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4 episodes with living adjustment
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2 episodes with living adjustment
2 episodes with living adjustment
2 episodes with living adjustment
2 episodes with living adjustment
2 episodes with living adjustment
2 episodes with living adjustment
During this episode, we're going to discuss Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security.
During this episode, we're going to discuss Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security.
President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau Steve Bernas joins Bob Sirott to talk about how you can safely donate to wildfire relief efforts, fake rewards from holiday purchases, and a warning from the Illinois Attorney General. He also shares details about how to recognize a Cost-of-Living Adjustment scam, fake banking apps, and fake emails about iCloud […]
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
This just in! Social Security announced the Cost of Living Adjustment for 2025. Get the official numbers and learn more about how the COLA increase impacts your clients. Read the text version Contact the Agent Survival Guide Podcast! Email us ASGPodcast@Ritterim.com or call 1-717-562-7211 and leave a voicemail. Resources: 2025 Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D Premiums: https://link.chtbl.com/ASGF20241004 CMS Announces Medicare $2 Drug List Model RFI: https://link.chtbl.com/ASGF20241011 Optimize Client Acquisition by Becoming a Registered Social Security Analyst ft. Tom Drapala: https://link.chtbl.com/2024TomDrapala Preparing Clients for the New Medicare Prescription Payment Plan Program: https://link.chtbl.com/ASG621 Staying Motivated Amidst Change & Disruption: https://link.chtbl.com/ASGM20240710 What to Do if Your Medicare Part D Plans Become Non-Commissionable: https://link.chtbl.com/ASGN20241005 References: “Consumer Price Index - September 2024.” BLS.Gov, US Bureau of Labor & Statistics, 10 Oct. 2024, www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf. “Create Your Personal My Social Security Account Today.” SSA, Social Security Administration, www.ssa.gov/myaccount/. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024. Bogle, Darlynda. “How the Hold Harmless Provision Protects Your Benefits.” Blog.SSA.Gov, Social Security Administration, 19 Aug. 2024, blog.ssa.gov/how-the-hold-harmless-provision-protects-your-benefits/. “Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment.” SSA.Gov, Social Security Administration, 10 Oct. 2024, www.ssa.gov/cola/. Follow Us on Social! Ritter on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/RitterIM Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/ritter.insurance.marketing/ LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/ritter-insurance-marketing TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@ritterim X, https://twitter.com/RitterIM and Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/user/RitterInsurance Sarah on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjrueppel/ Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjrueppel/ and Threads, https://www.threads.net/@thesarahjrueppel Tina on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-lamoreux-6384b7199/
Will your benefits be there when you need them the most? If so, should you collect your benefits as soon as possible? This is something I'm frequently asked, so much so that I decided it was time to address it. So in this episode of Retire with Ryan, I'll cover how Social Security works, how long Social Security will remain solvent, and whether or not you should collect early. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [1:52] How does social security work? [4:23] Social Security solvency report [6:10] What are the options? [10:24] Are there enough people paying in? [11:25] Should you wait to collect Social Security? How does social security work? Every dollar you earn—up to an annual maximum amount—is taxed for Social Security and Medicare. This is known as the FICA tax. You pay 6.2% of your income up to $168,600. The company you work for also pays 6.2%. If you're self-employed, you pay both portions. The amount you earn over $168,000 isn't subject to the FICA tax (but is subject to the Medicare tax). The limit is adjusted upward annually. The money is used to pay current Social Security beneficiaries their monthly check. When social security first started, 40 people were paying into the fund to every one person collecting. That ratio is now closer to 2-to-1. The initial surplus was put into the Social Security Trust Fund to pay for future benefits. Now, more funds are being paid out than taxes being collected. The government is covering the deficit from the trust fund. This is why people are worried that Social Security will go broke. Social Security solvency report Each year, a report is issued on the solvency of Medicare, Social Security, and other social systems. It states that, unfortunately, Social Security and Medicare programs both continue to face significant financing issues. What else does it say? The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of the total scheduled benefits until 2033. After this, 79% of scheduled benefits will be paid annually. If nothing is done in the next nine years, starting in 2033, recipients will see a 21% reduction in their benefits. This would be catastrophic for most people. How can we solve the solvency problem? Most retirees get 40% of their income from Social Security. Congress must do something to make sure people receive the same benefits. What can they do? Raise the Social Security earnings limit: They could raise or do away with the annual cap and tax everyone on their entire annual income. Increase in the percentage that's paid in: Instead of 6.2%, they may raise the FICA tax to 7.2% or 8%. Increase in the age of retirement: Full retirement age for someone born after 1960 is 67. They may raise the age to 68, 69, or 70. Increase the taxation of benefits: Social Security benefits are taxed based on your earned income in the tax year you're receiving your benefits. Benefits weren't taxed in the past. But in 1983, Social Security was made taxable. Changing the cost-of-living adjustment calculation: In 2024, the COLA was 3.2%. With the high inflation we're experiencing, this adjustment gives people a chance to have their income keep pace with inflation. Part of Social Security money could be set aside and invested in stocks/bonds: This is a quite unpopular proposition that some people believe is too risky. Congress needs to decide what they're going to do and pass a bill into law. However, Congress tends to wait until the last minute to get things done. The last big change was in 1983. Hopefully, the next change will make the system solvent for longer. Resources Mentioned Retirement Readiness Review Subscribe to the Retire with Ryan YouTube Channel Fiduciary: How to Find, Hire, and Establish an Aligned and Trusted Partnership with a Fee-Only Financial Advisor Status of the Social Security and Medicare Programs (2024) Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) Information for 2024 How Medicare Enrollment Impacts HSA Contributions Changes to the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment in 2023 Connect With Morrissey Wealth Management www.MorrisseyWealthManagement.com/contact Subscribe to Retire With Ryan
I'm Annette Leonard of https://www.annetteleonard.com find me on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theannetteleonard You finally heard that you've been approved for Social Security Disability. Treat yourself -- whether that's a call to a friend, a gf cupcake, or some other way that you do something good for yourself, take a moment to celebrate. Having this resource to support yourself, matters! It's been a while since I crossed this hurdle, but to my memory: if you're legally married, you'll have to make some decisions about whether you'll take a greater amount each month or leave a spousal benefit after your death. 2 years after your EOD (your eligibility date) is when you become eligible for Medicare. There are a whole cascade of decisions you'll then have to make. For those of us who don't have other health care options, or who have been self-paying, or buying through COBRA, getting Medicare is a big deal. Every year, SSD sends you an award letter. Keep that letter. Some years there will be a COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) of a percent or two. Through my research I found its rare for people to get less than $1200/month in benefits and it's also rare for people to get more than $3000/month in benefits. If you're wondering what the average benefit is, that's what's typical. That's the end of my series on Social Security Disability benefits. If you have other questions I haven't answered, let me know below. **I have a new mini-course I'm finishing about how to unlock the power of your next doctor appointment*** the first 50 people get FREE enrollment. Sign up here https://www.annetteleonard.com/waitlist This is the Chronic Wellness Podcast. I'm Annette Leonard, speaker, coach, and sick person who believes that my illnesses do not define me. If health is the absence of disease and wellness is the presence of wholeness, then no matter what your disease status, we can work toward your wellness, your wholeness. Whether or not you are ever "healthy" on paper, you can be well. Join me and others on the path back to wholeness at AnnetteLeonard.com. Whether you are a person experiencing chronic illness or are someone who loves or serves people with chronic illness I have great resources here on this channel or on my website for you.
The Cost-of-Living Adjustment for Veterans' disability compensation in 2024 was announced at 3.2 percent. In this episode of CCK Live, we will discuss how this change in COLA will affect veteran's benefits, what the 2024 pay chart looks like, and what veterans can expect for their VA disability benefits in 2024. Tune in to this episode to learn everything you need to know about the 2024 COLA adjustment and VA disability pay chart. For more information, visit our website at cck-law.com Follow us on social media: YouTube - https://bit.ly/CCKYTL Facebook - https://bit.ly/CCKFBL Instagram - https://bit.ly/CCKINL Twitter - https://bit.ly/CCKTL
Welcome to The Sentinel Pension Show! We have a new episode for you to start your Tuesday off right. This week, Melissa and Kasey discuss COLA limits, or Cost of Living Adjustment limits. These limits change annually, so it is important to stay up to date on the latest limits and know how they can impact your retirement plan contributions. Visit our website for more information: Sentinel Pension (sp-tpa.com) Call us at 225-300-8478 Follow us on LinkedIn Follow us on Facebook Music by Adam Vitovsky
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
#BRNAM #1573 | Is the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment in 2024 Enough? | David R. Baker, Harvest Investment Consultants | #Tunein: broadcastretirementnetwork.com #JustTheFacts For more information: https://harvestinvestment.com/
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
During this episode, we're going to discuss the recent news about Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment increase as well as maximizing your Social Security payment.
Stay up to date on industry news to keep your clients informed. In this episode we've got the details for the 2024 Cost of Living Adjustment, listen to find out more! Read text version Ask the Agent Survival Guide Podcast! Fill out the form: https://bit.ly/askasg Email us: asgpodcast@ritterim.com Or call 1-717-562-7211 and leave a voicemail. Follow Us on Social! Ritter on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/RitterIM Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/ritter.insurance.marketing/ LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/company/ritter-insurance-marketing TikTok, https://www.tiktok.com/@ritterim Twitter, https://twitter.com/RitterIM and Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/user/RitterInsurance Sarah on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjrueppel/ Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/thesarahjrueppel/ and Threads, https://www.threads.net/@thesarahjrueppel Tina on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tina-lamoreux-6384b7199/ Resources: 2024 CMS Compliance Regulation Updates for Agents ft. Alyson Seighman: https://agentsurvivalguide.podbean.com/e/2024-cms-compliance-regulation-updates-for-agents-ft-alyson-seighman/ 2024 Medicare Part A & B Premiums and Deductibles: https://agentsurvivalguide.podbean.com/e/2024-medicare-part-a-and-b-premiums-and-deductibles/ 5 Things Medicare Beneficiaries Report About Their Coverage in 2023: https://agentsurvivalguide.podbean.com/e/5-things-medicare-beneficiaries-report-about-their-coverage-in-2023/ Do's and Don'ts of Medicare Compliance: https://agentsurvivalguide.podbean.com/e/do-s-and-don-ts-of-medicare-compliance-2023/ Register with Ritter, Get Access to Our Full Suite of Tools: https://app.ritterim.com/public/registration/ Thrive Tomorrow Kits: https://www.ritterim.com/kit-thrive/ References: 2024 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/fact-sheets/2024-medicare-parts-b-premiums-and-deductibles CMS Fast Facts: https://data.cms.gov/fact-sheet/cms-fast-facts Here's how much more you'll pay for Medicare Part B in 2020: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/11/heres-how-much-more-youll-pay-for-medicare-part-b-in-2020.html Social Security Fact Sheet: https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/factsheets/colafacts2024.pdf U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index: https://www.bls.gov/cpi/
In this episode of ABL Live, we covered a variety of topics, including the conflict that is ongoing over in Israel, Steve Scalise withdrawing his name from contention for the Speaker of the House nomination, the Philly LGBT activist deleted by his alleged grooming victim, Brian Mast wearing his IDF uniform on Capitol Hill in an affront to Rashida Tlaib, Dave Rubin supporting the banning of pro-Palestine protests in France despite being a free-speech advocate, the 2024 Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment being much less than 2023 and 2022, a singular gun charge being dropped against Hunter Biden, Carlee Russell being found guilty in the Alabama kidnapping hoax from earlier this year, and much more! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anthony-logan/support
How will things change for those saving for retirement in 2024? What is the estimated cost of living adjustment going to be? Do you think you're on track for a comfortable retirement? These are the questions I discuss in this episode of the Retirement Made Easy podcast. If you're planning for your dream retirement, these are things you need to know. Don't miss it! You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... [1:37] Check out RetirementMadeEasyPodcast.com [2:20] Changes to the catch-up contribution in 2024 [8:50] How much should you save for retirement? [12:45] The estimated cost of living adjustment for 2023 [14:06] Are you on track for retirement? Resources & People Mentioned 3 Steps to Retirement Planning Ed Slott High-income retirement savers may have to pay tax now on catch-up contributions. Eventually. T. Rowe Price Says You Need This Much Saved For Retirement Based on Your Income Cost-of-Living Adjustment for 2024 Could Be 3.1% Connect With Gregg Gonzalez Email at: Gregg@RetireSTL.com Podcast: https://RetirementMadeEasyPodcast.com Website: https://StLouisFinancialAdvisor.com Follow Gregg on LinkedIn Follow Gregg on Facebook Follow Gregg on YouTube Subscribe to Retirement Made EasyOn Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts
Low costs and tax efficiency are obvious pluses, but so are ease of oversight and cash flow extraction.Today's Stocks & Topics: Treasury Department, Economist Paul Krugman, ING - ING Groep N.V. ADR, RGR - Sturm Ruger & Co., SWBI - Smith & Wesson Brands Inc., GLW - Corning Inc., Reverse Split, RF - Regions Financial Corp., WBD - Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. Series A, New Home Sales, IEP - Icahn Enterprises L.P., CHPT - ChargePoint Holdings Inc. TRIVIA QUESTION: "The recent 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, put about $140 per month more in Social Security beneficiaries' checks...but looking at statistics...... What do you suppose has been the AVERAGE Social Security COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) since the year 2000? AND-- HOW does that compare with the cost of goods and services AVERAGE over that SAME TIME PERIOD?Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
This podcast is brought to you by BBB of the Tri-Counties: https://www.bbb.org/local-bbb/bbb-of-the-tri-counties How to avoid this Scam: • Remember, the SSA's Cost of Living Adjustment is automatic. You don't need to do anything to receive the increase in benefits. If someone tells you otherwise, you're likely dealing with a scammer. • Know how the SSA communicates. According to SSA, “If there is a problem with your Social Security number, we will mail you a letter. Generally, we will only contact you if you have requested a call or have ongoing business with us.” A call, text, or email from an SSA agent out of the blue is a red flag. • Don't give in to threats. SSA will never threaten you with arrest or legal action. They will never suspend your Social Security number or demand payment from you. They will never ask for personal information or banking details to give you an increase in benefits. If someone demands these things or threatens you over the phone, they are not with SSA. • When in doubt, hang up. If you suspect you might be getting scammed, stop all communications. Visit SSA.gov to research or call 1-800-772-1213 to confirm that the correspondence is legitimate before taking action. For more information Read more about healthcare scams in this BBB tip. Learn more about other government impostor scams. Get more general tips to avoid scams by visiting BBB.org/AvoidScams. A BIG thank you to Ayers Automotive Repairs in Santa Barbara for supporting Your Moment of Trust!
