The headlines – “Many States Say ‘No’ to Health Insurance Exchanges,” to take one example – make it seem like bad news. But it’s not. It is good news that half the states are refusing to have anything to do with the new health insurance marketplaces being set up under the Affordable Care Act.
One of the biggest differences between the good version of ObamaCare passed by the House and the mediocre Senate version that became law was the question of whether the federal government or states would run the new health insurance marketplaces (called “exchanges” in the law). But resistance by Republican governors is leading to implementation of the law in a way that is much closer to the vision in the House bill.
The new health marketplaces are the centerpiece of ObamaCare, the mechanisms through which people who don’t get health coverage at work but make too much for Medicaid will be able to purchase subsidized health coverage,
» Read more about: Just Say No to Health Care Marketplaces »
(This post first appeared February 20 on Truthout and is republished with permission.)
Republicans were quick to criticize President Obama last week after he proposed raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 during his State of the Union address, but now a poll shows that a majority of voters agree with the president that the current minimum wage is not a living wage and a hike is in order.
A Rasmussen Reports national survey released on Tuesday found that only 15 percent of voters believe the current minimum wage provides workers with enough money to live on, while 72 percent said $7.25 an hour is not a living wage.
Voters remain more closely divided on actually raising the minimum wage, with 54 percent in favor of the raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour and 36 percent opposed to the proposal.
Yesterday we published Part One of a conversation with mayoral hopeful Kevin James, continuing our interviews with Los Angeles’ front-running candidates. James is an entertainment lawyer and talk-show host, who has previously served as a U.S. prosecutor and AIDS Project Los Angeles co-chairman. (The series’ interviews, which have been edited for clarity, include Eric Garcetti, Parts One and Two, and Wendy Greuel, Parts One and Two.)
Frying Pan News: Your campaign’s main selling point is that you are not a City Hall insider, that you have no institutional connection to the city’s budget problems. Other than this, why should Angelenos vote for you?
Kevin James: Neighborhoods across our city believe that this City Council has shut them out, that they don’t have a voice.
» Read more about: Kevin James: Restore City Services and Voter Involvement »
It’s almost payday. Imagine if you went to cash your paycheck only to find that your employer had instead billed you for the opportunity to work for them.
For drivers at Seacon Logix, paying to work was only the beginning of the abuses they faced from their employer, a midsized port trucking company based in Carson.
A group of nine Seacon Logix drivers has persisted for almost two years in seeking to reclaim their wages even as the company has reached a new low in an already notoriously low-road industry.
Seacon Logix didn’t just evade the law by claiming that its employees were “independent contractors,” allowing it to avoid basic responsibilities, like payroll, income taxes and workers compensation insurance.
It didn’t just pass on its operating costs to drivers and force them to pay for vehicle leases, registration and insurance payments by illegally deducting them straight out of drivers’
» Read more about: How Low Can a Port Trucking Company Go? »
We continue our series of interviews with Los Angeles’ front-running mayoral candidates, with the first part of a talk with Kevin James, an entertainment lawyer and talk-show host, who has previously served as a U.S. prosecutor and AIDS Project Los Angeles co-chairman. (The interviews, which have been edited for clarity, include Eric Garcetti, Parts One and Two, and Wendy Greuel, Parts One and Two.)
Frying Pan News: What do you believe is the role of government in addressing the inequities of the free market system?
Kevin James: A mayor should not shy away from addressing inequality. I was [a] chairman for many years of AIDS Project Los Angeles and part of the work we did was to provide a better life for people who were struggling in theirs —
» Read more about: Kevin James on Bringing Businesses Back to Los Angeles »
For the thousands of international students and researchers who come to U.S. universities each year, the academy is seen as a beacon of opportunity, where the people who work the hardest and [have] the best ideas rise to the top.
[To] a union representing more than 6,000 postdoctoral scholars (also known as “postdocs”) at the University of California, this promise means something – the majority of our members are immigrants working in the U.S. on guest worker visas, and they are here because they have worked for years to reach the forefront of biology, physics, engineering and other fields. They have already earned PhDs, and come to UC to perform cutting-edge research – think breakthrough cancer therapies, new models for the origin of the universe, stem cell research and more.
Imagine their surprise when after arriving at UC, they are told that although the contract the union negotiated states that health care coverage is available to all postdocs,
» Read more about: University Postdocs Demand Health Care Rights »
In English, “sequestration” sounds like obscure policy wonk jargon. In Spanish, it has a very simple meaning: “kidnapping.”
The kidnapping of our economy is exactly what’s in store for later this week, unless a last minute deal derails plans to cut $85 billion from the federal budget. Corporate backed politicians like Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) claim that the cuts target “an excessive, bloated, big federal government that’s highly inefficient and highly ineffective.” But the truth is that the cuts will slice deep into our most important safety net programs.
What will sequestration mean for our families? According to a simple summary from the non-partisan United Way the effects in Californian’s health and education include the following:
(Editor’s Note: Today we continue our series of posts from invited writers who offer thoughts on what the coming four years hold for Los Angeles and its next mayor. These opinions do not reflect the views of Frying Pan News or the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy.)
The next mayor of Los Angeles will have significant environmental matters before them. Let’s take two — water and power.
On energy, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is obligated by California law to deliver one third of the city’s electricity with renewable power by the year 2020. The state also mandates that L.A. curtail using sea water to cool its coastal power plants by 2029. State law also sets deadlines for L.A. to get off of coal. And the state also demands that L.A. reduce its energy use by at least 10 percent via new energy efficiency and conservation measures by 2020.
» Read more about: Our Next Mayor Must Grapple with Water and Power »
Tenants Together has launched “It’s Your Money,” a new campaign to stop security deposit theft by California landlords. The campaign website, www.YourDeposit.org, features know-your-rights information for tenants, tips on how to protect deposits, tenant stories and policy recommendations. The site allows tenants to share their security deposit horror stories.
Security deposit theft is one of the most common grievances among California’s 15 million renters. In a recent survey, over 60 percent of Tenants Together members reported improper withholding of deposit money. This is an astonishing figure, but not one that surprises anyone working with California tenants.
“Millions of dollars are being stolen from tenants every year,” commented Dean Preston, Executive Director of Tenants Together, California’s statewide organization for renters’ rights. “It’s gotten so bad that tenants paying their security deposits don’t ever expect to see that money again. Something has got to change.”
Unlike in many other states,
» Read more about: Protecting Renters From Security Deposit Theft »