebel fighters.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Current Events Quiz
Here's something fun to challenge yourself with. The very highly regarded Pew Research organization developed this 13-question quiz on current events. I invite you to take it and see how you stack up against 1,041 randomly selected adults. I ran across this when my friend Louie Campos posted it on Facebook. This link will take you to the quiz. It includes not only words but pictures, maps and graphs.
I did get all 13, but had to guess on one and got lucky. Just so you'll know when you try it, the one I had to guess on was the logo. Good luck also to you, and let us know how you did!
I did get all 13, but had to guess on one and got lucky. Just so you'll know when you try it, the one I had to guess on was the logo. Good luck also to you, and let us know how you did!
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