Republicans Don’t Want to Eat Their Own Dog Food

Posted on April 29, 2017 by David Posnett
Posted on Mother Earth

  APR. 26, 2017 11:24 AM

In case you missed it in last night’s post because I kind of buried it, the latest Republican amendment to their health care bill allows states to opt out of Obamacare’s essential requirements. But it doesn’t apply to Congress. They are exempted. Just to refresh your memory, here’s the list of essential benefits:

  1. Ambulatory patient services.
  2. Emergency services.
  3. Hospitalization.
  4. Maternity and newborn care.
  5. Mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment.
  6. Prescription drugs.
  7. Rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices.
  8. Laboratory services.
  9. Preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management.
  10. Pediatric services, including oral and vision care.

The state of Wisconsin, for example, could choose to approve plans that don’t include doctor visits (#1), hospitalization (#3), or prescription drugs (#6). House Republicans apparently think that’s just fine.

But for themselves, their plans will include every single benefit on that list. I’m not normally too bothered by political hypocrisy, but this really jumps the shark. Back in 2009, Republicans gleefully proposed an amendment to Obamacare that would make it apply to Congress. They apparently figured that this would show up Democrats who didn’t want to eat their own dog food. But no: Democrats were perfectly willing to be covered by their own law. They shrugged, voted for the amendment, and Republicans were then stuck using Obamacare for their insurance.

But now that they’re in charge, Republicans are dead set on not eating their dog food. And who can blame them? Their dog food sucks.

This really ought to drive home just how horrible the Republican health care plan is. And maybe it will. Finally.

Posted in AHCA, Congress, Health Care, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Republicans Don’t Want to Eat Their Own Dog Food

Stop the poisonous spraying of Accabonac and Napeague Harbors

Posted on April 29, 2017 by David Posnett
A Change.org petition launched by the signatories

The State of Connecticut banned it in coastal areas in 2013.

The towns of East Hampton and Southampton oppose its use locally.

Our State Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. opposes its use and has co-sponsored bills to stop its application on our bays and harbors.

Yet, Suffolk County persists in its annual spraying of the poisonous pesticide methoprene on our marshlands. County officials say they have no intention of heeding local appeals, and vow to continue the annual noxious and noisy helicopter sprayings.

The county says it’s necessary to combat mosquitoes. But methoprene does far more than kill mosquito larvae: methoprene is highly toxic to some species of invertebrates. It’s lethal to crustacean larvae — immature lobsters and crabs — which is why Connecticut made its use illegal under most circumstances. What’s more, studies have shown that methoprene is believed to kill the larvae of certain other non-target insects, including dragonflies, which feed voraciously on mosquitoes. And, the chemical’s long-term effects on ecosystems and human health remain unstudied, which is a significant concern.

Methoprene is so widely recognized as toxic to lobsters — and suspected as one of the causes of the decline of the lobster fishery in Long Island Sound — that U.S. Senator Christopher Murphy of Connecticut and other top Connecticut officials asked Governor Andrew Cuomo to join Connecticut and ban its use on Long Island and New York. The governor has so far ignored the request.

Methoprene is a poison that has no place in our treasured local waters, which are under ever-increasing assault from surface and ground-source contamination due to human activity. Moreover, the spraying of methoprene has and continues to harm lobster and crab populations, living resources that are vital to our local economy, quality of life, and culture.

Stand against poisons in our beloved natural places, our bays and harbors. Join the fight against methoprene spraying on South Fork marshlands, beginning with Accabonac Harbor in Springs and Napeague Harbor in Amagansett, by signing this petition. Only through our sheer numbers followed by our plan to use this petition as a powerful political tool will we get the attention of county politicians to order a stop to the spraying and put an end to this wasteful, poisonous government program.

Note: The county is contemplating a temporary cessation of methoprene use on a small area of local marshlands to determine if the spraying has any measurable effect on mosquito populations. That’s not a commitment to stop spraying. Sign this petition to push for a broader ban and a long-term commitment to end the use of this pesticide in and around our waters.

Eliminating pesticide spraying is just the first step to building healthier marshlands that, among other things, includes measures that reduce nuisance mosquito populations.