We're thrilled to get the ball rolling with Season Eight of The Guided Retirement Show. Season Eight begins with a familiar guest, as Garner Insurance Agency, LLC Owner Taylor Garner returns to The Guided Retirement Show. Taylor last appeared on the podcast in March to discuss health care costs in retirement. For this episode, he and Dean Barber will talk about Medicare changes in 2023. In this podcast interview, you'll learn: There was an historic 8.7% Bump in the 2023 Cost-of-Living Adjustment for Social Security recipients We received some good news on the Medicare Part B premium front as well Inflation is at the root of the Medicare changes in 2023 As always, it's important to plan ahead when considering Medicare changes The pros and cons of group health insurance vs. Medicare START PLANNING To get a full recap of today's conversation, including the biggest takeaways, transcripts, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit GuidedRetirementShow.com/79 Learn More about Retirement Planning Find out more about retirement planning and Barber Financial Group, by visiting BarberFinancialGroup.com
December 12, 2022, Sarah Reith — The Board of Supervisors is looking for $6.1 million to balance its books for Fiscal Year 2021/22, as costs and interest rates soar and sales tax decreases. The county reached a tentative agreement with its largest employee union for a 2% Cost of Living Adjustment, which it might be able to fund with a pension reserve account. The self-funded healthcare plan that was in place when the county racked up a $3.6 million deficit has now been swapped out for a pool plan that will require an increase in employee contributions. That's supposed to save the county $685,000 a year, but unknown future obligations are likely to be sizable. At last week's budget workshop, the Board reviewed an analysis of the costs for building the new jail for mentally ill inmates, which includes millions in staffing. The Board also heard a reminder that the county is still waiting on more than $9 million of covid relief money promised by FEMA. That money has been borrowed from the treasury, and the interest is not recoverable. And there's been no paper trail documenting the direction that former auditor Lloyd Weer allegedly received from the State Controller's office in 2016, telling him the county should spend down the healthcare reserves by not paying into the health plan for three months out of the year or requiring employees to pay into it. Supervisor Ted Williams described the situation to Assembly member Jim Wood last week, and asked him for help from the state. “I don't know, when I've voted on balanced budgets in the past, whether they were actually balanced,” Williams said. “That's coming to light. We have a health plan that was millions over, and part of that was due to a holiday. I understand that's because we got a call from the state. The state said we had accumulated too much money. We needed to spend it down. I don't know what department of the state or why they would have done that by phone instead of writing…our finances are in such disarray, if I were in the state's position, I would be looking at this rural county, thinking, we need to conserve them, clean up this mess and then give control back. Do you have any thoughts on how we move forward? We don't have the local labor pool, we don't have the funds to hire the staffing. It sounds like we have an office that was based on paper and spreadsheets, not automated systems. I think the Board and staff want to move forward and get our books in order, but we don't know how.” Wood was noncommittal, saying, “We're happy to work with you on that. Those are issues that we're becoming aware of. I don't know where there is potential for state resources there, but one of the things I'm always pushing for in my role is more technical assistance and support for rural counties.” Acting Deputy CEO Sara Pierce told the Board the county has received $9.1 million in covid money from FEMA and is still waiting for another $9.4 million. Supervisor John Haschak questioned her and CEO Darcie Antle. Pierce said when the county receives the amount FEMA has promised, it will go into the county's disaster recovery budget unit, since that unit “is currently sitting in a $10 million deficit.” “How does that deficit show up?” Haschak asked. “Are we using reserves to cover that deficit at this point?” Antle told him that she believes the county is paying interest to the treasury, as it is for the money it borrowed to cover the health plan deficit. “And so that interest won't be recoverable,” Haschak deduced. “When FEMA finally pays us, it will just be the base pay.” “Correct,” Antle confirmed. The Board also learned that the new jail will cost the county $2.5 million a year in employee wages and benefits. General Services Agency Director Janelle Rau explained why expectations for ongoing facilities costs at the new jail have risen. “We're moving towards a cost of ownership model, versus the historical practice of what is contained in the Board's Policy 33 regarding facility maintenance,” she said. That policy, last amended in 2007, states that seventy cents per square foot is to be funded for future capital costs. The standards for the cost of ownership model, which includes a capital reserve that budgets for ongoing facilities upkeep, is closer to $3 a square foot. Projections under the new model are sobering, and possibly more realistic. Rau told the Board that, “What we've estimated now, based on that expanded footprint, would be an additional $175,000. Again, currently the Board is not funding capital maintenance reserves. Funding is occurring on a project by project basis.” Supervisor Dan Gjerde argued for several belt-tightening initiatives, including consolidating dispatch services, offering employees the option of a less comprehensive healthcare plan, and unloading county parks. “How can we maintain the pretense that we're going to keep these five or six county parks that are basically neighborhood parks?” he asked, before proposing an aggressive policy for park divestiture. “I think we need to set a schedule, where in the next two to three years, at a certain date and point in time, they will be offloaded. We will put them on the open market, if no non-profit steps forward, if no community services district steps forward, because we do not have the money to maintain our county roads.” The budget ad hoc committee, which consists of Supervisors Williams and Glenn McGourty, made several suggestions, including maintaining the current vacancy rate for non-mandated General Fund positions, except for those currently in recruitment; decommissioning services, including animal control on the coast; and increasing remote work to cut down on county-maintained office space. The budget workshop is on the agenda again for tomorrow's meeting. The Board will also decide on whether or not to accept agreements with two employee unions.
Do you know how long you have to work to become fully insured for social security benefits? What happens if you spend time out of the workforce? Will social security benefits be available for future retirees? Our guest has over 30 years experience working for the Social Security Administration. In this episode, Melissa Joy, CFP interviews, Vonda VanTil, Public Affairs Specialist representing the agency in Michigan. Vonda shares her knowledge on all things Social Security for listeners of all ages. Resources:Learn more about Melissa Joy and Pearl Planning. Find out more about Vonda VanTil Create an account or check your estimated Social Security benefits.Read Blog , What Issues Should I Consider When Dealing With High InflationListen to Episode 139: Cost-of-Living-Adjustment for 2023 with Melissa FradenburgLinks are being provided for information purposes only. The information herein is general and educational in nature and should not be considered legal or tax advice. Tax laws and regulations are complex and subject to change, which can materially impact investment results. Pearl Planning cannot guarantee that the information herein is accurate, complete, or timely. Pearl Planning makes no warranties with regard to such information or results obtained by its use and disclaims any liability arising out of your use of, or any tax position taken in reliance on, such information. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific situation. Please note, changes in tax laws or regulations may occur at any time and could substantially impact your situation. Pearl Planning financial advisors do not render advice on tax matters. You should discuss any tax matters with the appropriate professional.
Lenny Baillargeon, Chair of the New Bedford Retirement Board joins Marcus to discuss the role of the retirement board in municipal government and the recent vote in the City Council to raise the Cost of Living Adjustment for city retirees and survivors. Then City Council President Ian Abreu stops by to discuss some upcoming community events.
Lenny Baillargeon, Chair of the New Bedford Retirement Board joins Marcus to discuss the role of the retirement board in municipal government and the recent vote in the City Council to raise the Cost of Living Adjustment for city retirees and survivors. Then City Council President Ian Abreu stops by to discuss some upcoming community events.
Marty talks about the announced Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment for 2023 pointing out that it is the highest in forty years but also that inflation is as well. He discusses how this high inflation, volatility, and rising interest rates must be factored when planning for retirement. Marty gets into the sudden shift for retirees when entering retirement and goes over the process of “deaccumulation.” Then he looks at retirement challenge solutions such as planning for inflation in your other retirement income streams, preparing for out-of-pocket health care costs, and building good tax strategies. You can reach Marty Nevel by calling 888-519-9096.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Are you ready to end the year strong? With just 7 weeks left in 2022, Melissa Joy, CFP, ® and Melissa Fradenburg, CDFA, ® discuss year end financial planning. It's important to organize your financial "to-do's" and set intentions going into the new year. In this episode we will cover taxes, retirement contribution deadlines, Roth conversions, charitable giving, and cash reserves. Resources:Learn more about Melissa Joy, CFP ® and Pearl Planning.Sign up for our Year End Webinar or watch the Replay. Listen to Episode 140: Making the Most of Your Employee Benefits with Melissa Joy.Listen to Episode 139: Cost-of-Living-Adjustment for 2023 with Melissa Fradenburg.Listen to Episode 128: Roth Conversion in a Down Market.Listen to Episode 79: Winning Resumes with Brooke Kent.Links are being provided for information purposes only. The information herein is general and educational in nature and should not be considered legal or tax advice. Tax laws and regulations are complex and subject to change, which can materially impact investment results. Pearl Planning cannot guarantee that the information herein is accurate, complete, or timely. Pearl Planning makes no warranties with regard to such information or results obtained by its use and disclaims any liability arising out of your use of, or any tax position taken in reliance on, such information. Consult an attorney or tax professional regarding your specific situation. Please note, changes in tax laws or regulations may occur at any time and could substantially impact your situation. Pearl Planning financial advisors do not render advice on tax matters. You should discuss any tax matters with the appropriate professional.
Kelley talks about the announced Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment for 2023 pointing out that it is the highest in forty years but also that inflation is as well. She discusses how this high inflation, volatility, and rising interest rates must be factored when planning for retirement. Kelley gets into the sudden shift for retirees when entering retirement and goes over the process of “de-accumulation.” Then she looks at retirement challenge solutions such as planning for inflation in your other retirement income streams, preparing for out-of-pocket health care costs, and building good tax strategies. You can reach Kelley Slaught by calling 800-838-8060. California Wealth AdvisorsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Social Security just announced an 8.7% cost of living adjustment for retirees! The COLA increase will be applied to benefits in January of 2023. That's the largest inflation adjustment since 1981, when it was 11.2%. Peter with Richon Planning explains to Erin Kennedy why this year's Cost of Living Adjustment, or #COLA, is so high and whether this change should affect your claiming strategy. If you'd like to speak with Peter to determine when you should claim Social Security, Richon Planning actually specializes in running very personalized analyses to determine your most "financially optimal" strategy. Please feel free to reach out for a complimentary consultation by calling (919) 300-5886 or by visiting www.RichonPlanning.com #SocialSecurity #Retirement #WealthManagement #SocialSecurity2023
Coming up on today's show. The Cost of Living Adjustment for Social Security has been announced. Good news, it hasn't been this much in 40 years. We'll break it all down for you.
