COVID-19 & Healthcare

Democrats committed to protecting social security and Medicare, despite loose talk from David Plouffe

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

There was some consternation among liberals and progressives on Monday when word leaked that senior White House advisor David Plouffe was making noises again about a "grand bargain" and that Democrats would have to compromise on "entitlements." Top Obama Aide On Fiscal Cliff: "This Is Going To Get Hairy":

Obama senior adviser David Plouffe predicted that the fiscal cliff
negotiations are "going to get hairy" in the coming weeks, saying
President Barack Obama is committed to achieving the elusive "big deal"
on taxes and spending he and Speaker of the House John Boehner have
tried to strike for more than 18 months.

In post-election remarks
at the University of Delaware, Plouffe warned of "paralysis" if both
parties remain beholden to their base, saying Obama is looking for a
deal that sets the country on the right fiscal path for a 10- to 20-year
period.

"The only way that gets done is for Republicans again to
step back and get mercilessly criticized by Grover Norquist and the
Right, and it means that Democrats are going to have to do some tough
things on spending and entitlements that means that they'll criticized
on by their left," Plouffe said at his alma mater in conversation with
former McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt.

Tucson Black Friday Wal-Mart protest draws 50 activists, no strikers (video)

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J-m-p-s-157-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

Approximately 50 Tucson activists protested Wal-Mart's labor practices at a southside store on Black Friday.

The usual left-wing groups were represented– Jobs with Justice, Occupy Tucson, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), and college students. Who was absent? Wal-Mart workers and representatives of the United Food and Commercial Workers–the union that played an integral role in organizing the national day of protest. 

Although Wal-Mart is infamous for paying low wages, intimidating workers who want to unionize, discriminating against women in promotion practices, and avoiding offering health care insurance by manipulating employees' hours, the tipping point for yesterday's protest was requiring workers to start Black Friday work schedules on Thanksgiving at 8 p.m.

Video of the Tucson protest and other details after the jump.

Some reading for policy wonks on the Affordable Care Act regulations released on Tuesday

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Ezra Klein's Wonkblog at the Washington Post offers a series of posts in a summary of the Affordable Care Act regulations released on Tuesday. This should give you policy wonks something to read over the long Thanksgiving Day weekend. Wonkbook: Everything you need to know about Obamacare’s regulations:

Everything you need to know about Obamacare’s regulations

The Affordable Care Act regulations came down on Tuesday. Here’s what they say.
“The Obama administration took a big step on Tuesday to carry out the
new health care law by defining ‘essential health benefits’ that must be
offered to most Americans… Insurance companies are rushing to devise
health benefit plans that comply with the federal standards. Starting in
October, people can enroll in the new plans, for coverage that begins
on Jan. 1, 2014…The rules lay out 10 broad categories of essential
health benefits, but allow each state to specify the benefits within
those categories, at least for 2014 and 2015. Thus, the required
benefits will vary from state to state, contrary to what many members of
Congress had assumed when the law was adopted.” Robert Pear in The New York Times.

Read: The health regulations in the Federal Register.

Walmart, Papa Johns, & Hostess: Can capitalists afford to pay workers more? (video)

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Working-011-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

Except for a few bumps in the road– like the crash of worldwide financial markets and the colapse of the housing industry– capitalists have had a great run in the past decade.

Profits are at record levels. Wages are down– except for CEO pay, which averaged $9.6 million/year in 2011. The Supreme Court says corporations are people with the right of free speech and the right to buy elections. Humans are desperate for work worldwide.

And thanks to multinational expansion, the demise of manufacturing, and a barrage of attacks on unions, major US corporations can pick and choose workers from a worldwide buffet of skills and salaries.

So, if the capitalists are doing so well, why are they being so stingy with their workers? Find out after the jump.

What, did Obama give them Rolexes?

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by David Safier Mitt Romney only tells the truth when thinks he's among friends. Otherwise, he says what he thinks will get him what he wants. His "47 percent" remark, a spot-on description of his contempt for the "great unwashed," was intended for like-minded rich folk, but someone stuck a camera on a table and … Read more