This week, Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives expressing clear opposition to using the chained CPI method to calculate cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for Social Security benefits. In light of recent budget proposals that include chained CPI, it is crucial that Rep. Cicilline’s resolution receives a high level of support. More than 2,600 members of the Alliance have already contacted their Members of Congress asking them to co-sponsor the resolution. The Cicilline resolution is H. Con. Res. 34 and has 81 co-sponsors listed here.(Rep. Cicilline pictured at right with Rhode Island Alliance President John... Continue reading

The Alliance released a statement this week regarding legislation that lowers prescription drug prices. In a response to the federal government paying unconscionably high drug prices for dual-eligibles on Medicare, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced a bill on Tuesday to require drug companies to provide discounts for low-income Medicare beneficiaries, as they currently do under Medicaid. The Alliance strongly supports Sen. Rockefeller’s legislation, S. 740, which would save taxpayers and Medicare beneficiaries billions of dollars. After passage of the Medicare prescription drug law in 2003, drug companies received windfalls worth billions of dollars, as a result of no longer applying... Continue reading

Alliance chapters in several states held events centered on health care this week. The list included - but was not limited to - Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico. Missouri Alliance members joined friends in holding a Medicaid expansion and lobby event at the Capitol in Jefferson City on Tuesday. Missourians lobbied for a bill that would provide FULL Medicaid Expansion, to 138% of the federal poverty level. The same day, Ohio Alliance seniors came together with other activists at the statehouse in Columbus in an effort to fund health coverage for an additional 275,000 Ohioans with their state budget.... Continue reading

This week, coinciding with Tax Day, the AFL-CIO released Executive PayWatch 2013, a comprehensive searchable database tracking the excessive pay of corporate CEOs. The CEOs of the top 500 companies now make an average of 354 times the average wage of a U.S. worker; this income inequality has significantly worsened in the last 30 years. In 1982, top CEOs made only an average of 42 times the average wage of a US worker. To view the database and compare your own pay to that of a CEO, click here. “In order to enjoy a secure retirement, Americans must receive a... Continue reading

According to the Social Security Administration, increasing numbers of retirees have been claiming early Social Security benefits since the economic recession began in 2008, likely because of increasing unemployment and difficulty finding work. In 2007, 33.5% of men and 36.3% of women claimed early benefits at age 62. Only two short years later, in 2009, 35.8% of men and 38.9% of women claimed early benefits. Barbara Easterling, President of the Alliance for Retired Americans said, “This data is a clear illustration that raising the eligibility age for Social Security would be devastating for seniors.” SSA report here. Continue reading

The Alliance invites you to watch the new PBS documentary “Age of Champions” for free from April 18th - 28th, here. Age of Champions tells the story of five competitors who sprint, leap, and swim for gold at the National Senior Olympics. You’ll meet a 100-year-old tennis champion, 86-year-old pole vaulter, and rough-and-tumble basketball grandmothers as they triumph over the limitations of age. The film premiered to a standing ovation at the Silverdocs Film Festival. The Washington Post hailed it as “infectiously inspiring,” and it’s already shown at more than 1,000 venues around the world. Invite your family, friends, and... Continue reading

According to a new study from the Washington University School of Medicine, eye drops intended to lower cholesterol could have an additional effect – curing macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness in Americans over the age of 60. The study found that the eye drops successfully cure macular degeneration in mice. This research still needs to be tested in humans, but it could potentially have an impact on how macular degeneration is treated. CBS News’ write up of the study. Although research is still in the early stages, it is encouraging. Finding a successful cure for macular... Continue reading

The 11 largest drug companies took $711.4 billion in profits over the past 10 years, according to an analysis of corporate filings by Health Care for America Now (HCAN). The global pharmaceutical industry derived much of that profit from the significant charges to the Medicare Part D prescription drug program for seniors and people with disabilities. Thanks in part to inflated costs paid by the Part D program, the 11 drug companies booked $76.3 billion in profits in 2006 – an extraordinary 34 percent increase from the previous year, when Part D was not yet in place. Medicare — the... Continue reading