Paul talks about the announced Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment for 2023 pointing out that it is the highest in forty years but also that inflation is as well. He discusses how this high inflation, volatility, and rising interest rates must be factored when planning for retirement. Paul gets into the sudden shift for retirees when entering retirement and goes over the process of “deaccumulation.” Then he looks at retirement challenge solutions such as planning for inflation in your other retirement income streams, preparing for out-of-pocket health care costs, and building good tax strategies. You can reach the team at Roberts Wealth Management by calling 800-891-8680. Roberts Wealth ManagementSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this Real Estate News Brief for the week ending October 14, 2022... another round of inflation overload, a double whammy for home loans, and the big news from Social Security.Hi, I'm Kathy Fettke and this is Real Estate News for Investors. If you like our podcast, please subscribe and leave us a review. Economic NewsWe begin with economic news from this past week. Federal Reserve officials released the minutes of their last meeting which show they are more worried about inflation than they are about going overboard with rate hikes. They feel that inflation is “unacceptably high” and is not falling as fast as they anticipated. They raised the short-term rate three-quarters of a point at the last meeting to a range of 3 to 3.25%. It was the third super-sized rate hike in a row, and many economists are expecting another three-quarter point rate hike at the next meeting. (1)There were two inflation reports last week that will fan the flames for additional rate hikes. First, it was the producer price index which was up .4% in September. That was double what Wall Street economists had forecasted. The index had been down in July and August because gas prices were lower, but the latest number shows that overall inflation is still raging. The annual rate is down slightly from 8.7% to 8.5%. If you remove gas and food from the equation, the annual rate is 5.6%. (2) The monthly consumer price index was also released with a similar .4% gain in September. Economists had predicted a .3% gain. The yearly rate did slip down a bit – from 8.3% to 8.2%. It had peaked in June with an annual rate of 9.1%. The core rate shows a .6% monthly gain and a yearly “core” rate of 6.6%. As reported by MarketWatch, lower gas prices kept inflation in check toward the end of the summer, but economists don't expect them to go any lower, especially since the OPEC oil cartel is cutting production. Prices were higher for things like rent, medical care, education, furniture, new cars, and auto insurance. They were down for used cars, clothes and communication. (3)Jobless claims are still low, but they did rise for a third week in a row to their highest level since August. The Labor Department reported that initial claims were 9,000 applications higher to a total of about 228,000. Many of those claims were in Florida, however, where people are dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Continuing claims were also up slightly to 1.368 million. (4)Consumers appear to be feeling a little more confident about the economy despite the latest inflation reports. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey shows it was up about a point, to a reading of 59.8. but that's only 9.8 points higher than an all-time low of 50 in June. (5)Mortgage RatesMortgage rates continue to move higher. It is breaking through the 7% level for some loan programs, but Freddie Mac says the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.92%. The 15-year also moved higher to an average of 6.09%. (6)In other news making headlines...Double Whammy for BorrowersNot only do borrowers have to contend with higher mortgage rates, they are now having a tougher time qualifying for a loan. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, lenders are tightening their standards which resulted in a 5.4% decline in the Mortgage Credit Availability Index for the month of September. (7) While lenders would like the business, they are more concerned about a weakening economy and the possibility of delinquencies. The MBA's Joel Kan says: “Credit availability fell to the lowest level since March 2013 – the seventh consecutive month of tightening.” He says: “There's a smaller appetite for lower credit scores and high loan-to-value loan programs.”Home Flippers Are Getting FlippedRising mortgage rates are flipping profits to the downside for many home flippers. As reported by The Real Deal, flippers were wildly successful not that long ago. At the beginning of the year, home-flipping made up 10% of all transactions. That's according to Attom Data Solutions. It fell to 8.2% during the second quarter. (8) Data from August shows that profit margins have slipped to 26% from about 31% a year ago. But they also now plummeting a lot more in some areas, like San Jose California. The report says flipping profits hit 45% in March and are now down to 6.5%. It also says that 42% of the homes sold on Opendoor are being sold for less than the iBuyer paid for them.Hard-money lender Noah Brocious told The Real Deal that flippers need to lower their expectations. He says: “Price it to sell. Today is not the time to get greedy.”Social Security Will Be Giving Retirees a HUGE RaiseRetirees will be getting a big raise in their Social Security checks next year. Officials announced that the Cost of Living Adjustment or COLA for 2023 will be a whopping 8.7%. That's even higher than the giant 5.9% that recipients got last year. (9) The increase will apply to about 70 million people who are on Social Security, and boost checks by an average of $140 per month. The cost of Medicare Part B will also get a little bit cheaper. It will be reduced from $170.10 to $164.90.That's it for today. Check the show notes for links. And please remember to hit the subscribe button, and leave a review!I also invite you to join RealWealth at newsforinvestors.com, if you haven't done so already. It's free to join and gives you complete access to all our education materials and market data, along with sample properties, and a list of recommended real estate professionals. Thanks for listening. I'm Kathy Fettke.Links:1 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-saw-too-much-action-vs-high-inflation-as-less-risky-than-too-little-minutes-show-11665597813?mod=federal-reserve2 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wholesale-prices-rise-for-first-time-in-three-months-and-show-inflation-still-raging-11665578458?mod=economic-report3 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/coming-up-consumer-price-index-for-september-11665662566?mod=economic-report4 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-rise-to-highest-level-since-august-11665665081?mod=economic-report5 -https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-inflation-expectations-rise-in-october-consumer-mood-stays-somber-11665756467?mod=economic-report6 -https://www.freddiemac.com/pmms7 -https://www.mba.org/news-and-research/newsroom/news/2022/10/11/mortgage-credit-availability-decreased-in-september8 -https://therealdeal.com/national/2022/10/11/mortgage-rates-reverse-home-flippers-fortunes/9 -https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/13/social-security-cola-will-be-8point7percent-in-2023-highest-increase-in-40-years.html
August 3, 2022 — A Board of Supervisors discussion about cost overruns for the new jail construction project veered into a cry for help from the state, as county leadership admitted that it does not have a clear idea what its financial situation is. “I would like to ask my colleagues for support on direction to the CEO's office to reach out to the state controller's office to help us get our books in order,” Supervisor Ted Williams announced, about a half hour into the meeting. A few minutes after hearing that state review of construction documents is causing months-long delays and that cost estimates for the new jail are now $7-8 million over budget, Williams told his colleagues how frustrated he is by the lack of financial information, even after a budgeting process that started months ago. “I'm three and half years into a term,” he said. “I worry, I'm coming up on the point where I can no longer use the excuse, I'm new here. And yet in the three and a half years, I haven't been able to get a credible financial report. I understand we have three different sets of books. They all differ. Why?” CEO Darcie Antle corroborated the main point. “I would agree with you. I'm not quite sure,” she acknowledged. “I think a lot of the reason we have asked for a pause in the labor negotiations is that we don't know. We don't have a clear vision on what the books are, and where the finances are. And those discussions need to continue with the new auditor-controller.” It doesn't seem like anyone has a clear idea, and that's a problem for rank and file workers and the public as well as the leadership. SEIU Local 1021, the union that represents the bulk of the county's employees, filed a complaint with the Public Employees Relations Board last month, detailing the information they've requested as they negotiate their contract. The union wants a 5% Cost of Living Adjustment, which Field Representative Patrick Hickey estimates would cost the county $3.2 million. The county released some information to the public a few days after the union filed its complaint, but Hickey said that he, too, is frustrated by missing details. He's still looking for specific information about differential pay and temporary and part-time workers that will help the union understand the impact their proposals will have on the county's budget. “That's something we submitted all the way back in November,” he said last week. “So we've been trying to keep track as the county has parsed out little bits of information to us as the negotiations have progressed.” Though it seems no one has the information anyone wants about the budget, the county has had an unprecedented amount of money to work with in the past year and a half. Local agencies are still receiving their allotments from the county's $22 million settlement from PG&E. And the county was awarded almost $17 million from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA. Maria Avalos of UVA, a Latino advocacy group, requested more details about how those funds will be spent, and how the decisions will be made. She noted that over $4 million of the ARPA funds has been allocated for core county services and infrastructure. “So I'm just wondering, where is the breakdown of where that money will go?” she asked during public comment. “Will it be able to be found by the public? And how is the local government making the decision to use the funds? And will there be public input?” Williams counts himself among those agitating for financial transparency. But he told his colleagues yesterday that he doesn't think anyone is able to provide detailed financial information about the county. “We do have an outside audit that happens,” he said. “When was the last time this board, you and I sitting on this board, voted to direct the auditor to incorporate the outside audit recommendations? I don't think I've done it yet. I don't know if past boards have done it. But it means we're paying for an outside audit, we're getting advice about changes we need to make to meet accounting principles. And then we're ignoring the advice. So how much accumulated error is there, and over how many years is it? Ten years, is it thirty years? Is that why we have different sets of books, with different numbers? Because we never incorporate the outside audit findings? I think we have a financial crisis here, and we just don't know how bad it is.” Supervisor John Haschak pointed to a recent shakeup in the county's main financial offices. But Williams thinks the problem goes back much further than the decision to consolidate the offices of auditor-controller and treasurer-tax collector. “It's just really ironic that this board voted to consolidate the two positions when those people in those positions said don't do it, and that consolidation would not help, and now we're in the position where we're asking the state to step in to help out this position that in part we created as a board,” Haschak said. “So I want to respond to that. A part of the reason that I supported the consolidation is that I couldn't get financials,” Williams replied. “And we had an auditor retire, and shortly after, I learned we have a $4.5 million hole in the health plan. Why didn't this board know that we had a $4.5 million hole? We would have planned accordingly. There's an institutional problem here that this county doesn't have a set of books that anybody believes. There's nobody in this county today you could ask, how much money do we have to our name, and get a straight answer. How can I do my job, voting on a budget, if I don't know how much money we have to spend?” Supervisor Glenn McGourty called for structural change. “You want to have people who really know finances, who are properly trained,” he said. “That's why I've supported a professional financial office, which is what most big organizations have, where you appoint people based on their skill set and a proven track record of handling money well. And if we look back through Mendocino County's history at the auditor-controller and tax collector-treasurer, we don't see that pattern. So I still think we're going to need long-term structural change in county government on this. This will not go away until we do.” The board voted unanimously to ask the state for more money for the new jail, and to ask the state controller for help with the county's fiscal issues.
On this midweek show, Crystal chats with Jeff Manson about his campaign for State Representative in the 36th Legislative District - why he decided to run, how the last legislative session went, and where he stands on issues such as COVID response and recovery, housing affordability and zoning, homelessness, guaranteed basic income, public safety, drug decriminalization, and climate change. As always, a full text transcript of the show is available below and at officialhacksandwonks.com. Find the host, Crystal, on Twitter at @finchfrii and find Jeff at @VoteJeffManson. Resources Campaign Website - Jeff Manson: https://www.votejeffmanson.com/ Transcript [00:00:00] Crystal Fincher: Welcome to Hacks & Wonks. I'm Crystal Fincher, and I'm a political consultant and your host. On this show, we talk with policy wonks and political hacks to gather insight into local politics and policy in Washington state through the lens of those doing the work with behind-the-scenes perspectives on what's happening, why it's happening, and what you can do about it. Full transcripts and resources referenced in the show are always available at officialhacksandwonks.com and in our episode notes. Well today, I am very excited to welcome to the program, Jeff Manson, who's a candidate for the 36th District State House seat. Welcome, Jeff. [00:00:49] Jeff Manson: It's great to be here, Crystal - thank you. [00:00:51] Crystal Fincher: It's great to be here, it's great to see you. We were in the IDF class of 2010 together. [00:00:59] Jeff Manson: Yes we were - 2010 forever. [00:01:01] Crystal Fincher: 2010 forever. So I'm thrilled to have you on here and to have this conversation, excited to see you again. So starting off, what made you choose to run? [00:01:12] Jeff Manson: Yeah - great question. So, I'm an administrative law judge with the state, I'm a labor leader, and a disability community advocate. As a state administrative law judge, we resolve disputes that people have with state government - so I see every day how underfunded government affects people, including the most vulnerable individuals in our state. So I'm running for State Representative to fund the services and infrastructure that we need and utilizing progressive revenue sources. I've been fighting for progressive values since the fourth grade, when I co-founded my elementary school's Earth Club after reading a book for kids on the environment - it was 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth and each page described an environmental problem and then what a kid could do about. And I did most of the things and it really taught me not only about environmental issues at a young age, but also that one person can make a difference - if you get off your butt and start doing stuff, you can make incremental differences and possibly take that to scale. So since then I've developed a track record of effecting progressive policy change. I was lucky to go to law school at Seattle University, where I did an emphasis in poverty and inequality law, and I represented people with disabilities as a young attorney. But I saw them struggle with our legal system - there's just a lot of systemic barriers, especially for people with disabilities to accessing justice. So I gathered legal and disability experts and people with disabilities, and we wrote a guide for judges on how to accommodate people in legal proceedings. And then, when I saw the negative effects of corporate and wealthy donations on our democracy, I became a leader with the group that brought the Democracy Voucher program to Seattle City elections. And it took about a decade - we had to change state law first, and then we tried to go to the ballot and decided not to, then we did go to the ballot and we failed, and then we went to the ballot again a couple of years later and were finally successful - and it's been a really successful program. And then in my own profession, our salaries were stagnating, we were having issues in our workplace. But we were not allowed as - even though we're state employees as administrative law judges - we were not allowed to collectively bargain for almost 40 years. So a few years ago I organized my colleagues and we successfully lobbied the Legislature - my own representative who I'm running to replace, Representative Noel Frame, sponsored the bill. And we successfully got collective bargaining rights for administrative law judges. And in the few weeks before COVID shut everything down, we got 85% of our judges to sign union authorization cards. So, and now we're unionized, we've got a contract, we got a salary increase, and last year I was elected as President of WFSE Local 562. So I'm a restless personality - always seeing problems and trying to fix them and pulling people together to fix them - and I can't wait to hopefully be elected so I can work for the people of the 36th doing the same stuff in the legislature. [00:04:33] Crystal Fincher: Yes, and it is exciting to have watched you do all of this over the years and get the opportunity to - see so many more people get the opportunity to see all of the work that you've done and how helpful that has been. You just mentioned COVID. Right now, we're still dealing with COVID, but trying to move forward with COVID - sometimes lurching forward prematurely in how we're dealing with COVID. And so it seems like - to a number of people still - there still needs to be more done to mitigate COVID. I was just - a friend just yesterday came down with COVID. Lots of talk about - hey, we have the tools to address this, we have therapeutics and Paxlovid - and she and others that I've known have had challenges even accessing that with COVID, in addition to testing and some of the financial mitigation things. Should we - should the Legislature be doing more to keep us safe from COVID, and if they should, what should be happening from the legislative point of view? [00:05:44] Jeff Manson: Yeah, it seems like two steps forward, one step back - or sometimes two steps forward, three steps back - depending on the season. It's been a long couple of years - I guess we're on 26 months now. And yeah, this isn't over. I don't know about you or the listeners, but it seems like more people that I know have caught it in the last few weeks than in the couple of years prior to that. And yeah, so it isn't over. Ideally this would be handled at the federal level, and I think the federal government has done some things right and some things not right. And our federal system, I think, makes it more difficult - when we first had the vaccines last year, I waited my turn until my category came up and then I went online to try to find a place, and it was just a mess to just find - it's like, can't you just tell me where to go. I'll drive to Yakima - I'll totally drive to Yakima if that's my assigned place - just tell me where to go instead of giving me 20 websites to click on, all of which say it's full. If the federal government had just taken it over, it may have run more smoothly, but we have this decentralized form of government in this country where the states were in charge and then they would turn it over to the counties. And I think we've seen some of the flaws in that system, especially when there's a crisis. I think federalism creates - we have the laboratories of democracy or whatnot - but in a crisis where you have emergencies declared and you need quick responses and top-down efficiency, that decentralized system doesn't work very well. So I think from the Legislature - what the Legislature can do - is still provide the resources that people need, who are not able to stop quarantining. In my job, we adjudicate unemployment benefits appeals, and that's most of what I'm doing right now - we still have a big backlog. And there's still lots of people who are not comfortable leaving their homes, either because of their own health situation, or that of someone else in their household, or of a parent they care for in another household, or because their child is under five years old. And it's one of the main reasons a lot of people aren't going back to work yet. And why we have a - we talk about supply chain issues, but we have a labor supply issue in almost every industry right now. And people aren't able to go back to work 'cause they don't feel safe doing it. So for those who can't, I think we need to continue some of the safety net programs that we had for a year, year and a half, but many of which have expired. And then beyond that, I think a lot of it is communication - there are free tests that - I bought a test at a grocery store, it was 20 bucks when it's like - oh, wait a minute, I could have ordered one of these if only I had known to go to this website and then do this and then do that. I think our state and our county health departments could help with that communication - that does require funding though, and the state provides a lot of that funding. [00:08:56] Crystal Fincher: All right. Well, you talk about what the Legislature has done here in our state. We just got done recently with a session where there are some things that happened that were great and other things that were pretty disappointing. What was your evaluation of this past session? What would you have done differently than our Legislature did? [00:09:19] Jeff Manson: Yeah, there were, like any session, there were highs and lows. Some of the high - we got a transportation package which was good. It wasn't a perfect transportation package, but it does fund a lot of really good things, including transit, bike, and pedestrian infrastructure. We got - for education, it's still just a - we haven't fully funded education in my mind yet, but we did take a step in the right direction. Teachers got a COLA [Cost-of-Living Adjustment], we got more funding for school counselors and nurses and social workers. But there were also some disappointments - there were some environmental bills that didn't pass. We had electric vehicle subsidies that didn't pass and there were some other environmental bills that we'll need to take up next year. And I think we have a housing crisis in the state - but in particular in Seattle, it's a regional housing market, but we see it acutely here in Seattle. And I think leaving housing decisions to the cities hasn't worked and there is a place for the state to step in. And I know Jessica Bateman, Representative Bateman, had a bill. There were a few different versions of it before it died, but I think we need to - I support the concept of the state directing changes in zoning and we should - that should be a priority next session. [00:10:49] Crystal Fincher: Should we be increasing zoning density in single-family neighborhoods? [00:10:53] Jeff Manson: I think in some of them - the devil will be in the details, but I think - we're at tens of thousands of housing units behind where we need to be. People are moving here and staying here faster than we're building housing units. And the result has been increased housing prices. We're seeing housing prices increase across the country the last year or so, but Seattle has been seeing this much longer than just the last year. And the result is that people are being priced out of the City or onto our streets. And so we need to - we need more housing stock. We need it - and of every type - we need more large apartment buildings in transit corridors, we need more duplexes and fourplexes. And the City of Seattle has taken some steps in recent years to add density, which I've supported - more ADUs [Accessory Dwelling Units], some up-zoning in urban villages. But a lot of cities elsewhere in the region haven't done the same, so I think state action is needed to prod that along. And ADUs and DADUs [Detached Accessory Dwelling Units] - I think that's great and for those who are able to afford to build one or renovate for one - it's wonderful. But the first year after that change, we saw an increase of about 300 ADU and DADU permits than the previous year. And 300 housing units - that's one large apartment complex, it's just a drop in the bucket. It's great, but we need to attack this from all angles, but it's just a drop in the bucket compared to the tens of thousands of units that we need over the next several years. [00:12:39] Crystal Fincher: Do you support the social housing initiative that is currently gathering signatures in the City of Seattle. And do you think that's an approach that could be taken statewide? [00:12:49] Jeff Manson: I'm very intrigued by it - I've not read the actual initiative, but I understand from what I've read, that it's a model that's been used in Europe, especially in Vienna. So I'm very intrigued by the idea and excited about the idea. I think we need to try as many things as we can and see what works. I need to see how it pencils out and what it looks like before I make a decision about whether I'll support it at the ballot or not, but I really like that we're having the conversation. And if it does look like it's a model that could work, then I think it should be expanded to the rest of the state. I do - we were talking about the market rate housing and supply and demand, which is a big part of housing affordability. But I really think that there is a significant - government should also be responsible for subsidizing and directly building housing units. We need both the free market and the commons to take responsibility for housing people - and whether that's traditional public housing, or Section 8, or subsidies - the government needs to be stepping up to the plate. And the state provides a lot of the funding for those - cities and counties make a lot of the micro-level decisions, but the state provides funding for the Housing Trust Fund. This last session, we put money in for about 2000 units of supportive housing, which is great - it may not be enough, but it's great. But we really need government being part of this market. There's the free market, but it should be - we should have a safety net of housing, just like we have a safety net of food assistance for low-income people and disability benefits for people. We need a housing benefit, so to speak, and government role in that space. [00:14:42] Crystal Fincher: And part of our housing problem, housing affordability problem, is one of the root causes of homelessness. And we are experiencing a crisis of homelessness. What are you proposing, that you can do as a legislator, to help make a tangible difference? [00:15:05] Jeff Manson: Yeah, and it really comes back to funding. There can be - there's some at the edges, we can tweak policies to help with homelessness, but really it's a funding issue. We need more funding for more housing options, and that's really at every level - that's emergency shelter, it's tiny homes, it's supportive housing as I mentioned, and it's other public housing that I mentioned. But we have an acute crisis right now, and we need to get people off of the streets and into some sort of shelter that is safer for them and safer for all of us. And then longer term, increasing our housing stock will reduce the root cause, which is evictions - a lot of people are homeless. They were not born homeless - most of them. They, at some point, lost their housing or lost their support system. So yeah, it's really about funding and our state government has been, I believe, chronically underfunded for decades. And really that gets back to our tax structure. We have the worst tax structure in the country, where the lowest-income people pay the most and the wealthiest pay the least, and it's completely upside down. So we need more progressive revenue sources to fund things like housing and everything else that we feel like we need as a society. [00:16:30] Crystal Fincher: There are currently about 30 cities across the country piloting some form of a guaranteed basic income program - a set amount of money each month targeted to low-income households just to help take care of basic needs. And with it showing results in everything from health outcomes, to educational outcomes, to public safety outcomes. Do you support a guaranteed basic income? [00:16:58] Jeff Manson: I love the idea and I think we should continue experimenting with it. And actually, I am in the public benefits arena where everything - a lot of things are means-tested - unemployment benefits aren't, it's an insurance program. But in my office, we adjudicate food assistance, TANF [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families], state disability benefits, Medicaid - and these are all means-tested programs. And maybe I'm going to get myself in trouble with my union because I'm going to propose putting us out of work. But what we do is try to figure out whether people qualify for these programs. Somebody will be getting - say, $182 per month in food assistance. And then they get a letter that reduces it from $182 to $165, so it's gone down $17 a month. They request a hearing, they come to the hearing. And so now we have this whole hearing about whether they should have their benefits reduced by $17, and then I issue a decision and then it's implemented. And this is all after the person shows up in a building, they fill out paperwork, they go to their doctor or they go to their landlord to get supporting documentation, a financial worker and sometimes a social worker with DSHS looks it up - so we've got all of this expense for the bureaucracy of determining how much this person should - just give everybody $200 per month of food assistance. Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, you, me, everybody - and is $200 the right amount? I don't know, but I think the concept of UBI [Universal Basic Income] has helped sort of change the conversation about this. There is so much bureaucracy around a lot of these means-tested programs, where if you just gave it to people, we know that almost everybody spends it in the way that we think people should spend it, which is on their basic needs. I think we saw this with the refundable childcare tax credit at the federal level - I don't think we would have had that conversation if it wasn't for Andrew Yang and him talking about UBI in the previous presidential election - even Mitt Romney was on board with a refundable child tax credit for everybody, which gives it to people who have children, who are the ones who need it. And it was too bad that it hasn't been extended, but I think all the studies have shown that it's been better than just about anything to reduce child poverty in this country. So wherever - actually having UBI like Andrew Yang was talking about is incredibly expensive, and so I wouldn't want to flip the switch and necessarily devote resources to giving everybody thousands of dollars per month right now. But I do think the concept is a good one for changing our approach to a lot of these public benefits. It is also demeaning as hell to go through the process of getting public benefits. You jump through all these hoops just to prove that you're poor enough, or disabled enough, or fleeing domestic violence enough - to get the paperwork necessary to prove that you're fleeing a domestic violence situation is awful. It's retraumatizing just to get what you need to survive on the street, because we don't have public benefits that really house everybody. Most of the benefits and most of the people I see in hearings in King County are unhoused people trying to get benefits - just to eat, much less get a job or whatnot. [00:20:26] Crystal Fincher: Yeah, that is the current situation and it is a shame, and we can do better. Another area where we can and have to do better is in keeping people safe. It's a concern that a lot of people have - people are looking at crime - wondering if they're going to be victimized and wondering if we're doing the right things about it. What can you do in your capacity as a state legislator to make people safer? [00:20:55] Jeff Manson: Yeah, no, it's a real issue, and it's something I feel - I live in Greenwood, I ride the E line downtown and it's an adventure every time. I've had stuff stolen and I've been doorbelling for about a month now, and it's what I hear more than just about anything. I think it's - as Democrats nationally - we're out of practice talking about crime. You know what I mean? Crime has been much lower - even now - over the last 20 years, 30 years than it was in say the 70s and the 80s. And now that it's ticking back up, and not just ticking back up, but accelerating back up here and nationwide, I think we're trying to figure out how to talk about it again. But it is going up and one of the basic public duties is to protect citizens. And I think it goes back to underfunded government, both on the services side and the criminal justice system side. On services, I think if you give people housing and you provide mental health supports, addiction supports, and provide access to community and to both government and individual support, then that's the root cause of a lot of crime. And we have not been - part of what we're seeing now is the results of under-investment in our government supports over the last several decades. So I think first and foremost, we need to get people housed and give them the support they need for their own individual recovery. I do believe housing needs to come first because anyone who's trying to take a step towards recovery, whether it's mental health or addiction, is just not gonna be able to take that first step if they are in fight-or-flight mode, 24/7 on the streets, and more vulnerable to the kind of crime we're talking about than the rest of us are. But once they are housed, then there's at least the opportunity to be able to get them services that they need. I also think we need more funding on the criminal justice side. Our courts have a two-year backlog in criminal trials, we don't have enough prosecutors or defenders or investigators or paralegals or social workers or mental health therapists. And we also have a police force, law enforcement that at least in Seattle has seen a lot of people leave. And I have mixed feelings about law enforcement, especially the last couple of years - after the murder of George Floyd, there was a big movement to increase accountability and oversight of police, which I 100% supported. We can not have law enforcement killing Black and Brown people and not having any consequences. So I supported the reforms from two sessions ago and was opposed to many of the attempts to roll those back this past session. But, while we do need accountability, while we need training, and while we need independent oversight, we still do need law enforcement - often they're responding to things that others could respond to. Maybe we don't need law enforcement to respond to every mental health crisis, but we do still need police officers and Seattle Police Department is down about 25% of their officers. They have homicide detectives who are now responding to 911 calls. So I do think our whole criminal justice system, including alternatives to incarceration and mental health supports, all need funding. And as a public servant myself, I see underfunded government in my line of work, and I think we should fully fund my public service, just like we need to fund the public servants who teach in our schools, and public servants who try our cases, and the public servants - the police, firefighters, first responders, who are the frontlines of our criminal justice system. [00:25:06] Crystal Fincher: Well, and you bring up an interesting point there in - looking at police and having them to respond to certain things, also looking at alternative responses or things that get more to treating the root cause. When, just as a general approach to crime, do you think - right now the majority of our resources are going into responses to crime pretty much after they've happened and trying to figure out are those right resources there, whether it's police or in the criminal legal system, to have it there. And we have severely underfunded alternative responses that get more to the root causes. So should we be shifting that priority in how we allocate our resources towards prevention and keeping people from being victimized in the first place? [00:25:58] Jeff Manson: Yes, but I think we can do both, and. I think it's all of the above. And I think after - a couple of years ago there was the slogan, Defund the Police. And I think it - I never thought that was the best slogan at the time or now, but I think the intent behind that for a lot of people who said that was - we should be funding alternatives to police response, and alternatives to incarceration, alternatives to solely punitive response - which I am 100% in support of. I don't think, and as someone who thinks government's underfunded and as a progressive Democrat, I don't think it's a zero-sum game. I don't think in order