LOWERING CORPORATETAXES GOOD IDEA?

If everyone agrees that corporate taxes should be lowered, why isn’t there a deal? One reason is that many corporations, despite claims to the contrary, don’t mind a complex tax code with a high statutory rate — often because few large companies pay anything close to 35 percent. Multinationals avoid taxes by moving profits around their global subsidiaries. U.S.-based businesses hire huge teams of lawyers to navigate motley tax laws and widen every loophole. All politicians advocate eliminating these loopholes until it’s their constituents that benefit — in which case the loophole is renamed an “incentive.”

Census 2010

Some common problems when
filling out U.S. census forms,
which arrive by mail beginning
Monday:March 15, 2010
Ready for the 2010 census?
Forms start arriving today
.—HOUSEHOLD AND RESIDENCE:
These are determined by where
people live or sleep most of
the time as of April 1.
Household members should
include babies born on or
before April 1, 2010, as
well as non-U.S. citizens.
The rationale is that cities
and states should receive
federal money to support
everyone who uses their public
roads, schools and other programs.
College students who live away
from home and U.S. military
personnel who live in barracks
are tallied in those places.
If you have more than one home,
completely fill out the form
for your primary residence.
For the second home, mark "0''
for number of residents and
indicate you live elsewhere.
Doing that may help avoid
costly visits from a census taker.
For divorced parents who have
shared custody of a child,
indicate where a child usually
lives. If custody is split equally,
the child's residence is where he
or she is on April 1.

—RACE AND ETHNICITY: If no box
exists that describes yourself,
or with the level of specificity
you prefer, write it in the space
marked for "other race."
For example,
some Caribbean-Americans
plan to check the box for
"black, African Am., or Negro"
and then write in their ancestry.
Multiracial people might check
several race categories or write
in "multiracial," depending on
how they self-identify.
The labels do make a difference,
because census results will be

used to redraw congressional
districts with racial and ethnic
balance.

—INTERNET OPTION: There is none.
Census officials in 2008
determined that submitting
census data through the
Internet posed too large
a risk for security breaches.
The Census Bureau is testing
Web options for 2020, but for
now information must be
provided on official forms
and mailed or submitted
to a census taker.

—"LONG FORM": This year's census
is only 10 questions. Previously,
1 in 6 households — roughly
20 million — received a
detailed census questionnaire
called the "long form" that
asked about income, disability,
commuting, education level
and other characteristics.
After 2000, the long form was
eliminated and replaced by
the American Community Survey,
which is sent to about three
million households each year.
If you get an ACS form, the
Census Bureau asks you fill
out both surveys.

—MISSING FORMS: If you don't
receive a census form,
Census Bureau director
Robert Groves advises
that people wait until
April 12 to allow time
for it to arrive. After
April 12, people may
call the census help
line at 1-866-872-6868.
In rural parts of Alaska,
census information was
collected door-to-door
starting in January.
In addition,
about 12 million
addresses, mostly in rural
areas and Gulf Coast areas
affected by Hurricane Katrina,
began receiving hand-delivered
forms on March 1.

Health Care Overhaul

House members voted 219-212
late Sunday to approve the
health care overhaul that
would extend coverage to 32
million uninsured Americans.
It also would significantly
expand Medicaid, the
federal-state health care
program for the poor; place
new federal regulations on
the insurance industry; and
allow parents to keep children
up to age 26 on their family
insurance plans.

Most Americans would have to
buy insurance or face penalties.
There would be subsidies to help
families with incomes of up to
$88,000 a year pay their premiums.

Universal Health Care

Health Reform Passes: It's Impact for Massachusetts
Mon, March 22, 2010 12:33:56 PMFrom: Mass-Care Announce Add to Contacts
To: Mass-Care Announce


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Single Payer Supporters - Late last night the House passed health reform into law, along with a "reconciliation" bill that the Senate is expected also to pass along party lines this week. What does this mean for the movement to make health care a right in Massachusetts, and how should single payer advocates respond? Millions of uninsured residents in other states will receive life-altering assistance, and the prescription drug 'donut hole' faced by seniors under Medicare will be closed over time - it's important not to understate what a victory this is for many of our supporters and allies. However, the law will create winners and losers. It contains no meaningful cost controls; the tax on workplace health benefits used to pay for the law will serve as a powerful driver towards universal underinsurance; and Massachusetts in particular will be a 'net loser' under the law, as many of its benefits are already in place here and we will be paying more under the new taxes than most states.