Tuesday marked Equal Pay Day. The date symbolizes the day in the New Year that women have to work to match the income their male counterparts made in the previous year. Women are about 2/3 of minimum wage workers in this country, and more than half of women are the sole or an essential supporter of their families. “Women are disproportionately dependent on Social Security – we work longer hours at less pay; we have less savings at the end of their working lives; we are more likely to work in jobs that don’t offer pensions or healthcare or even... Continue reading

The Alliance joined the broad Strengthen Social Security coalition Tuesday at the White House to deliver 2.3 million petitions against the proposal to change the Social Security cost of living adjustment (COLA) to the chained CPI formula, which would cut benefits for current and future beneficiaries. President Obama’s budget released Wednesday outlines over $4 trillion in deficit reduction, but headlines centered around his first-ever proposal to cut Social Security. Tuesday’s action was widely covered in the media. Tens of millions of workers, seniors and disabled veterans were represented. Their message: “We must not balance the budget on the backs of... Continue reading

Alliance members scheduled over 70 district meetings with their elected officials for this week’s President’s Day Lobby Week. The appointments came as the Senate is set to vote next week - right after the Congressional recess ends - on a plan to stop the March 1 sequester (automatic budget cuts) without harming Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. On February 14, Senate Democrats released their plan to avert the sequester for the rest of the year — it contains $110 billion in deficit reduction, evenly divided between spending cuts and new revenues. During Lobby Week, Alliance members have been asking senators... Continue reading

Today, several New Hampshire Alliance members were among the 50 protesters who confronted CEO and “Fix the Debt” Leader David Cote over corporate tax breaks in Manchester, NH on Monday. Cote, president of Honeywell International, sat on the president’s Simpson-Bowles National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, and has advocated lowering the cost-of-living adjustments of Social Security recipients or raising the age of eligibility. “Instead of reducing the deficit on the backs of working Americans, corporations should pay taxes like the rest of us,” said Charlie Balban, president of the New Hampshire Alliance. Nashua Telegraph truthout New Hampshire Labor News Continue reading

Please join with the Alliance in making a financial contribution to help support American Crystal Sugar workers who have been locked out by a management determined to increase their health care costs and outsource their work. American Crystal’s CEO Dave Berg, who was paid nearly $2.5 million in 2011, has publicly referred to his employees who belong to the Bakery workers union as a “cancerous tumor” on the company. The AFL-CIO has launched a nationwide consumer boycott of American Crystal Sugar products. To join with the Alliance in supporting these workers, please click here. Continue reading

Last Thursday, Alliance members joined activists and allies at over 40 events across the country – urging Members of Congress to keep the promises they made during the election season – to expire the Bush Tax Cuts for the top 2% and protect the promises of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Please click here to join us in pledging to DO WHAT IT TAKES to inspire our elected leaders to follow through on their promises to protect our vital programs and expire the Bush Tax Cuts. The election is behind us but the threat is ahead. In order to avoid... Continue reading

Protesters all across the U.S. gathered on Wednesday outside congressional offices and released short web advertisements targeting Republican economic plans. The protests attacked the Romney-Ryan Plan to make permanent the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% of Americans. GOP lawmakers who recently voted to extend the tax cuts were also targeted. The protesters brought with them large five-foot wide checks demonstrating the large sums that would be given to millionaires and billionaires if the Bush tax cuts were extended. The ads and protests were organized by groups including the Alliance for Retired Americans, Americans for Tax Fairness Action Fund,... Continue reading

by John A. Pernorio and John J. Pernorio. John A. Pernorio is the President of the Rhode Island Alliance for Retired Americans. As a Grandfather and Father, we hope that this year’s Grandparents Day, September 9th, can inspire different generations to work together to preserve Social Security. Social Security is one of America’s greatest success stories. For over 75 years, it has helped retirees stay healthy and out of poverty. The senior poverty rate is now five times lower than it used to be. But Social Security is important to more than just seniors. Social Security helps workers who suffer... Continue reading

This Labor Day, I want to encourage you to help younger generations better understand why labor unions are so important. Too many people either know very little about unions, or only know what politicians and Fox News tell them. I joined a union on my very first day on the job as a telephone operator in Akron, Ohio. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. Our generation – and those who came before us – used our rights at work and in the community to create good jobs and good wages. We helped build strong neighborhoods where... Continue reading