to fund something, you have to take away from another government service. I think law enforcement - just like firefighting, just like roads and electricity - are just a basic government resource that should be funded at a basic level. But in terms of where we should be directing new resources - should be towards those alternatives and getting at the root cause of a lot of crime. We have an acute crisis right now in that people call 911, or call the police, and they literally don't get a response. That's an immediate right now, this year, this month issue. While, on the other hand, the reason we're having an uptick in crime is that over the last couple of decades, we haven't invested in all this stuff to prevent the crime. So you need both - you need to attack the acute problem right now, but you also need to lay the groundwork and start investing in the social infrastructure to prevent crime in the future. And also when we talk about alternatives to incarceration, Drug Court is amazing - anecdotes say this, but studies show as well that those who successfully do Drug Court, it is a life-changing experience. But you don't get into Drug Court unless a police officer arrests you first. So I don't want to suggest that we start arresting people in order to get them into treatment that they need. But often it is the mechanism that gets them into where they need to go. I mean, Drug Court is hard - people talk about it - when I say people, people who may come at this from a different perspective than me - it's like, oh, that's the easy way out. It's just handing them services instead of actually being tough on crime or whatnot, but Drug Court's hard - you have to make regular court appearances, you have mandatory treatment, regular drug tests, and if you slip up you're back to jail. But those who graduate, who actually get all the way through, actually stay clean and get housed and become productive members of society. And we need to expand that opportunity - and things like LEAD, Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, is another great program that - we hear the stories of how it's successful, but also the studies show that it actually has good outcomes and the amount of money invested is less than jailing somebody. But it is law enforcement that is assisting that diversion - it's that interaction with law enforcement that is allowing that to happen. So - [00:29:22] Crystal Fincher: Well and that brings up an interesting question. So in your perspective, should addiction, or even possession, be criminalized? Is that the best approach, or should we be treating it like a public health problem? [00:29:33] Jeff Manson: No, it's absolutely a public health problem. Yeah, it's - if you're pulled over and you've got half a ton of meth in your truck or something that's different, but yeah - simple possession, just being an addict - that is, these are people who are sick and they need treatment, just like someone who has COVID or cancer. It is a public health problem, and I very much believe in a harm reduction approach to addiction. But I do think that a lot of the property crime that we're seeing and other kinds of low-level criminal activity is the result of addiction. It doesn't mean that all addicts commit crimes - not all homeless people commit crimes, it's a unfair stereotype - but a lot of the criminal activity that we're seeing - packages stolen from porches, windows being broken in small businesses - a lot of that is people trying to feed their addiction and that's not an excuse for the behavior, but it is an explanation of the root cause of a lot of what we're seeing. [00:30:47] Crystal Fincher: And seemingly a roadmap to how to reduce the occurrences of crime committed as a result of addiction or dependency - that if we solve the root, then we also solve for the crime in many of those instances. I'm also wondering - we need to make such dramatic progress in terms of our approach to climate change, in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, in mitigating the impacts that we're already feeling and that those who are most marginalized are feeling most acutely. And just starting off, our transportation sector is the biggest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions, so it seems like any solution needs to start there and it needs to be substantive. What would you propose, especially that impacts transportation-related emissions, to reduce those and help meet our climate goals? [00:31:54] Jeff Manson: Yeah, you know what? I was in fourth grade and I read the environment book, I remember explaining climate change to my parents and it was news to them - this was 1990, so it was news to them. I remember telling them - look, this is my future, mom and dad. And now I'm realizing now it's our present, right? And it's going to get worse, even if we do all the things right, it's going to get worse. But we've got the smoke from forest fires in our summer days, our few summer days here in Seattle, we can see the glaciers get smaller and smaller on the mountains every year. I have a family member who was essentially a climate refugee, who was living in a more tropical area and two Category 5 hurricanes left her without housing. She fortunately had the supports necessary to relocate, but this is scary. Fortunately, Washington State has been arguably the leader among the states in tackling climate change. Unfortunately, that's nowhere near close enough, but we should continue to push that envelope and be on the forefront as a state, not just for our own sake and doing our own part, but also to be a model for other states and other countries - look, here's what you can do. And not only is it not devastating to your economy to make these transitions, but it actually can make an economy more resilient if you do it the right way. So in terms of the things we need to do, we had a transportation package this last session. I don't think we need to wait another 10 years for the next transportation package, which has sort of been the model - it's 6 to 10 years between transportation packages. There was no gas tax increase on this last one. Some of it was federal money that was passing through, so I think there's an opportunity - maybe not this next session, but within the next couple - to do another transportation package which should be very heavily focused on climate-friendly infrastructure - transit and other alternative modes of transportation. We have the Link Light Rail coming through the middle of the 36th a decade from now, right through Interbay and into Ballard. And we need to make sure that - first of all, that happens, but also that it happens in a way that we have a light rail system that people are actually going to ride. And I think that means having light rail underground under the Ship Canal. We just saw that the Coast Guard is saying that any bridge would need to be - I think it's 205 feet above - and I saw the drawing - [00:34:36] Crystal Fincher: Gotta accommodate those mega-yachts. [00:34:38] Jeff Manson: You gotta accommodate the mega-yachts. [00:34:40] Crystal Fincher: That's a big priority. [00:34:41] Jeff Manson: And maybe - I don't know if there are other vessels that would also require it or not, but there's an easy solution here, guys - go under the Ship Canal. It's not that deep, and actually it turns out that a tunnel is not that much more expensive than going above ground than we thought it would be. It's not that tunneling got cheaper it's that we're realizing the cost of going above ground is even more expensive than it used to be. And now with the bridge height needing to be that high, it's probably even more expensive. So, if the state needs to provide additional funding in order to make that happen, then let's do it. If we can find funding from some other third party source, that'd be great. But I think this is going to be - this is a hundred year decision, right? Like wherever this line goes and wherever these stops go, those stops will still be there a hundred years from now. We have to get this right now and we can't just say - oh, interest rates went up by 0.5%, therefore we need to remove a stop or we need to do it this way or that way. By going underground, it also allows the light rail to go west of 15th Avenue - right now, the proposals are along 14th, but that's not where people want to go. The historical downtown Ballard, which will still be the historical downtown Ballard a hundred years from now, is about six blocks west of where they're wanting to send it. If you go underground, then you're not having to destroy all those buildings and we need to provide the funding for that. Whether that's a transportation package or some other source, I don't know, but - [00:36:18] Crystal Fincher: If you do get the opportunity to vote on a new transportation package, or help shape it - will you vote or support a package that includes highway expansion? [00:36:29] Jeff Manson: Not if that's the overwhelming priority of the money - what the priority needs to be - green infrastructure and transit. And representing the 36th - my duty would be to do the best that I can for the 36th District. And we already have two highways - we don't need anymore. Now would I absolutely never vote for something that expanded a highway? Sometimes you have to make compromises - there are also - I would be open to an argument about a freight corridor or something. Maybe there's a one particular spot where there needs to be an expansion. But overall, my philosophy is - the place that we are the farthest behind from where we should be is in terms of our transit system. We are 40 to 50 years behind where we should be on transit. [00:37:19] Crystal Fincher: What more can we do to help meet our goals? We've taken actions, but we're still behind our goals. We need to catch up and accelerate. Is there anything else we can do outside of our transportation system? Action that you could take to help make that change? [00:37:39] Jeff Manson: Yeah, there's a lot we can do. And our own goals are reduced carbon emissions by about half by 2030 - we're almost to 2030. It sounds weird to say that, but we're talking about - I would be in a legislative session in 2023. Those policy - the laws would take effect summer of 2023 and the actual effects of those policies won't even start until 2024, and then we're only basically five years away from 2030. So we have to do whatever we're going to do now. There are some things that did not pass this last session, which is where we can easily just start off - electric vehicle subsidies didn't pass - we should do that in order to encourage the electrification of our vehicle fleet and people's cars. There was a bill to require climate impacts to be part of comprehensive plans and the Growth Management Act that didn't pass - something we should look at. Other opportunities to move towards more electrification of homes - some of those bills didn't pass. So it was just a lot of opportunities to invest in our electric grid. We already have one of the less carbon-emitting electric grids since we have so much hydroelectric power in this state, but if we're going to electrify homes and vehicles, we are going to need more electrical capacity than we have historically. So that means we're going to have to expand our electric grid, and we really have an opportunity to model for the nation and the world on how you can build an electric grid that is totally carbon neutral. We can build more wind farms, more solar power, and the transmission lines to get it to population centers. We need to move - we need cleaning up the electric grid and moving things towards electricity that are not currently electricity. That's about 90%, probably, of our carbon goals - transportation being electric and investing in transit, and then electrifying pretty much every building, vehicle, or tool that we have is really the key to solving climate change. [00:40:10] Crystal Fincher: Well, and as we conclude our time today and are wrapping up, what is it that you think sets you apart from the crowded field of candidates that you are competing against in the 36th and how will voters' lives feel different as a result of you being their elected representative? [00:40:31] Jeff Manson: Well, I think I bring two things to the race primarily. One is - I have been doing, doing, doing to solve problems like this since I was a kid. I am not comfortable sitting still when I see a problem - I want to fix it. And I know that sometimes it takes a decade or more, it often takes working with a lot of other people. And I've been following that model for 30 years now, since I was 10 or 11 years old. And that's - I think that's the model of action that we want in a legislator - someone who sees a problem, is motivated and works their butt off to try to solve it, and is able to bring people together to do that. And I think I have a track record of doing that with progressive causes over the years. And I think the other is just an expertise in state government. I literally see how state laws and state budgets affect thousands of people every year and know at a granular level, how a turn of phrase in a statute can affect the outcome in an individual's case, or how a reduction in the state disability benefit by 20% results in changes in people's lives. And I think that perspective and being able to bring those stories of the people in my hearings into the Legislature and being able to speak to it from the perspective that I've been in, in my day job, could make a real difference. And besides that, I just love the 36th District. I've been there - I've been in this district for 15 years, it's a beautiful place, wonderful people - for those who could still afford to live in it. And would just really be honored to represent the 36th District in the Legislature and would just be such a joy to solve problems for people in the district. [00:42:28] Crystal Fincher: Well, thank you so much for joining us here today. [00:42:31] Jeff Manson: Thank you, Crystal. [00:42:32] Crystal Fincher: I thank you all for listening to Hacks & Wonks on KVRU 105.7 FM. The producer of Hacks & Wonks Lisl Stadler with assistance from Shannon Cheng. You can find me on Twitter @finchfrii, spelled F-I-N-C-H-F-R-I-I. Now you can follow Hacks & Wonks on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts - just type "Hacks & Wonks" into the search bar. Be sure to subscribe to get our Friday almost-live shows and our midweek show delivered to your podcast feed. If you like us, leave a review wherever you listen to Hacks & Wonks. You can also get a full transcript of this episode and links to the resources referenced in the show at officialhacksandwonks.com and in the episode notes. Thanks for tuning in - we'll talk to you next time.
Robert E. Wright says American employers need to implement a Cost-of-Living Adjustment. Employees are leaving in droves. They seek higher paying jobs that employers are giving to new employees. Those who are staying are underperforming. Americans know their real wages are declining.
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some other Social Security strategies.
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some other Social Security strategies.
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some Social Security and retirement strategies.
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some Social Security and retirement strategies.
1. We've talked about the big jump in Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment. But now we're hearing that some of that increase may get absorbed by Medicare. What's happening?? ((00:10)) 2. Congressman Himes responded to the claims about an Alzheimer's drug spiking Medicare costs. ((15:37)) 3. Fairfield CARES wants the public to normalize mental health conversations. We talked to the resource chairman about their efforts and the need. ((24:57)) IMAGE CREDIT: iStock / Getty Images Plus
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some Social Security and retirement strategies.
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some Social Security and retirement strategies.
Retirees received some good news ahead of 2022 when the Social Security Administration announced a 5.9% Cost of Living Adjustment for people that receive the benefit beginning in the new year. What does the increase tell us about inflation? We'll discuss that on the show and answer a few financial questions from listeners. Read more and get additional financial resources here: https://johnsonbrunetti.com/podcast-episode-228-social-security-announces-large-cola-increase-mailbag-questions/ What we discuss in this episode: 1:01 – Social Security COLA increase 3:18 – Is inflation higher than the increase? 4:56 – Mailbag question on saving after maxing contributions 7:14 – Diversification of taxes 8:21 – Mailbag question about taking care of parents 11:45 – Mailbag question about rental properties
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some Social Security and retirement strategies.
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some Social Security and retirement strategies.
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some Social Security and retirement strategies.
In this episode Michael and Tana talk about the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment for the coming year, and how those on Medicare are getting the short end of the stick.
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some Social Security and retirement strategies.
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some Social Security and retirement strategies.
In this episode Michael and Tana talk about the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment for the coming year, and how those on Medicare are getting the short end of the stick.
Is the economy going up, going down, or staying about the same? Gregory addresses the likelyhood of all three.Gregory gives you 5 reasons to not worry about a stock market crash.Keith in Van Cleave inherited an IRA and a Roth IRA from his father. What does he need to know about required distributions and taxes?Social Security's big Cost of Living Adjustment is going to be eaten up by Medicare premium increases and monetary inflation.Gregory announces some big changes coming to the show. The show is returning to a Saturday-only show, and James is leaving for a new opportunity.
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some other Social Security strategies.
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some other Social Security strategies.
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some other Social Security strategies.
During this episode, we're going to break down the recent news that Social Security's Cost of Living Adjustment will go up by 5.9 percent in January 2022. We'll also look at some other Social Security strategies.
Included in this episode: 1. Washington Wants to Regulate Facebook's Algorithm. That Might Be Unconstitutional 2. In ‘Transformational' Immigration Shift, Biden Administration Wants to Target Employers, Not Undocumented Workers 3. The NFL Will Survive Jon Gruden's Bigotry. But It Must Force Change 4. Why William Shatner's History-Making Spaceflight Is Something to Celebrate 5. Social Security Benefits Get the Biggest Cost-of-Living Adjustment in 39 Years .