The bill is projected to cover 32 million uninsured people by 2019... However, by 2016 - if health costs and income continue to rise as they have been - the average cost of a family health insurance plan will consume 34% to 45% of an average family income! We know that this is not conceivable for a household budget or for a business that offers coverage to its workers. This tells us something important: we will HAVE to have another major health reform debate - one that does not ignore costs, and does not just shift them onto patients - way before the bill that just passed has been fully implemented. We also know that there is no country on earth, or any region of any country on earth, that has successfully controlled costs without a single payer system or regulations so stringent that private insurers are forced to behave like a single payer system.

This cost crisis will likely reach a head in Massachusetts, where we have the highest health care costs in the nation, before anywhere else. The debate here on how to control health care costs before our health care system implodes will be a crucial moment for the single payer movement to mobilize and ensure that we get health reform that works.

_______________________________________________
Mass-Care: The Massachusetts Campaign for Single Payer Health Care
33 Harrison Ave - 5th floor
Boston, MA 02111
Ph: 617-723-7001
Fx: 617-723-7002
Em: info@masscare.org

10 year Health Care Plan

President Barack Obama is putting forward a nearly $1 trillion, 10-year health care plan that would allow the government to deny or roll back egregious insurance premium increases that infuriated consumers.

Posted Monday morning on the White House Web site, the plan would provide coverage to more than 31 million Americans now uninsured without adding to the federal deficit.

It conspicuously omits a government insurance plan sought by liberals.

But it's uncertain that such an ambitions plan can pass, since Republicans are virtually all opposed and some Democrats who last year supported sweeping health care changes are having second thoughts. After a year in pursuit of his top domestic priority, Obama may have to settle for a modest fallback.

Transportation in Malden

HALMARK HAS STEPPED UP WITH A GRANT TO SCM FOR TRANSPORTATION TO THEIR
FACILITIES WHEN THEY ARE OVERBOOKED AT THE MALDEN SENOR COMMUNITY
CENTER THIS IS A FIRST STEP FOR MENDICAL APPOINTMENTS
WE SHOULD NEED THE WINCHESTER HOSPITAL AND THE CAMBRIDGE ALLIANCE
GROUP TO STEP UP WITH SENIOR TRANSPORTATION. MSAC SHOULD ADVISE THE
COMMUNITY ABOUT THE RIDE AND THE NON-PROFITS SERVICING THE ELDERLY
SHOULD BE MADE AWARE OF WHAT IS AVAILABLE AND STEP INTO THE BREECH FOR
ALL NEEDS FOR TRANSPORTATION OF THE EDERLY AND DISABLED. A LIITLE
PUBLICITY IN THE MALDEN OBSERVER SEEMS TO GET ACTION.
WE AT MSAC ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE PROMISISED SHUTTLES TO AND FROM
THE SENIOR CENTER.
Malden seniors unsatisfied with public transportation options
By Rich Tenorio / malden@cnc.com
Thu Mar 05, 2009, 04:57 PM EST
Tools:
PrintCommentsShareThisStumbleUpon Newsvine del.icio.us Digg
Malden - Transportation issues are at the heart of a Malden senior’s
frustration with the city he calls home.

Howard McGowan, the Metro North membership coordinator for the Mass.
Senior Action Council (MSAC), has protested what he describes as
insufficient access to the new senior center on Washington Street, as
well as a lack of adequate transportation opportunities for seniors to
medical appointments.

“There are two issues,” McGowan said in an interview with the Observer
on Monday. “We want to be able to enjoy the senior center, and to see
that we get transportation to medical facilities.”