A message from John Pernorio, President of the Rhode Island Alliance for Retired Americans Today, August 14, 2012, Social Se curity celebrates its 77th birthday. Before Social Security, seniors worked until the day they died because they could never afford to retire. This week, retirees across the country celebrate the program that they contribute to in their working years and can rely on for modest benefits when they need it most. The program is more important than ever with the decline of defined-benefit pensions, plummeting 401ks and scanty savings. I get upset when I hear politicians or TV commentators talk... Continue reading

Here's what Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans said today: Mitt Romney’s choice of Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate locks in place the most anti-senior ticket ever. These two men have admitted – on the record - the threats that they pose to Medicare and Social Security. One of our worst fears is that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will actually keep their promises. Paul Ryan’s budget plan would end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher system, shifting thousands of dollars in health care costs to seniors. He... Continue reading

Last Thursday, over 100 Alliance activists from across the country dialed in to hear from U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), chair of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, about the critical issues of Social Security and pensions. The Senator took questions and spoke about his top legislative priority: Senate Bill 2252, the Rebuild America Act. The Rebuild America Act includes a number of provisions that strengthen Social Security and retirement security (in addition to other measures that would help to rebuild the middle class). The bill would extend the solvency of the Social Security Trust Fund by phasing... Continue reading

This Monday, several members of the Alliance for Retired Americans from the Maryland, Missouri, North Judith Parker of Missouri Carolina and Virginia chapters attended a White House Community Leaders Briefing on Seniors Issues. Judith Parker, a senior and a field coordinator for the Missouri Alliance for Retired Americans, spoke from the heart about her personal experiences with Medicare. New York AFSCME retiree Stuart Leibowitz also served as a panelist at Monday’s briefing, discussing the importance of preserving Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Ms. Parker shared that “Because of Medicare, I am free of fear and worry about my coming health... Continue reading

In the wake of the Supreme Court decision allowing states to opt out of the Medicaid provisions of the Affordable Care Act, five southern governors have chosen to abstain from expanding the program in their states. Among those refusing are Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) and Texas Governor Rick Perry (R), whose states account for about 20 percent of all potential Medicaid beneficiaries under the ACA. The other states denying the expansion are Louisiana, South Carolina, and Mississippi. These governors’ choices leave millions without the health care they need in a time of economic uncertainty. The Texas Alliance launched a... Continue reading

On Wednesday, supporters of President Obama’s health care law and the Democratic leadership from the House of Representatives gathered at the Capitol building for a press conference to hold the Republicans accountable for voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Alliance Regional Board Member and retired social studies teacher Bill Cea spoke on behalf of the Alliance, saying of the Affordable Care Act, “Not only is this good for your health, but it is also good public policy.” Other Regional Board members showed their support by attending and speaking out - including Sam Burnett, Tim Foley, Larry Malone, James... Continue reading

Yesterday's landmark decision by the Supreme Court on the Affordable Care Act was well-received by Alliance members and seniors throughout the country. Because of the ACA, in 2011, over 3.6 million seniors on Medicare saved a total of $2.1 billion on their drug costs, an average of $604 person. And over 32 million seniors received at least one new free preventive care benefit through Medicare. Seniors throughout the state participated in press conferences and celebrations. Photos. Wisconsin Alliance President Leon Burzynski commented, "Seniors have and will continue to benefit from the Affordable Care Act in many ways. It is a... Continue reading

The conservative 60 Plus Association brought its "Healthcare Freedom" bus tour through Ohio yesterday, touting what they believe is wrong with the Affordable Care Act. David Friesner, President of the Ohio Alliance for Retired Americans, responded to the tour: 60 Plus is an organization set up to try to scare seniors. They have received several “Pants on Fire” ratings from Politifact, most recently on June 5, 2012 by the Cleveland Plain Dealer while examining a television ad buy of $720,000 aimed at Senator Sherrod Brown. This bus tour repeats all of the hyperbolic falsehoods already examined by Politifact. We are... Continue reading