Petition launched by
Biddle and Idoline Duke • Edwin von Gal • Mica Marder • Defend H20 • Accabonac Protection Committee

Springs, N.Y.

More info on methoprene: methoprene.info

Posted in Accabonac Protection Committee, East Hampton, Environment | 3 Comments

Punishing Students?

Posted on April 29, 2017 by David Posnett

Letter to the East Hampton Star

 

Dear David:

For the past eight years, I ran a non-profit that taught financial literacy. One of the most gnawing problems facing our young is the burden of student debt. Mr. Trump has made escaping the grip of this debt even harder.

For years, student loan guaranty agencies regularly assessed a 16% penalty on defaulting student borrowers, even if the borrowers agreed within 60 days to make good on their bad debts. In July 2015, the Obama administration declared those penalties unlawful. Under the Obama plan, as long as troubled student debtors agreed to make good on their debt in two months’ time or less—and kept those promises—the students would not have to pay the penalty.

The Trump administration had no such patience. The Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, recently rescinded the Obama grace period, instead ruling that those borrowers will be vulnerable to penalties if they default on privately held, government-backed student loans, even if they pledge to make good on what they owe.

However, an interesting twist revealed the facially punitive nature of Secretary Devos’ about-face. After an outcry ensued from consumer groups and Democratic lawmakers, the loan companies spoke out. All 26 loan companies that serve as middlemen for the Federal student loan program announced, against their self-interest, that they would not charge the penalty despite permission from Secretary DeVos.

Now, back to the swamp. The Obama plan prompted a lawsuit by United Student Aid Funds Inc., the nation’s largest guaranty agency.  At the time, the company was led by Bill Hansen. The legal battle continued until Secretary DeVos’s department put the matter to rest with the new guidance. The next day, one of her top deputies, Taylor Hansen, the son of Bill Hansen, resigned from his job. He had joined the department just a few weeks earlier.

Exactly who is draining what?

 

Sincerely,

 

Carol O’Rourke

Posted in Education, Student Debt, Student Loans | Tagged | 1 Comment

CRFB President: Trump’s Tax Plan Will Add $5.5 Trillion to the Debt

Posted on April 29, 2017 by David Posnett
This column first appeared in Time
Maya MacGuineas
Apr 27, 2017

Maya MacGuineas is president of the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

President Trump is on the right track by turning focus toward fixing our nation’s broken tax code. But so far, he is going about it all wrong.

We desperately need tax reform. True reform requires making the tough choices about what works and what doesn’t, not simply offering tax giveaways for all. Tax rate cuts are important and a driver of growth, but do not be hoodwinked: no way will they pay for themselves.

The President understands the challenges we face. Growth is sluggish; our 35% corporate tax rate is the highest in the developed world; our strategy for international taxation is a mess; and the income tax seems to get more complicated and opaque every year.
But these problems cannot be solved by simply lowering all businesses taxes to 15% while cutting taxes for individuals. In fact, the President’s current proposal is likely to worsen our country’s growth prospects by ballooning our record high national debt.