Located on 7 Washington St., the center held an opening celebration on
January 24, with MSAC members from the Cambridge, North Shore and
Metro North chapters attending. McGowan, however, said that since
then, seniors who rely on public transportation to get to the center
may find access too difficult.

“If you don’t have transportation, you can’t get there,” said McGowan,
an 84-year-old World War II veteran who now lives on Pleasant Street.
“Once they took the (MBTA) buses off Florence Street and took the bus
stop away from the senior center, you have to walk across a state
highway or across Florence Street, a dangerous section.

“We took somebody from the mayor’s office and showed them how far it
is to walk from the bus stop. There’s a hill, and you have to walk
from the Stop & Shop way down on Route 60. They promised they would
put on a shuttle bus.”

McGowan said that bus routes and stops were changed about a year and a
half ago, “just about the time they were building the senior center,
which is what got us so upset. The bus came right down Main Street and
Pleasant Street.”

However, Debbie Burke, a spokesperson for Mayor Richard Howard, said
that the center is accessible.

“It’s still within walking distance,” she said. “You can take the bus
to the MBTA station. It’s right around the corner. As far as we’re
concerned, it remains accessible by public transportation or car.”

Burke also said that “ridership counts on (bus) routes are really
dwindling,” and that the center has on-street parking as well as lots
on Dartmouth and Florence streets, adding that next year there will be
an additional lot on Pleasant Street.

McGowan has also called for more ways for seniors to get to medical
appointments.

“The Medical Service transportation for Hallmark Medical sites is
handled at the Malden Senior Community Center and is overwhelmed and
overbooked,” he wrote in a mass e-mail on February 14, citing “turn
downs growing (personal experience).”

On Monday, McGowan said, “At the senior center we get transportation
for medical (purposes) backed by Hallmark Health, but they’ll only
take you to Hallmark facilities.”

He added, “It takes an hour, you have to make arrangements, and they
can only do one per hour. It used to be one per half-hour.” And, he
said, “There is no transportation from senior housing for people who
can’t get down. A lot of people can’t go on public transportation.
People who have to go to Winchester Hospital for Blue Cross — there’s
no transportation out there.”

McGowan and Burke both mentioned other transportation opportunities
for seniors. One is the MBTA Ride program, which requires registration
on an individual basis and which takes seniors to medical
appointments. Another is SCM (Somerville-Cambridge-Medford), an
organization that provides shopping trips for eligible seniors as well
as some medical trips. Burke also said that through the efforts of
human services director Chris DiPietro, there is a van that makes some
shopping trips for seniors.

In the end, whether it’s getting to the Senior Center or getting to a
medical appointment, the main point seems the same.

“It makes it hard for people if they can’t get transportation,” McGowan said.

. Comment refer to web page
http://maldentax.blogspot.com/2009/03/here-we-go-again.html


MTFA
CMurphy1 month ago
Report AbuseWho is this Debbie Burke person, and how old is she? And
does she actually ride public transit? I would really like to know. I
am not a senior myself, but I can see the difficulty in her suggestion
that seniors take the bus to the Malden Center T stop, and go *just
around the corner* to the senior center.

The problem with this is that they would have to cross
Florence/Commercial Street to get there. Anyone remember the old
*Frogger* video game? Well, crossing that street on foot is like being
the *frog* in a game of human Frogger. It's hard enough for an
able-bodied person who can move quickly, but if you're an older person
who can't move so fast, you may well become road pizza. There are a
lot of crazies on the roads.

Heck, often I have to stop at the crosswalk in front of 630 Salem
Street to let some elderly person get across, and some jerk behind me
is blowing their horn to try to get me to move. I may care about our
seniors, but most younger people here do not.

As for Ms. Burke's comments about parking...can I drum it into her
head once again...MANY SENIORS HERE DO NOT HAVE CARS. So what the heck
is the use of parking lots, when the people that this place is
supposed to serve do not drive?

Don't even get me started about the transportation to medical
appointments thing. Even if these people CAN get a bus to their
appointments, good luck in getting on the bus, or, if they do get on,
getting a seat. When I used to ride the bus, I had the misfortune of
having to ride when the teen thugs from the high school were on.
They'd crowd the bus, refuse to move to the rear, and if the driver
thought the bus was too crowded, they'd just refuse to stop for
people.

