Email to webmaster (Gene Lantz) Back to home page Back to Headlines
On July 12, the Executive Board of the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans conducted an open meeting at the Texas AFL-CIO building in Austin. The newly-elected President, Annie Banks of the American Federation of Teachers in Houston, opened the meeting at 11:40 AM.
The National Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) Field Mobilization Director Danielle Pere told the group about the terrific importance of the organized retiree vote in the 2008 elections. She said, "If we lose this election, it's because of seniors.... You are in play. Everything is open in this election, everything."
In the year 2000, Pere
explained, the AFL-CIO saw that active union membership was in decline, but
the numbers of union retirees continued to increase. She said, "Obviously,
that demographic is exploding with the retirement of the baby boomers."
National Field Mobilization Director Danielle Pere copies basic information from Texas Alliance for Retired Americans President Annie Banks
Going back even further in recent American history, Pere noted, "There has been a tremendous shift in the outlook of public policy." In the days of President Lyndon Johnson, retirement security, "...was all about expansion. How to improve and expand Medicare. How to expand Social Security. Policy at that time was about making sure everybody was covered and everybody had equal access."
However, "That mindset has changed." From expansion, government turned to dimunition of retiree security. They asked, "How can we cut off people from Medicare? How can we slowly but incrementally privatize the Social Security system?" The situation had become grim for America's retirees. "What we face now is truly 'death by a thousand cuts,'" said Pere.
The so-called "Medicare Modernization Act" had particularly bad effects for retirees. It promotes the idea that government is not as efficient as private corporations. It enabled private insurance companies to receive Medicare funding. Soon, the insurance companies' "Medicare Advantage" plans received more tax dollars than ordinary Medicare patients would get. It was pointed out from the audience that insurance companies also "cherry pick" the healthiest patients, thus gaining their own profits at everyone else's expense.
The good news, Pere said, was House Resolution 6331 which, on its second attempt, was passed through Congress the previous week. Pere said, "I am going to maintain that this legislation is just as historic." Not only would the bill, if not successfully vetoed by President Bush, restore Medicare cuts, but it would recover the money from insurance companies. If the Medicare cuts were somehow to remain in place, Pere said that large groups of American doctors would stop taking Medicare patients. The point was reinforced when a brother from the audience said that he had already received notice that his own doctor would stop taking new Medicare patients!
Dani Pere said that the most powerful lobby in Washington DC is pharmaceutical insurance companies. She referred the group to the ARA's legislative packet, which includes the votes of congresspersons on issues important to retirees. She encouraged everyone to review the past votes of candidates, particularly those now running for President of the United States, where there is an especially clear difference.
Brother Bobby Brown of Fort Worth made the point that threats to Social Security make it likely that our in-laws would move in with us! Several speakers talked about the importance of putting racial prejudice and other prejudices aside in selecting a presidential candidate, because of the tremendous importance of the November elections.
The Texas Senate race was emphasized, along with the State Board of Education. At the end of the meeting, the following resolution passed unanimously:
WHEREAS: The promises made to Texas retirees concerning our pensions, health care, and Social Security are being broken, and;
WHEREAS: Texas retirees are being put in an even more precarious economic condition by today's developments, and;
WHEREAS: Government has the power to restore cuts and enforce promises, and;
WHEREAS: This is an important election year for retirees, and;
WHEREAS: Texas retirees potentially constitute one of the largest and influential political forces in the state
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: We call on Texas retirees to take action, specifically:
1. By associating ourselves individually and in groups with the Alliance for Retired Americans, www.retiredamericans.org
2. By taking every opportunity to push retirees' issues through our communications and public actions such as rallies.
Harold
Shaffer, an experienced trade unionist from the Houston ship channel, sat by
the Texas AFL-CIO's new legislative director, Rene Lara. Retired and active
Texans expect to work closely together in 2008
Email to webmaster (Gene Lantz) Back to home page Back to Headlines