The President’s plan could add over $5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. As a result, debt would rise to a higher share of the economy than any time in history.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, in a Wednesday morning speech, said the proposed overhaul would amount to “the biggest tax cut” and the “largest tax reform” in U.S. history.
When it comes to tax cuts, there is always the free lunch crowd claiming if we cut taxes, they will pay for themselves through growth. Here in the real world, smart, pro-growth tax cuts can at best cover a fraction of their costs. In fact, large tax cuts can actually harm economic growth by creating a massive debt load.
So if the initial Trump offer is unaffordable, what should we do?
Step one is thoughtful and responsible business tax reform. The average corporate tax rate among wealthy countries is about 10 points below ours, putting them at a competitive advantage. America is the greatest economy in the world, and if we can get our corporate rate to 25 or even 28 percent, we’ll be the most competitive as well. We should finance those rate cuts by ending tax breaks that favor some businesses over others and distort business decision-making. We can also raise revenue by shifting taxation from mobile business entities to the shareholders who actually profit from corporate gains. We can cut the rate further with more aggressive payfors.
Step two is to clean up and simplify the individual tax code. Most of the nation’s $1.6 trillion of annual tax breaks go to individuals – largely to wealthier Americans and mostly in ways that add complexity and hurt economic efficiency. The more tax breaks we can repeal or reform, the better. Most of the revenue can go to cutting individual rates; some should go for deficit reduction. One idea worth trillions is a cap I developed with Marty Feldstein and Dan Feenberg to limit the total value of major tax preferences as a share of income. The Administration could keep all the tax breaks it wants to protect (like the mortgage deduction) but include it in this limit.
Step three is to reform our entitlement programs. Social Security, health, and interest spending are responsible for 82 percent of projected spending growth over the next decade; and both Social Security and Medicare are headed toward insolvency. Thoughtful reforms can improve health outcomes, encourage work, strengthen retirement security, and reduce the long-term debt all while protecting the most vulnerable.
The final step is to do everything else we can to encourage economic growth. While promises of 4 percent annual growth are pure fantasy, we need to get our growth rates well above 2 percent. That faster economic growth needs to be broadly shared so it lifts all incomes, improves everyone’s wealth, and helps our fiscal situation. To achieve faster growth, policymakers need to fire on all cylinders — pursuing reforms to taxes and entitlements but also regulations, immigration, federal investment, trade, and energy. A critical component of the growth agenda is to get our debt under control.

As a nation, we cannot pretend we can grow our way out of any hard choices.

But the President is right to focus on economic growth. If we don’t get our economy growing again, the American dream may be history.

 

Posted in economy, Tax Reform, Trump | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

GOP Rep [Zeldin] brushes off town hall mom pleading for help for her heroin-addicted son

Posted on April 29, 2017 by David Posnett
Published by ShareBlue Media
By Oliver Willis   |APRIL 28, 2017

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) refused to answer a mother after she pleaded with him to stop Donald Trump from gutting coverage for substance abuse treatment for her heroin-addicted son.

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) could not be bothered to address the concerns of a mother with a heroin-addicted son at a recent town hall meeting.

The woman explained to Zeldin that her son is addicted to heroin, and that she is pleading with him to oppose any possible changes to the health care system that would strip out treatment for addicts.

Zeldin’s response was minimal, and heartless.

WOMAN: I have a heroin addict as a son, and I would like to ask a question. Would you commit to fighting against a healthcare act that does not include mental health substance abuse treatment? (applause) I want it in the act! I want it in the program! Will you commit to that? He’s taking it out. We need it.

MODERATOR: So, there’s like 70 moderators in here.

WOMAN: We want an answer.

MODERATOR: Hold on. We’ll take this one and let him go ahead and discuss that. Then I’ve got to go back to the cards.

ZELDIN: There are amendments that are being discussed that have not yet been filed – okay. Now, okay, that’s fine. Now, okay. What’s the next question?

[AUDIENCE yells]

MODERATOR: Hey folks, if you all yell he can’t even hear me ask.

The Republican-backed American Health Care Act has a provision that would repeal the Obamacare provision which currently requires states that have enacted Medicaid expansion to cover addiction treatment services. Experts say that leaving such coverage up to states, which are often under a budget squeeze, makes the most vulnerable users suffer.

Instead of answering her — even by disagreeing with her — Zeldin simply smiled and waved the clearly anguished woman off, even though he has previously expressed support, with some reservations, for the bill.

Republicans were forced this week to delay a vote on the latest iteration of the bill, but Donald Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan, and other Republicans continue to insist they will repeal Obamacare, even though most Americans oppose such a move. Democrats have been unified in keeping the program in place, and it has risen in popularity.

And if Republicans cannot respond to concerns like those of this woman any better than Zeldin did, resistance to the repeal efforts will only continue to escalate.

Posted in Addiction, AHCA, Health Care, mental health, Zeldin | 1 Comment

Trump’s First 100 days: An appreciation

Posted on April 29, 2017 by David Posnett

An excellent column from one of my favorites at The Washington Post.
By Jonathan Capehart April 21

As we approach the 100th day of the chaos that is President Trump, I must admit things are going better than I thought.