Eric & Tasha join Herb & Emily for a mid-season review. Hear how the company is looking 6 months in. Plus, a new adjustment in the COLA (Cost-of-Living Adjustment) - find out why and when you'll be getting a bump! EAP (Employee Assistance Program):Call: (833) 256-5115 TDD: (800) 697-0353 Contact your Employee Assistance Program for 24/7 support, resources & information Online: guidanceresources.com App: GuidanceNowsm Web ID: EQUITABLE3To re-subscribe to our texting service: Text "unstop" to (833) 799-0458. If you have any issues contact Emily Tadlock at etadlock@sargent.us or call (207) 631-1335.
There's signs a $1.2 trillion spending package could pass the Senate soon. Gregory reacts to Senator Bill Cassidy supporting the spending on Fox News Sunday.The Numbers were down for the day, but no excuse to get all worried just yet. There's still a wave of positive numbers from earnings season.Social Security is expected to make its biggest Cost of Living Adjustment in decades.The median home price is at an all time high. This is good news for home owners, but tough for anyone looking to get into the home ownership for the first time.
(Rockingham County, NC) - Audio of the April 19, 2021 meeting of the Rockingham County Board of Education. The meeting was held at the Rockingham County Schools Central Office.AGENDA1. Call to Order1.01 Roll Call2. Announcements2.01 There is no work session scheduled in April.2.02 The next Board Meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 10, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. at Central Administrative Offices at 511 Harrington Highway, Eden, NC via live stream.2.03 The May Work Session is scheduled at 6:00 p.m. for Monday, May 24, 2021 at the Central Administrative Offices, 511 Harrington Highway, Eden, NC via live stream.3. Moment of Prayer3.01 Rev. Kevin Dunovant from First Wesleyan Church, Eden, NC4. Pledge of Allegiance4.01 Pledge of Allegiance4.02 Approval of Agenda5. Public Comments / Board Comments5.01 Public Comments - At this time the board will hear public comments5.02 Board Comments6. Consent Agenda6.01 Consent Approval - Personnel Consent Items: Bus Drivers, Bus Monitors, SACC, Child Nutrition, Teacher Substitute Lists and Head Start Substitute List for 2020-20216.02 Consent Approval - Gifts, Grants and Donations - Ms. Annie Ellis6.03 Consent Approval - Adoption of Board Policies - Dr. Cindy Corcoran6.04 Consent Approval - Re-Appointment of Rockingham Community College Board Trustee - Dr. Shotwell6.05 Consent Approval - Career and Technical Education CPU Purchase - Dr. Ken Scott6.06 Consent Approval - Meeting Minutes for Board Approval - Open Session Board Minutes March 8 regular board meeting, March 11 Special Called Meeting, March 22 Regular Work Session, March 22 Special Called Meeting and March 26 Special Called Meeting as presented.7. Action Items7.01 Approval - Head Start Cost of Living Adjustment for 2021-2022 - Dr. Cindy Corcoran7.02 Approval - Proposed RCS Budget for 2021-2022 - Ms. Annie Ellis7.03 Approval - Budget Amendments - Ms. Annie Ellis7.04 Approval - Central Elementary School Gymnasium Roof Bid Proposal - Dr. Sonja Parks7.05 Approval - Holmes Middle School Library and Connector Roofs Bid Proposal - Dr. Sonja Parks7.06 Summer Acceleration Academy Retesting Plan and Approval - Dr. Charles Perkins7.07 Approval - eLearning Academy Update and Recommendation Needed on Future Direction - Dr. Charles Perkins8. Reports / Discussion Items8.01 Rockingham Community College - Dr. Mark Kinlaw8.02 RCS Cares About Your Safety -- Dr. Stephanie Ellis/Dr. Shotwell/Dr. Parks/Dr. Perkins and Dr. Corcoran8.03 Behavioral Health Update - Dr. Cindy Corcoran / Dr. Stephanie Ellis8.04 Energy Performance Contract Update - Dr. Sonja Parks8.05 Strategic Plan Report - Dr. Charles Perkins8.06 Comprehensive Annual Fiscal Report (CAFR) for Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2020 - Ms. Annie Ellis8.07 Upcoming Changes to Traditional Installment Pay - Ms. Annie Ellis8.08 Board Chair Announcements - Ms. Kimberly McMichael, Board Chair9. Closed Session10. Open Session10.01 Personnel Report - Approval of Personnel Actions11. Adjournment11.01 Motion to adjourn# # #
In this episode, Emily interviews Sam McDonald, a fifth-year PhD student in informatics at the University of California at Irvine. Sam received the NSF GRFP, completed a lucrative internship at a tech company, has won multiple smaller grants and fellowships, and taught classes for additional income. Upon observing this, some of her peers questioned why she was still applying for awards. Even more light was shone on this issue when her department compiled a list of all the grad students' income as part of the Cost of Living Adjustment protests in the University of California system; Sam was the highest-paid grad student. In response, Sam became discouraged and even stopped submitting funding applications until her advisor counseled her about knowing her worth. Sam has now come out the other side of this financial shaming experience and has great advice for anyone else questioning their worth and what they should be paid in academia.
Josh Barker of Radio Free Hillsdale discusses HR 8598 and 8600, two competing proposals to raise the Social Security Cost of Living Adjustment for 2021 and beyond.
Only a few months ago in January, federal employees saw a pay raise of 3.1%. At the same time, federal retirees only saw an increase of 1.6% to their pensions. The difference comes from how those increases come about. The increase the retirees see every year is called COLA, or Cost of Living Adjustment. The increase comes from a price index that is supposed to mirror inflation. Some would argue that it doesn't do a great job (health insurance rates are rising at nearly 5.5% per year) but that is out of my scope. The increase that CSRS employees and Social Security recipients see every year is typically higher than what FERS retirees see especially in the years when inflation rates are higher. The pay raise the active employees see comes about in a completely different way. Every year the president and congress get together and decide on their budget. During this process, they decide on what type of raise if any they are going to give federal workers. The 3.1% raise that we just saw is much higher than we've seen in years. So far, federal pay (especially with all the other great benefits) seems to be still competitive enough to encourage people to seek out government jobs. We will have to wait and see what the government does next year and what the future holds for the millions of federal employees around the country.
Only a few months ago in January, federal employees saw a pay raise of 3.1%. At the same time, federal retirees only saw an increase of 1.6% to their pensions. The difference comes from how those increases come about. The increase the retirees see every year is called COLA, or Cost of Living Adjustment. The increase comes from a price index that is supposed to mirror inflation. Some would argue that it doesn't do a great job (health insurance rates are rising at nearly 5.5% per year) but that is out of my scope. The increase that CSRS employees and Social Security recipients see every year is typically higher than what FERS retirees see especially in the years when inflation rates are higher. The pay raise the active employees see comes about in a completely different way. Every year the president and congress get together and decide on their budget. During this process, they decide on what type of raise if any they are going to give federal workers. The 3.1% raise that we just saw is much higher than we've seen in years. So far, federal pay (especially with all the other great benefits) seems to be still competitive enough to encourage people to seek out government jobs. We will have to wait and see what the government does next year and what the future holds for the millions of federal employees around the country.
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about the decision by lawmakers to end the legislative session two weeks early, Governor Stitt vetoes a bill on rural broadband and lawmakers pass a bill giving a Cost of Living Adjustment for State Retirees. The trio also discusses a constitutional challenge to the new law requiring notarization of absentee ballots and remembering Oklahoma City Republican Senator Brooks Douglass. Support this podcast
In this episode, Jalen and his guest Adrian discuss California's COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment), graduate student unions, George M. Johnson’s “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” and the 2020 presidential race. * Welcome (0:10) Classic Shit (14:06) What’s the tea? (23:19) What I Been Seein’ (42:26) I’m so done (51:35) * George M. Johnson's "All Boys Aren't Blue":https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YRL9DCW/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1/ For more info about COLA: payusmoreubc.com / payusmoreucsc.com / moms4housing.org * Follow Go Black Boy Go on Twitter / Instagram @goblackboygo, the host on Twitter @jalenthompso, and the guest on Twitter @FreshFredKid. Listen on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, and Podbean!
Joan Hartmann has held on to her job as Santa Barbara County's (and Isla Vista) 3rd District Supervisor with no need for a November runoff. Sup. Hartmann speaks with The Bottom Line/KCSB's Noe Padilla about the fierce race how her strongest competitor misled student voters. Then, the latest on the COLA Movement, an effort by UC graduate students to be given a Cost of Living Adjustment. We'll also reflect on the Bank of America burning of 50 years ago with a student who was on campus - and inside the bank the evening it burned. You can see photos and read more of Noe Padilla & The Bottom Line's COLA coverage at https://thebottomline.as.ucsb.edu/
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel and sitting in for Neva Hill is Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs Director of External Relations Dave Bond about renewal of calls to provide a Cost of Living Adjustment for state retirees, Governor Stitt goes before the U.S. Senate to support a federal proposal to stop states from using the Clean Water Act to block energy projects and time is running out in the stalemate between the governor and tribal leaders over gaming compacts. The trio also discusses a bill to extend Oklahoma's ban on smoking to bars and another piece of legislation to provide a tax break for gun safety classes in response to the permitless carry law. Support this podcast
HEB | HEPP Pensions Rob: If you're a healthcare provider in Manitoba, this is for you. I'm Rob Tétrault, Head of the Tétrault Wealth Advisory Group from robtetrault.com, here at Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management. I'm here with Adam Buss here at Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management. Adam, thanks for coming today. Adam: Thanks for having me, Rob. Rob: You are the pension expert, so I'm super thrilled to have you here. You've seen a ton of these. We're going to have a good time today talking about these Manitoba health care provider pensions. All right Adam, first of all – HEB and HEPP. A bit of a tongue twister. Adam: It certainly is. And I would view those as rather interchangeable. Rob: Yeah? Adam: A lot of people deal with the HEB, the health care employees' benefit side on a regular basis. The one that we often work with is HEPP, which is health employees' pension plan. It really comes from the exact same place, but we're actually dealing with the pension plan side of the business majority of the time. Rob: Okay. So these are health care employees in Manitoba. They have a pension. What kind of pension do they have? Adam: This is a defined benefit pension plan. So there's two different types of plans out there, a defined contribution plan where you put the money in and choose kind of the investments that you want to deal with. And there is a defined benefit, which is you still have to contribute, but it results in a, you know, a guaranteed payment stream for the rest of your life, which is what this is a defined benefit. Rob: Okay. So with respect to these pensions, how are they calculated? I mean, I know that t's probably a tough question, but I assume there's a formula with respect to years of service income. Adam: Yeah. So it's years of service. It's generally your best five years. Some plans are the best 10 years of your income, multiplied by a pension factor. In this case the health employees' pension plan is a 1.5% up to YMPE and I know you're going to ask what is YMPE..., Rob: That's the song, right? Where they go … Adam: It's not the YMCA song, but they do get confused rather often. YMPE is yearly maximum pensionable earnings. Rob: Okay. Adam: That is basically the number is to what level of earnings do you pay Canada pension plan premiums on? Rob: Okay. Okay. Right now, that would be…? Adam: $57,400 I think is the magic number this year. It does change every year. So based on your pension, the health employees' pension plan is a lesser amount up to that. And then over that amount, it's a 2% factor. Rob: Once we get one and a half of the first $56 K and 2% above that. Adam: Exactly. Rob: And that's your factor. That's multiplied by your years of service Adam: Correct, you do years of service, times the average pensionable income and that equals your guaranteed payment stream for life. There's added complexities. When you get your pension options, it's going to be 10 different options. Okay, well what happens if you choose a guaranteed survivor option, you know, 100% or a single life or a 66% to survivor or you want, you know, a 10 year guarantee period. All of these different options effect that number as to what is going to be in it. There's probably a baseline and then they adjust, whether or not you're guaranteeing it or you're not. If you did the simple math, that's called a straight life, which is basically just for one person saying, okay, this is your payment stream guaranteed for the rest of your life. If you want to add the bonus aspects of leaving money for a surviving spouse or in a state for the beneficiaries, that's where that number starts to go down a little bit. Rob: Okay. Now, if I'm an employee, how do I know when I can retire? Is there a formula for like a magic number or something like that? Adam: Yeah, most of these plans do have a magic 80, which should be once your years of service plus your age equals the total number of 80. That's when you generally can retire without an unreduced pension. Some plans also have a minimum age of 55 years, which is when you're allowed to start drawing from your pension. Every plan is slightly different, but we certainly want to a work with our clients to identify what that looks like. Rob: Okay. Let's say I'm retiring in a year or two. And I'm a little stressed about these options. What should I do, and how do I know what option is for me? And is there are another option. Adam: There certainly are many options. All we do with our clients is we work with our them to pick A, the best option, which isn't necessarily A, but it's trying to determine what is the best option on their pension for what their needs are. Hopefully you're coming to us to kind of navigate what some of those options are. There is also the option of taking a commuted value for your pension. Rob: Now that's interesting. Adam: Yeah. So commuted value is the lump sum of money behind the scenes that is being exchanged for that guaranteed payment for the rest of your life. So, Rob, you have the option of transferring that commuted value out of the pension plan into your own investment choices. And then you get to pick as to how that money's invested. When do you want to draw from it? Do you want to take more upfront in more and less than the later years, you have a lot more options available to you and it's guaranteed to leave any money that's left to your beneficiaries. Rob: Basically, you own those assets. Adam: You own that money, not the pension plan. Rob: So contrary to, you know, you contribute to this pension, take the money out, you give it to them, they give you a stream forever. If here you say, give me my assets, I will put them in a locked in retirement account and maybe I can roll some of that to an RRSP and then that becomes my assets. Those are my assets, my pension. I can have quite a bit of flexibility on it because I can draw more or less. But more importantly, the big one is, it's in my name. If I pass my estate gets it, my spouse gets it, it goes onto my beneficiaries. Full Blog Article and Video on Pension Tax Credit Adam: That is often the number one thing when we meet with clients is their goal is they want to make sure the bulk of that pension that they worked so hard for their entire career actually goes to their family if they pass away. Rob: Yeah. Adam: Right. Instead of that guaranteed payment stream, it's making sure that 100% of whatever money is left goes to what's most important. Their families. Rob: Makes a ton of sense. Talk to me really quick about the bridge benefit. Adam: Some pensions do have a bridge benefit, which gives you a little bit extra money prior to age 65 which is to bridge you until you start your Canada pension plan or your old age security. So it gives you a slightly higher pension until that point in time and then it drops your pension. But then your CPP and your old age security kick in, which boost up your income back to where it should be. Rob: It's an advantage. Adam: It is an advantage, right? It's extra money that you're getting to try to smooth out your income throughout retirement. Rob: Okay. And what about cost of living adjustments? Are there any for costs of living. Adam: When it comes to that, the HEPP pension plan, it is on an ad hoc basis, which means they will give you the cost of living increase when they feel they have the money to do so. There are no guarantees in place that your pension is going to keep up with the cost of living increases. Rob: Historically, some of them have happened, some of them haven't. Adam: Yeah, they do it on a year by year basis. Depends on how the pension's funded. Depends on all the performance has been a variety of different factors that may only be partially indexed to inflation or cost of living on a year by year basis. But of course, there's no guarantees. Rob: That's called COLA. Adam: COLA, Cost of Living Adjustment. Rob: All right, perfect. Well thanks Adam. I really appreciate your time. It's great to have you here live from downtown Winnipeg talking about the HEB and the HEPP pensions. I'm Rob Tétrault from robtetrault.com, Head of the Tétrault Wealth Advisory Group here at Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management. Adam Buss, Senior Wealth and Estate Planner at Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management. If you have questions on this or on your portfolio or on your planning, or if you're retiring soon and you're not sure what to do, go to speaktorob.com, we'll book a consultation free, no obligations. We'd love to hear from you. Thanks for tuning in. Have a great day.
