MO Alliance for Retired Americans National Call-In Day, Wednesday, December 5th NO CUTS TO Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid! Negotiations in Congress are under way right now to reduce the federal deficit. Retirees need to act quickly and in a loud voice to tell Congress not to balance the budget on the backs of retirees who have earned their guaranteed benefits after a lifetime of hard work. Call: 888-659-9401 Tell Congress: 1. No benefit cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. 2. No more tax cuts for the richest 2% of Americans. Time is short. Politicians and special interests are demanding deep cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid – all to guarantee more big tax breaks for the wealthy and Wall Street. We need to protect what we’ve earned. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Guest commentary: How the ACA helps seniors

Guest commentary: How the ACA helps seniors

click link

snip

Medicare is a cornerstone of the American middle class. Before it was passed, half the seniors in the country had no health insurance. Today, nearly all are covered. Medicare is one of our nation's greatest success stories, rooted in shared American values of hard work and fiscal responsibility. For decades, a worker pays a small portion of each paycheck to Medicare for the peace of mind of knowing that he will have access to affordable medical care in retirement. The new law strengthens Medicare and protects the middle class from the self-interest and arbitrariness of the private health insurance industry. Repealing the law weakens Medicare and weakens the middle class.

But seniors care about more than just themselves. We care about our country and its future. The new health care law allows our grandchildren to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26, protecting them as they try to land a job with benefits. We are happy that our children's health no longer is hostage to insurance companies discriminating against those with pre-existing conditions or finding loopholes to cancel coverage when people need it most. We are delighted that 30 million more Americans will be able to afford health care coverage. By upholding the law, the high court has guaranteed that families of all ages will remain free from the fear that they will go bankrupt when someone gets sick.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/guest-commentary-how-the-aca-helps-seniors/article_610d7c4d-30bb-5991-85e5-de4a07930bef.html#ixzz20SFCuQrq

Letters to the editor, October 22 What democracy looks like

Letters to the editor, October 22

from listings at Post:

What democracy looks like

Like many Americans, I am fascinated by the scale and scope of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Earlier this month, I had an opportunity to spend time at Zuccotti Park in New York, the very catalyst for the 99 percent movement now sweeping the world.

Occupy Wall Street is an unaffiliated group of concerned citizens who united around the principle that they would not remain passive as the elite (1 percent monopoly capitalists) continue to run amok, tampering with money and lives. The group consists of individuals, organized labor, student groups, social justice organizations and organizations from a wide political spectrum. In their Principles of Solidarity, they explain that they came from all across the country to protest the blatant injustices of our times perpetuated by the economic and political elites.

These 1 percent elites brought the entire country to the brink of bankruptcy and plunged us all into a recession from which we may not recover for many years. Yet, instead of jail, these lords of finance were bailed out with taxpayer's dollars. Major corporations have outsourced and off-shored jobs while receiving tax incentives, leaving millions of Americans without jobs, wages and benefits. Millions have been forced into poverty.

The 99 percent of the people want what everybody wants: the ability to have a home, to make a livelihood, to have a family, to live free. They are protesting for the most basic rights as citizens: to convene, to express themselves and to be heard. They want jobs. They want retirement security. All working Americans want the $2.6 trillion Social Security surplus fund to be used as intended. Seniors and the disabled want no cuts to Medicare or Medicaid.

Organized labor, always in the forefront of the struggle for jobs and economic justice, has endorsed the occupation of Wall Street and promise continued support and backing of the movement of the 99 percent. Seniors and retirees across the country are playing key roles as well. To those brave men and women at Zuccotti Park and around the world, you are what democracy looks like!

Earline Jones • Bridgeton

Retired CWA, Missouri Alliance for Retired Americans, Education Fund

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_5ed00588-b594-5ece-805f-a85440c9a94f.html#ixzz1bc7jhICB

Social Security 76thAnniversary Keeping the Promise to All Generations St, Louis

You are invited - please share. Thank you.


a Forum

Social Security 76thAnniversary
Keeping the Promise to All Generations

Social Security is one of America's most successful programs and is a promise that must
not be broken. As the national debate about America's safety net programs continues,
join us to learn about the proposed cuts to Social Security and the shrinking middle
class. The potential cuts to Medicare and Medicaid will also be discussed.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The Ethical Society of St. Louis
Assembly Hall
9001 Clayton Road
St. Louis, MO 63117

Featuring: Sarah Meek, Alliance for Retired Americans, DC
Ruth Ehresman, Missouri Budget Project
Betty Reinsch, Gateway Grandparents Kinship Network

Light Refreshments will be provided
This event is free
To Reserve a Seat contact:
Judith Parker @ 314-965-5352
moara@ymail.com

The Missouri Alliance for Retired Americans Education Fund is a non-partisan, non-profit
organization. All memberships and donations are tax deductible.


Judith Parker
Consultant, Field Mobilization
Missouri Alliance for Retired Americans
3301 Hollenberg Drive
Bridgeton, MO 63044
(314)291-8666

Ed Coyle testifies before Fiscal Commission --social security

RetiredAmericans | July 11, 2010 is the source

Ed tells it like it is. None of us is going to support social security cuts, we didduring Regan era.

ARA townhall in Hazelwood (St. Louis) today

Today several members of our Soar group attended the Alliance for Retired American's townhall in North county. Several politicans and spokesfolks were there including Representative William Lacy Clay. There was a good sampling of the area's retiree community in attendance, very good sampling.

Excellent meeting and a lot of information was passed to the group. Teabaggers? Missing in Action for they were not there; inside or out.

Yellow?

Union folks have low tolerence for fools disrupting events; very low. Tea Party disruptions happen at "soft targets" and by that I mean events that there is high visibility and little real danger of confrontation. Cowards, perhaps; but Tea bag folks are not overly stupid. Sad, so many of the teabaggers are led by what appears to be folks with ties to insurance companies and other healthcare businesses.

Today was a victory for rational folks seeking information and dialogue with their representatives. ARA deserves the thanks of all retirees and most certainly has the thanks of Soar 11-3.