See, I was one of those down-in-the-dumps Democrats devastated by The Donald’s victory. I thought all of the breathless thundering about resisting and the ill-advised “not my president” would give way to the usual progressive passivity. And I truly believed that the Women’s March on Washington, planned for the day after Trump’s inauguration, would be proof of it. Oh, how happy I was to be wrong. In fact, Democrats, progressives and all other Americans making their voices heard in opposition to the words and deeds of Trump have continued to prove me wrong.

One week after the women’s march, Trump issued his executive order banning refugees and migrants from seven majority Muslim nations from entry to the United States. The nation erupted in protest at airports and on streets across the country on Jan. 29. Here in Washington, the demonstrators came from everywhere to converge on the White House.

On Feb. 3, a federal judge in Washington State issued a temporary injunction against what many called Trump’s “Muslim ban.” The president’s arguments against the injunction were lost on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On Feb. 9,
a three-judge panel smacked down the administration’s arguments for reinstating its un-American and immoral travel ban.

Around the same time this was happening, protesters were starting to turn sleepy congressional town halls into fire-breathing civics lessons across the country. “The Indivisible Guide” provided the how-to’s. The heat of those gatherings plus the insanity of a Trumpcare bill that not even the far-right Freedom Caucus could support resulted in a shaming embarrassment for the president. On March 24, Trumpcare was pulled from the floor. A legislative victory for opponents of Trump.

During an interview on my podcast “Cape Up” this month, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) stressed the importance of that defeat for Trump. “It was such a victory to all of the protesters and all of the activists,” Bass said. “It’s very important for people to know that those demonstrations, those phone calls, those emails made a difference. It was their victory.”

Then came gains at the ballot box in Kansas and Georgia in April.

Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) gave up his seat to become the new CIA director. He’d just won reelection to his seat by 31 points over his Democratic opponent. The president won his district by 27 points. But on April 8, Kansas state treasurer Ron Estes only won the seat by seven points. A 24-point shift for Democrats, a New York Times graphic showed.

With 48.1 percent of the vote, Jon Ossoff (D) came up short of the 50 percent needed to outright win the “jungle primary” in Georgia’s sixth congressional district outright. But his showing was huge. Even though Trump won this district by one point, then- Rep. Tom Price (R), now health and human services secretary, won reelection to his seat in 2016 by 23 points. Oh, and no Democrat has held the seat since 1979.

Lots of folks, from the president on down, are trying to paint Ossoff’s shortfall as a total defeat. But when even Mark Levin, the infamous editor in chief of Conservative Review, raises alarm by calling the Georgia and Kansas races “the GOP’s ‘canary in a coal mine,’” things are going in your favor — with a healthy assist from a historically unpopular president.

Oh, did you know Democrats are cheering in Virginia over a special election there last

Tuesday? In the race for Prince William County clerk of court, Jackie Smith (D) defeated by eight points the commonwealth’s popular Republican and cash-rich House majority whip. The Post reports that political analysts say “the Democratic energy exposed by the campaign is a warning for Republicans in November, when the state will elect a new governor and all 100 members of the House of Delegates.” The story also highlights some commentary from a conservative writer.

“This election result should force every Republican running for election or reelection in Virginia to sit up and take notice,” Brian Schoeneman, editor in chief of the Bearing Drift conservative blog, wrote on Wednesday. “President Trump’s low approval ratings and the motivation his election has created among liberal and progressive activists has manifested itself in grass-roots organizing at a level we haven’t seen in Virginia from Democrats in a long, long time.”

I mention all of these things and the dates they happened to remind folks that opposing unethical, unconstitutional, un-American and immoral aspects of the Trump presidency is a marathon, not a sprint. Potential losing battles must be fought if only to highlight an important wrong and place a marker. Some defeats in the short term are more important for what they portend in the long run. But needed above all is sustained energy and focus.

“I actually give Donald Trump a little credit,” Eric Liu, author of “You’re More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen’s Guide to Making Change Happen,” told me in the next episode of “Cape Up.” “He is responsible for the greatest surge in civic participation in half a century.”

Not bad for the first 100 days.