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about a lawsuit between the National Rifle Association and it's long time marketing partner Ackerman McQueen out of Oklahoma City, the opioid trial is going before a judge rather than a jury and Comanche County wants in on the trial after taking issue with the settlement between AG Mike Hunter and Purdue Pharma. The trio also talks about Governor Stitt getting a controversial anti-abortion bill, state employees will have to wait for any Cost of Living Adjustment and politicians are already raising money in preparation for the 2020 election. Support this podcast
This Week in Oklahoma Politics, KOSU's Michael Cross talks with Republican Political Consultant Neva Hill and ACLU Oklahoma Executive Director Ryan Kiesel about a $270M settlement between Oklahoma and Purdue Pharma with the lion share of the money going to OSU's Health Center in Tulsa, the leader of the Senate forms a working group on Cost of Living Adjustment for state retirees and a number of issues have recently arisen at county jails including Nowata, Washington and Oklahoma. The trio also discusses a $16M supplemental request from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services and it's been a year since lawmakers passed HB1010XX which raised revenue to pay for teacher salary increases. Support this podcast
As autumn colors unfold and the calendar flips to October, many people look forward to upcoming holidays, college football and the World Series, or simpler pleasures like cooler weather. Buried in the busyness of the season is an important announcement from the Social Security Administration: the annual Cost of Living Adjustment. It’s estimated to be the largest increase in recent years, so Bob and Andy take a look at how it could impact retirees. Plus, Bill Tracy is in-studio to talk about the rate hike, and his outlook on the 4th quarter.
01:16 - Social Security is getting a 2.8% Cost of Living Adjustment, the largest in a while. Gregory explains how your Medicare premium increases can offset your Social Security benefit, and 08:41 - Gregory shares a story of a couple who wants to retire in 3 years, and their pensions will eat into their Social Security benefits, so things get complicated. Gregory says they are ready to retire now. 25:53 - If someone says their retirement isn't all it's cracked up to be, there's a good chance they don't have the financial ability to do much. 27:42 - A trust mill gets busted for posing as Estate Planning services, and taking advantage of folks. It's reported they were just using Estate Planning as a front to sell life insurance and annuities, and they weren't even attorneys. 42:08 - Kanye bought his wife Kim some stocks for Christmas last year, and it looks like it's up about 40%. http://www.WinningAtLife.com
Today Candice Marie has a positive net worth, savings, investments and paid off over $47,000 in debt! This wasn't the case just six years ago when she didn't want to check her net worth because she knew it was in the negatives. While some of us worry about living paycheck-to-paycheck, Candice had to get use to a no-check-to-no-check lifestyle after struggling for years to find steady work after graduating college. Rather than get discouraged, she used this as an opportunity to become self-taught about personal finance. She began sharing her experiences through Young Yet Wise. The network she built and stories she shared there helped motivate her to stay on track and learn more about smart money management. She joins Paychecks & Balances this week to give you realistic tips for reaching your own financial goals. [bctt tweet="Financial freedom means "living life on your own terms." - @YoungYetWis3" username="PayBalances"] How focusing on net worth versus just debt and savings management helped motivate her to reach her financial goals Candice saved $1,000, began investing with only $1,000, then focused on paying down her debts Why she chose the Snowball method when tackling her Student Loans The apps and tools she recommends for tracking and managing your investments and financial goals Visit her website to sign-up for her free 5-day money challenge to jump start your own journey to financial freedom References Mentioned in this Show Candice Marie Website: YoungYetWise.com Twitter: @YoungYetWis3 Instagram: YoungYetWis3 Top Recommended Blogs The 4 Powerful Things that Happen When You Track Your Net Worth Why One Source of Income Isn't Enough PB86: Banish the Balance ft. Tonya Rapley PB68: Don’t Cost Yourself $600,000 in Lost Career Earnings P&B Blog: How to Calculate Your Cost of Living Adjustment for Different Cities SmartAsset: What Americans in the Biggest Cities Spend the Most On Dave Ramsey Blog: The Debt SnowBall Method FinCon2018: Orlando, Florida Announcements Keeping up with the Joneses will cost you a lot of Benjamins: Is lifestyle creep holding you back from your financial goals? Check out Marcus' latest for GoBankingRates: Lifestyle Inflation Cost Me an Extra $8,000 a Year — Here’s How. You can view all of Marcus GBR pieces by visiting PaychecksAndBalances.com/GBR Thank You for the Support Exclusively for our email subscribers, we created a free guide: The 15 Minute Paychecks & Balances Money Plan: Your Guide to Financial Freedom. This tool includes “15-minute” plans for creating a budget, starting your debt freedom plan, and finding your FIRE number. Sign-up to get your guide today and see why just 15-minutes can change the next 15 years of your life. Read Marcus’ book series, Debt Free Or Die Trying, to learn more about how he paid off $30,000 in debt by age 30; and how to create a debt free plan you’ll actually follow. Looking for more free career development and debt freedom tips? Join our email list at PaychecksandBalances.com/email for exclusive content including show updates, digital giveaways, and more. We don’t spam. We just keeps it real. Yes, keeps. We’ve partnered with NerdWallet for all your personal finance needs at PaychecksAndBalances.com/Tools Check out our PATREON page! We’re raising funds to grow the show so we can create more great content that helps you get ahead professionally and financially. LIKE us on Facebook.com/PaychecksandBalances or follow us on Twitter @PayBalances @IamRichJones @THEMarcusGarret and on Instagram.
Hey Medicare Nation! The Center For Medicare & Medicaid Services has finally announced 2018 Premiums and deductibles for Part A & Part B of Medicare. Just as I had anticipated...... CMS has increased the Part B premium in 2018. A hefty amount....I might add. The 2018 Part B Premium for 2018 will be $134.00. Over 50 Million Medicare beneficiaries were protected by the "held harmless" regulation in 2017. Those Medicare beneficiaries did not see an increase in their Part B Premium for 2017, since the Part B Premium increase of $134.00 was higher than the Social Security COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) of .3%. When Social Security approved a 2% COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) for 2018, that gave Medicare the "go ahead" to increase the Part B premium. As long as the Medicare Part B Premium is equal to or less than the Social Security COLA adjustment, the Part B Premium increase will go into effect. Such is the case for 2018. With a 2% COLA increase in Social Security benefits, the majority of Social Security beneficiaries will see an increase of about $24-$25 in their Social Security benefit checks. Those same Social Security beneficiaries, make up about 70% of the Medicare population. CMS planned this out perfectly! The majority of Medicare beneficiaries that make up the same 70%, currently pay about $109.00 for their Medicare Part B Premium. If you add $25 to $109.00, you get........ $134.00! CMS adjusted the amount to become $134.00, to be aligned with the remaining 30% of Medicare beneficiaries, who currently already pay $134.00 for their Part B Premium. Now the majority of Medicare beneficiaries will be paying $134.00 a month for their Part B Premium in 2018. It's not rocket science people. Medicare needs more money to stay solvent. When you take over 50 million people and add $25 a month in premiums.....that equates to BILLIONS of dollars A MONTH! Let's look at the remaining 2018 Deductibles: Part A Hospital Deductible - $1,340.00 per benefit period. In English.....that means you pay $1,340.00 each time you are admitted to the hospital as an inpatient. Whether you are an inpatient for one day or sixty days, you will pay a $1,340.00 deductible. That's an increase of $24.00 from 2017. If you need to remain in the hospital for over 60 consecutive days, you will pay $335.00 per day from days 61-90 of a hospitalization. If you require more than 90 consecutive days in a hospital, you can use your "lifetime reserve" days. You are given 60 lifetime reserve days. When you use a lifetime reserve day....it's gone....forever. Let's say you have a piggy bank that has 60 pennies in it. If you break open the piggy bank and take 1 penny out to use....you have 59 left in the bank. Works the same way for lifetime reserve days. Each lifetime reserve day you use, will cost you $670 per lifetime reserve day in 2018. An increase of $12. from 2017. Skilled Nursing Facility Medicare allows up to 100 consecutive days in a Skilled Nursing Facility. Days 1-20 as a inpatient in a Skilled Nursing Facility will cost you $0. Days 21-100 of extended care services in a Skilled Nursing Facility in the same benefit period will have a co-pay of $167.50 per day. If you require more than 100 consecutive days in a Skilled Nursing Facility, you are responsible for 100% of the charges. Part B of Medicare Aside from paying $134.00 a month for being a "member" of Medicare Part B, you will also have out-of-pocket costs when you use outpatient services. The annual deductible for Part B in 2018 will be $183.00. That is the same amount as 2017. There will be on increase in the Part B deductible. Once you pay your Part B deductible, you will be responsible for 20% of the remaining Medicare allowable charge....under Original Medicare. Let's say you had to visit a Cardiologist and the Medicare allowable charge was $100.00 Medicare would pay 80% of the $100.00 and you would pay the remaining 20%. So....Medicare pays $80 and you would pay $20. You will continue to pay 20% of all Medicare allowable charges under Part B. Advocacy Groups For Medicare Here are some national advocacy groups, fighting for your rights under Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Help the cause by volunteering or donating a few bucks to ensure the fight for your rights continue. National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare The National Committee is dedicated to protecting Social Security and Medicare benefits for all communities and generations. Center For Medicare Advocacy The Center for Medicare Advocacy’s mission is to advance access to comprehensive Medicare coverage and quality health care for older people and people with disabilities by providing exceptional legal analysis, education, and advocacy. State Health Insurance Program provide free, in depth, one-on-one insurance counseling and assistance to Medicare beneficiaries, their families, friends, and caregivers. SHIPs operate in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and are grant-funded projects of the federal U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL). Consulting During Medicare Annual Enrollment If you would like to hire me as a consultant to assist you in comparing Medicare Plans or employer coverage, I am available to assist you. Send me an email to Support@TheMedicareNation.com and send me your information and how I can assist you. You can also go to the website - www.TheMedicareNation.com and "click" on the contact tab. I am also available as a professional speaker or emcee for your event. Thank you for listening to Medicare Nation! I appreciate your support! Diane Daniels
By now you are probably aware that if you are taking your Social Security benefits, you won't be getting a raise in 2016. You may even be aware that in addition to not having a Cost of Living Adjustment next year, the maximum benefit amount you can receive was actually reduced. Yet there is an even bigger concern when it comes to future benefits...