There used to be this elderly man who'd get on the bus at the stop in
front of Vinnie's Pizza on Salem Street, he had medical appointments
to get to. He must have been 90 if he was a day, walked with a cane,
and when he'd get on the bus full of teen thugs, NOT ONE OF THEM would
give him a seat. I didn't have a seat to give him myself. We adults
would try to shame the brats into giving the man a seat, but they just
laughed and spewed obscenities at us. The bus driver did nothing.

I also think Hallmark Health is lousy, we've had nothing but bad
experiences with them, their doctors, and hospitals, and seniors need
to have a choice. Just because people can't drive doesn't mean they
deserve substandard treatment, health care, etc.

My husband and I would rather die young than have to retire in Malden,
if this is what they think of senior citizens.. We can't afford to
move now, but we are working on being able to do so long before we get
to that age. Mayor Howard may think he's all that for opening the new
senior center, but I think he's just a rich jerk who is out of touch
with the working class and senior people here.

Don't get me started about the garbage tax...but that's O/T, so I'll stop now.


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Howard McGowan
MaldenSenior

CHECKLIST UTILITY CONSUMERS

CHECKLIST OF KEY PROTECTIONS FOR UTILITY CONSUMERS

1. SERIOUS ILLNESS: ALWAYS ask your client if there is ANY person in the household (adult or child) who has a serious illness. Utilities cannot shut off (and must restore) utility service if anyone in the house has a serious illness. An illness can be physical (pneumonia, etc.) or mental (depression, bipolar, ADHD), short-term (e.g., flu) or long-term (cancer). The utility company does NOT get to decide what is a serious illness. All you need is a letter from a doctor. A phone call from the doctor to the company is initially ok, if later followed by a letter. We should expect and demand that utility service be restored the same day (at worst, the next day) whenever we document a serious illness, by phone, fax or letter from a doctor. You will also need to document that the client has a “financial hardship” in paying bills. The regulations are 220 CMR 25.03 (see #8 below). Any client who receives LIHEAP (fuel assistance) is automatically presumed to have a financial hardship.

3. CHILD UNDER 12 MONTHS: ALWAYS ask if there is a child under the age of 12 months in the household. A utility company cannot terminate service if there is a young child in the home, and must restore service that has been terminated if the child was in the home at or prior to the time of termination. The child’s age can be documented by birth certificate, baptismal certificate, or any other reasonable means. “Financial hardship” must also be shown. 220 CMR 25.03 (see #8 below).

4. WINTER MORATORIUM: Utilities cannot terminate service that is heat-related (meaning: natural gas service, if used to heat the home; or electricity, if the tenant pays for heat because electricity is needed for furnace/boiler controls) between Nov. 15 and Mar. 15, if the household has a “financial hardship.” These dates are often extended to April 15 or April 30. 220 CMR 25.03 (see #8 below).

5. ELDERLY CLIENTS: If every person in the household is age 65 or over, the company needs the explicit approval of the DPU to terminate service, which is almost never granted. ALWAYS notify the company if everyone in the household is age 65 or over. If service has been terminated, it should be restored. 220 CMR 25.03 (see #8 below).

6. DISCOUNT RATES: ALWAYS determine if your client is on the low-income discount rate. However, many clients will not know. When in doubt, call the company to see if your client is on the rate. It’s very easy for the company to check. Many advocates have been able to get their clients on the rate retroactively to the date that the client became income eligible. This can be extremely helpful if the client has been terminated and owes a large amount because a retroactive adjustment will reduce or eliminate the arrearage. However, get advice from NCLC if you are trying to do this. Discount rates are mandated by law, and all companies have them. Clients on LIHEAP and with income at or below 200% of poverty are eligible for the discount and will usually get the discount automatically via the fuel assistance agency notifying the utility (but worth checking). Clients on TAFDC, Food Stamps, Mass Health, WIC, and other income-tested programs with income at or below 200% of poverty are also eligible, but may have to apply to the utility directly; some of these are being automatically enrolled as of 2005. Some of the companies post their discount rate applications on the web).