 

Posted in Trump, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

Demise of Trumpcare on Steroids (AHCA II)

Posted on April 28, 2017 by David Posnett

There is a great article by MARGOT SANGER-KATZ in the NY Times today, which makes this complicated topic quite simple. This is about the amended AHCA (AHCA II) as dratted by Tom MacArthur, a New Jersey congressman. This legislation was meant to appease the hardline Freedom Caucus but of course it upset the moderates among the Republicans and was withdrawn last night to our relief. But I think we should still try to understand it!

AHCA II would set up a waiver program to allow states to eliminate three major insurance regulations established by Obamacare.

1) Essential Health Benefits

A basic set of benefits, including hospital care, prescription drugs and maternity care, that must be included in all health insurance.

2) Pre-existing conditions

A pillar of Obamacare that prevents health insurers from charging higher prices to customers with pre-existing conditions. Eliminating this requirement would be very unpopular and Donald Trump promised he would not do that during the campaign.

3) Age Rating

Rules about how much more insurance companies can charge older customers than younger ones. The Republican bill would shift the default from 3:1 to 5:1   which is bad enough, but now states could shift this ratio even further (say 10:1) so that older people pay 10x more than younger people for their health insurance.

AARP says that 40 percent of those between the ages of 50 and 64, or about 25 million people, have the kinds of pre-existing medical conditions that would put them at risk of losing affordable health insurance under this bill. The usually very conservative American Medical Association is even more pessimistic, predicting that the MacArthur amendment “could effectively make coverage completely unaffordable to people with pre-existing conditions.”

Clearly, lawmakers need to listen carefully to all the interested parties: hospitals, providers, insurance companies and patient advocates, before they come up with AHCA III!

 

Posted in American Health Care Act, Health Care, Medicaid, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Demise of Trumpcare on Steroids (AHCA II)

Endangering Our Kids

Posted on April 28, 2017 by David Posnett

Letter to the Editor:  Published in The East Hampton Star, April 27, 2017

 

Dear David:

In one of Kate McKinnon’s last appearances on Saturday Night Live as Hillary Clinton, she appeared at the door of an Electoral College voter. In an attempt to persuade the voter to vote for her instead of Mr. Trump, “Mrs. Clinton” warned “if Donald Trump becomes President, he’ll kill us all.”

Fast forward just three months. Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, has rejected conclusions of the EPA’s own scientists recommending that one of the nation’s most widely used insecticides be permanently banned.   Research by Columbia University found that the effects of the common insecticide, chlorpyrifos, could still be found in the brains of exposed young children even as they were approaching puberty. The study revealed that children exposed to chlorpyrifos in the womb had persistent changes in their brains throughout childhood, and exposure could cause significant health problems, including learning and memory declines. The use of chlorpyrifos in most household settings has been banned since 2000.

In rejecting these studies, which experts concluded was “pretty solid science,” Mr. Pruitt sided with Dow Chemical (the marketer of the pesticide) and large farming combines, which argued that the “solid” science demonstrating that chlorpyrifos caused such harm was inconclusive. Mr. Pruitt sought unconvincingly to justify his ruling by explaining that the agency desired to provide regulatory certainty to the makers and users of the pesticide by “returning to using sound science in decision-making” and paying lip service to the protection of citizens’ health and the environment. So, self-serving industry opinions trump empirical scientific studies – even when it comes to our health. It seems that when inconvenient truths get in the way of Mr. Trump’s agenda, they are no longer truths in his alternative universe.

Wash your apples.

Sincerely,

Carol O’Rourke

 

 

 

Posted in Environment, EPA, Health Care, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Endangering Our Kids

Offshore Drilling on the Horizon?

Posted on April 28, 2017 by David Posnett

Letter to the Editor

Published in The East Hampton Star, April 27, 2017

 

On Sunday, Guild Hall hosted a program concerned with the preservation of the waters surrounding the East End. Flanked by scientists supporting their efforts, Deputy Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc and County Legislator Bridget Fleming spoke of their accomplishments in and plans for protecting our marine environment. These efforts have been effective and, at this very moment, the work of our dedicated government could not be more important.