7. PAYMENT PLANS: ALL clients are entitled to PAYMENT PLANS. This allows a client who is behind on her bills to spread the payments over several months. If the client has NOT yet been terminated, the company MUST offer a payment plan of AT LEAST four months. Some payment plans go 12 months or longer. If the client has been terminated, the rules are not as favorable, and are strictest during the fall (because the winter moratorium is about to begin and companies are most aggressive in trying to shut off service). ALWAYS insist on a payment plan that your client can afford. 220 CMR 25.01(2), 25.02(6).

8. GO TO http://www.mass.gov/Eoca/docs/dte/cmr/220cmr2500.pdf AND BOOKMARK THIS PAGE. (If you don't know how to bookmark, ask someone in your office). This page includes the most relevant state regulations governing the billing and termination practices of utility companies. In this Checklist, the regulations are referred to as “220 CMR, (section #)” because these regulations are found in Title 220 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations.

9. If you have trouble getting a utility to comply with any of the protections or programs described above, call the DPU’s Consumer Division at 800 392-6066. The front-line phone representative should intervene on your client’s behalf. If not, ask to speak to his or her supervisor. Ultimately, you can speak to Karen Robinson, Director of the Consumer Division. If you need to take the complaint this far, contact Charlie Harak (see below).



Charles Harak, Esq.
National Consumer Law Center
77 Summer Street, 10th flr.
Boston, MA 02110-1006
617 542-8010 (voice)
617 542-8028 (fax)
charak@nclc.org

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages

Fannie and Freddie of effectively buying off activist groups by making charitable contributions to them. By providing much-needed grant money to the nonprofit groups, it made it hard for them to criticize the mortgage titans, said Jonathan GS Koppell, an associate professor at the Yale School of Management

Caring for America Elders‏
From: Howard McGowan (maldensenior@gmail.com)
Sent: Wed 4/16/08 7:51 PM
To: Malden asst to Mayor Debbie Burke (dburke@cityofmalden.org); Pam Edwards (topamedwards@hotmail.com)
Cc: Hcmgowan@hotmail.com

I hope you have looked over the Geriatric Center material that I left with you. This information plus a worksheet have been furnished to all the City Councilors (Now they don't need to "be in the dark" need more information etc.
When I was at the Statehouse for "Senior Action Day{ I was able to talk to M Festa the Secretary of Elder Affairs after he informed the assembled that he was funnelling money directly to the council on aging for general support of the Senior Centers and a travel program for Seniors. I invited him to the Senior Center when it opens to let him know we are getting the church ready. I cleared it with Chis DePietro on return
I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO SEE THE MAYOR as soon as the dust clears on the city hall issue. MSAC have some Senior issues to discuss regarding the Senior Center and their concerns. Hope we have your support!
We need better service from the non-profits charged with serving Malden
Here is what is happening on the national level.:
1. Sen. Boxer Introduces Health and Long-Term Care Workforce Bill
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced S. 2708, the Caring for an Aging America Act, on March 5. The bill would address the emerging gap between the increasing number of older Americans and the serious lack of providers trained in caring for their medical, health, and social support needs. NCOA supports the proposal.
The bill would provide $130 million over five years to recruit and retain trained healthcare professionals and direct-care workers by providing them with loan forgiveness and career advancement opportunities. Specifically, the legislation would:
• Establish a Geriatric and Gerontology Loan Repayment Program for health professionals who complete specialty training in geriatrics or gerontology and agree to provide full-time clinical practice and service to older adults for a minimum of two years.
• Expand eligibility for the Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program to include registered nurses who complete specialty training and provide nursing services to older adults in long-term care settings.
• Offer specialty training in long-term care services through the existing Career Ladders Grants Program.
• Create a Health and Long-Term Care Workforce Advisory Panel for an Aging America to identify incentives for recruitment and retention of new populations of clinicians and providers to serve vulnerable older adults

Howard McGowan
349 Pleasant Street
Malden Ma 02148
781 324 8076