This week, after weeks of publicity, Mr. Trump will sign an executive order designed to rescind regulations adopted by the Obama administration banning offshore oil and gas drilling in dozens of canyons off the East Coast in an area extending from New England to Virginia. Mr. Trump’s order does the bidding of the fossil fuel interests by potentially making these areas open to offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling. The devastating spill in the Gulf of Mexico, caused by the negligence of the oil industry, offers a stark picture of the potential catastrophe posed by drilling off our coast.

Where are our congressmen? In the pockets of the fossil fuel interests. In February, both Lee Zeldin (our Congressman) and Peter King (from neighboring Nassau County) voted to allow coal mining companies to dump toxic coal residue in neighboring waterways. This is despite Mr. Zeldin’s empty boast to “work tirelessly … to protect our national treasures.” And, despite a promise to “protect Long Island’s waterways,” Mr. Zeldin has sat stone-faced in the face of Trump’s highly publicized intentions. And, this is despite his crowing about the need to protect the fishing industry. Yet to stand up to Mr. Trump, we should all expect Mr. Zeldin to cave to the fossil fuel industry (read donation dollars) and put our shoreline, and fishing industry, in peril.

The new GOP team that would like to govern our town also has failed to voice any opposition to Mr. Trump’s proposal, despite cloaking themselves in the garb of environmentalists. So, one can only assume by their silence they, too, are sycophants to the dictates of oil and gas interests. By their silence, we should also assume that their professed interest in environmental issues and the fishing industry is nothing more than political posturing.

I can think of no greater threat to our tourism and fishing industries, not to mention real estate values, than the sight of oil rigs on the horizon from our beaches or the devastation to the fishing grounds from an oil spill of any size.

Thankfully, there already is a group protecting our beautiful communities – It is the current Town Board (and Ms. Fleming). Trust what they have done as opposed to what the wannabes say. Actions do speak louder than words – or silence.

Sincerely.

Bruce Colbath

 

Posted in Environment, Offshore Drilling, science, Town Board, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Offshore Drilling on the Horizon?

Zeldin’s Membership in Bipartisan Climate Caucus a sham?

Posted on April 28, 2017 by David Posnett

By Marc Rauch, Bellport.

Lee Zeldin joined the Bi-Partisan Climate Solutions Caucus last October (just before the election) to great fanfare.  However, he failed to join other members of that caucus (including Republican members) in taking meaningful actions (e.g. votes on legislation, resolutions, public statements, letters to the White House, etc.) to protect our climate! So far Lee’s membership in the Climate Solutions Caucus appears to be basically a sham – he is a member in name only.

The latest example is this week’s bipartisan letter to President Trump on Paris, which Lee Zeldin conspicuously failed to sign.

Click here to view the full  Bipartisan letter to President Trump on the Paris agreement.

Representatives Carlos Curbelo (FL-26) Ted Deutch (FL-22), Co-Chairs of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, led a group of 19 other members of the Caucus in a letter to President Trump urging him to maintain our country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

“It is imperative that we maintain our seat at the table in global discussions of how to address the threats posed by climate change,” the members wrote. “The Paris Agreement gives us the chance to negotiate deals with other countries on greenhouse gas reductions and verify that everyone is keeping up with their pledges, without sacrificing our independence or self-interest.”

The letter later explains, “Remaining in the UNFCCC will strengthen American leadership on environmental stewardship and help transform today’s low-carbon investments into trillions of dollars of clean energy prosperity. Withdrawing would mean squandering a unique opportunity to promote American research, ingenuity, and innovation.”

The letter was signed by Representatives Curbelo, Deutch, Beyer (VA-8), Blumneauer (OR-3), Bonamici (OR-1), Boyle (PA-13), Carbajal (CA-24), Costello (PA-6), Crist (FL-13), Delaney (MD-6), Eshoo (CA-18), Fizpatrick (PA-8), Kuster (NH-2), Lipinski (IL-3), Lowenthal (CA-47), McNerney (CA-9), Meehan (PA-7), Moulton (MA-6), Peters (CA-52), Suozzi (NY-3), and Welch (VT).

Posted in climate change, Environment, EPA, Uncategorized, Zeldin | 1 Comment