Welcome Medicare Nation! Everyone keeps asking me about the changes to Medicare for 2016. There are quite a few changes, so today I will focus on the biggest ones you want to know about today. How much will you pay for Medicare Part B (Outpatient Services)? There is no COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) for 2016. The Hold Harmless Rule comes into play. If there is no COLA, then there can be no increase in Medicare Part B. For everyone who is already on Medicare and receiving SS benefits, your Part B stays the same at $104.90. That’s 75% of the people that are on it. If you are turning 65 in 2016 and you are on Medicare, your premium will increase. If you delayed taking SS benefits because you continued working, your premium will increase. If you are on Medicare and Medicaid, your premium will go up. You may qualify for the state reimbursement for Medicaid costs. New premiums will be $121.80. Recommendations were that Medicare Part B premiums should be up around $159, but Congress limited the increase to $121.80. In actuality, Congress gave you a loan for the difference between $121.80 and $159, and charged you a fee for the loan until it can be repaid. Over $65 Billion of Medicare dollars is lost to fraud. Instead of worrying about the fraud, your politicians gave you a loan! Oy Vey! If you make over $85K in income, your premium will increase to a different amount, which you can reference on the website. Medicare Part D (Drugs) - Medicare Advantage Plan majority will have drug coverage included already. For 2016, know your deductible situation (max $360). Some have them and you will have to pay out first, and others will only be triggered with a brand name drug. The Donut Hole - You don’t want to be in this category. $3310 is the maximum expense for this category. When you add up the amount of money you have paid and the plan has paid, and it exceeds $3310 and now you are in the donut hole. Now the government wants you to start paying more for your coverage. The new threshold is $4850 for this level. You will now pay 45% of the cost of the brand name drug and you will pay 58% for a generic drug. What you pay out of pocket plus a 50% manufacturer discount. Once you meet $4850, you now fall into the catastrophic coverage phase. Catastrophic Phase - Last through the end of the calendar year. You will pay 5% of the cost of the drug or $7.40, whichever is higher. For generics you pay 5% of the cost of the drug or $2.95, whichever is higher. The slate gets wiped clean as of Jan. 1 and your classification starts all over again. Medicare Payout for Providers: For 2016, payments will be reduced by 30% They are looking at tying procedures together when there are multiple issues stemming from the procedure. Payment will be reduced when you are re-admitted to the hospital within a certain timeframe. When a patient contracts an infection during a hospital stay, the payments will also be reduced. They are looking at “Value over Volume”. If you have been on Medicare for a year, you can have an annual Wellness medicare checkup. This isn’t your annual physical, but a Wellness Medicare Exam. From now thru Feb. 14, you can drop your Medicate Advantage Plan and go back to original Medicare and have coverage for Part A and Part B. Then you would need to purchase Part D separately. No premium for Part A (overnight stays in any type of facility) $1288 is the amount you pay for 60 days. Day 61-90, you pay an additional $322/day and after day 90, you pay $644/day. Every person has 60 lifetime reserve days for one time use only. In skilled nursing 0-20, 21-100 (max) you pay $161/day. Part B has a one time deductible of $166, and then 20% of Medicare allowable cost. Find out your co-insurance payment prior to the appointment. Stand Alone Prescription Drugs Plans: All have premiums Check for the deductibles too You can apply for a supplement for Medicare to help cover the cost of Original Medicare Do you have questions or feedback? I’d love to hear it! email me: support@themedicarenation.com Thank you for listening! If you enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and leave a 5 star rating and review in iTunes! (Click here) Find out more information about Medicare on Diane Daniel’s website! www.CallSamm.com
By now you are probably aware that if you are taking your Social Security benefits, you won't be getting a raise in 2016. You may even be aware that in addition to not having a Cost of Living Adjustment next year, the maximum benefit amount you can receive was actually reduced. Yet there is an even bigger concern when it comes to future benefits...
McAlvany Weekly Commentary About this week's show: Unemployment at 5%! (If you skip counting 94 million people) The last time rates rose (1% to 5%), gold rose 75% Government to retirees “NO Cost of Living Adjustment for 2016” The McAlvany Weekly Comment with David McAlvany and Kevin Orrick “How much of a deficit is there? What does it […] The post Fed's Next Interest Rate Move, Deadly Decoy? appeared first on McAlvany Weekly Commentary.
In this episode, Jen and Joe recap all the bills that passed the House of Representatives and were covered on Congressional Dish in 2013. Also, an update on the debt ceiling. Music in This Episode: Intro and Exit Music: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio) In Your Name by The Undercover Hippy (found on Music Alley by mevio) Debt Ceiling See how your representative voted on S. 540, the bill that suspends the debt ceiling until March 16, 2015, which passed the House on February 11 and the Senate on February 12. If we don't suspend the debt ceiling, we probably will not default on our debt as doing so would be unconstitutional. However, the only way that we would avoid a default would involve a scenario along the lines of the one described by Jeffrey Dorfman in Forbes, which involved slashing the Federal government and even eliminating whole departments. The debt ceiling either needs to be raised or suspended or the government drastically slashed by February 27. Bills Covered by Congressional Dish in 2013 (In Chronological Order) H.Res.5: House Rules for the 113th (Agreed to 1/3/13) Highlighted in episode CD010: House (Finally!) Votes on Sandy Aid Members can take private jets using government money (CD016) Speaker John Boehner promised we would have at least 72 hours to read bills, but this promise wasn't put in the official House rules. (112th Congress) H.R. 8: The Fiscal Cliff Bill (Passed House & Senate 1/1, LAW 1/2) Highlighted in episode CD009: What's in the Fiscal Cliff Bill Extended unemployment insurance Extended Farm bill until September 2013 Extended the Bush tax cuts Increased capital gains taxes from 15% to 20% Extended the college and child tax credits Multinationals -including banks- don't have to pay taxes on income from foreign subsidiaries H.R. 152: Funded Hurricane Sandy relief (Passed House 1/15, Senate 1/28, LAW 1/29) Highlighted in episode CD010: House (Finally!) Votes on Sandy Aid Sandy was on 10/29/12, funding for the recovery was finally provided on 1/15/13 All Reps from Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Kansas voted against it H.R. 307: Prepares for Biological Attacks (Passed Senate 2/27, House 3/4, LAW 3/13) Highlighted in episode CD011: No Budget, Still Get Paid Loosened the definition of an "emergency" to include "threat justifying emergency authorized use" of unapproved medical devices H.R. 325: "The No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013" (Passed House 1/23, Senate 1/31, LAW 2/4) Highlighted in episode CD011: No Budget, Still Get Paid Suspended the debt ceiling until May 18, 2013 House & Senate both have to pass budgets by April 15, 2013 (which they did). Would have paid Congress no matter whether or not they passed their budgets; they would have been back paid. H.R. 225: Pediatric Research (Passed House 2/4) Highlighted in episode CD013: Surveillance, Stupidity, and Drones Public & private non-profits need to help CDC with surveillance systems in order to get pediatric research grants but provided no money. H. R. 444: "Require A Plan Act" (Passed House 2/6) Highlighted in episode CD013: Surveillance, Stupidity, and Drones President would have to submit a second budget if his first budget wasn't balanced. H.R. 235: Helping Veterans Become Emergency Medical Technicians (Passed House 2/12) Highlighted in episode CD014: Marching Towards Sequester Gives grants to States to streamline requirements for veteran EMTs to become civilian EMTs H.R. 592: Gave Hurricane Sandy Money to Repair Churches (Passed House 2/13) Highlighted in episode CD014: Marching Towards Sequester The first amendment to the Constitution prohibits direct funding of religious buildings [caption id="attachment_419" align="alignright" width="150"] A small conduit hydro-electric project[/caption] H.R. 267: Fast Tracks Hydro-Power Projects (Passed House 2/13, Senate 8/1, LAW 8/9) Highlighted in episode CD014: Marching Towards Sequester Fast tracks hydro-power projects on existing dams. H.R. 273: Eliminates Federal Workers' First COLA in 3 Years (Passed House 2/15) Highlighted in episode CD014: Marching Towards Sequester S. 47: Violence Against Women Act Re-authorization (Passed Senate 2/12, House 2/28, LAW 3/7) Highlighted in episode CD017: VAWA & Funding Defense Adds stalking and date rape to list of punishable offenses Cyber stalking counts as stalking Most of the funding decreased from previous levels H.R. 749: Banks Only Send Privacy Notices When Something Changes (Passed House 3/12) Highlighted in episode CD018: The Ryan Budget H.R. 890: Extended a welfare program and prohibits states from operating their own (Passed House 3/13) Highlighted in episode CD018: The Ryan Budget H.R. 803: "SKILLS Act" (Passed House 3/15, S. 1911 introduced in Senate committee 1/9/2014) Highlighted in episode CD018: The Ryan Budget Would effectively put decisions on welfare-to-work training programs in corporate control by changing the make-up of local boards. Would have required layoffs of Federal workers by consolidating 35 programs into one. H.R. 933: The Continuing Resolution (Passed Senate 3/20, House 3/21, LAW 3/26) Highlighted in episodes CD017: VAWA & Funding Defense, CD019: Continuing Resolution- Part 1, CD020: Continuing Resolution- Part 2, and CD021: Trailblazer vs Thin-thread Funded the government until September 30, 2013 Included the Monsanto Protection Act H.R. 678: Waives hydro-power projects from National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) (passed House 4/10, Senate 8/1, LAW 8/9) Highlighted in episode CD022: Crippling the Regulators Authorizes small hydro-power projects and determines who is first in line for the power H.R. 1120: Shut Down the National Labor Relations Board until 2014 (passed 4/12) Highlighted in episode CD022: Crippling the Regulators Board would have had to stop all work & not enforce decisions make after 1/4/2012 Could have restarted if recess appointments were ruled Constitutional or at start of second session of 113th All about recess appointments made by President Obama which may have been unconstitutional S. 716: Gut the STOCK Act (Passed Senate, 4/11, House 4/12, LAW 4/15 - Passed Congress with no recorded votes) Highlighted in episode CD024: Let's Gut the STOCK Act Exempted Congressional staff and executive branch employees from financial reporting. Eliminated the searchable website for financial reports. H.R. 882: No Contracts for Tax Delinquent Companies (passed House 4/15) Highlighted in episode CD024: Let's Gut the STOCK Act Can be waived H.R. 1163: Authorizes NSA Spying & Data Collection (Passed House 4/16 by 416-0) Highlighted in episode CD024: Let's Gut the STOCK Act Provides a framework for the coordination of information security between civilian, national security, and law enforcement communities. Focuses on automated and continuous monitoring of information systems. Acknowledges “market solutions for the protection of critical information systems important to the national defense and economic security of the National that are designed, built, and operated by the private sector.” Authorizes "secure facilities" for storing information Authorizes having enough staff with classified clearance to analyze that information H.R. 756: "Cybersecurity Enhancement Act" (Passed House 4/16) Highlighted in episode CD024: Let's Gut the STOCK Act Trains cyber-security professionals with taxpayer money & creates a strategy for buying private sector cloud services H.R. 624: CISPA "Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act" (Passed House 4/18) Highlighted in episode CD025: What's in CISPA? Director of National Intelligence would create procedures for giving "cyber threat information" to private companies and utilities Information can be passed from private companies to DHS and DOJ Information given by the private companies to the government will be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act A company that shares cyber intelligence with the government will be exempt from civil or criminal liability if they act "in good faith" The military and intelligence communities can't control, change or direct in any way the cyber-security efforts of a private company. Says US citizens can not be targets for surveillance H.R. 527: The Helium Bill (Passed House 4/26, Senate 9/26, LAW 10/2) Highlighted in episode CD026: A Tale of Two Bills Changes the way we sell our stockpile of helium so we get a fairer price & end the global helium shortage by allowing the government to sell our helium H.R. 807: Debt Ceiling Games (Passed House 5/9) Highlighted in episode CD027: Overtime Tells Treasury to make interest payments and social security payments when we hit the debt ceiling H.R. 1406: Time Off Instead of Overtime Pay (Passed House 5/8, S. 1623 Introduced in Senate committee 10/30) Highlighted in episode CD027: Overtime Allows time and a half in paid time off instead of time and a half pay for overtime, if the employee chooses that option H.R. 45 Repeal Obamacare (Passed House 5/16) Highlighted in episode CD028: The IRS Scandal Introduced by Michelle Bachmann H.R. 1062: Prevent Wall Street Regulations (Passed House 5/17) Highlighted in episode CD028: The IRS Scandal Forces SEC to do a cost-benefit analysis on their regulations of Wall Street SEC must explain why they didn't include suggestions made by the financial industry SEC must review all existing regulations every five years H.R. 258: Don't Lie About Military Medals for Money (Passed House 5/20, Senate 5/22, LAW 6/2) Highlighted in episode CD029: Keystone XL Pipeline The Bush Administration version was ruled unconstitutional for violating the First Amendment This changes it so that you get busted for fraud if you fake having a medal for financial gain H.R. 1073: Penalties for Attacking US and Corporate Ships (Passed House 5/20) Highlighted in episode CD029: Keystone XL Pipeline Penalties that currently apply when a US ship or ship in US territory is attacked would be applied worldwide and would include attacks on corporate ships. H.R. 3: No Permit Needed for Keystone XL (Passed House 5/22) Highlighted in episode CD029: Keystone XL Pipeline [caption id="attachment_580" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Tar sands oil next to a home in Mayflower, Arkansas. Source: EPA[/caption] Bill by Lee Terry of Nebraska Would exempt Keystone XL from the law requiring a Presidental permit Government can waive any law or regulation in order to issue the Keystone XL permit H.R. 1911: Increase Interest Rates for Students (Passed Senate 7/24, Passed House 7/31, LAW 8/9) Highlighted in episodes CD029: Keystone XL Pipeline and CD038: Wasting July Caps student loan interest rates at 8.25% for undergrads and 9.5% for graduate level students H.R. 1344: "Helping Heros Fly Act" (Passed Senate 8/1, House 8/2, LAW 8/9) Highlighted in episode CD029: Keystone XL Pipeline Creates procedures for expediting and private TSA screenings for injured and disabled veterans H.R. 2216: Appropriations for Military Construction and Veterans (Passed House 6/4) Highlighted in episode CD030: Military Construction & Anti-Biotics Never went to conference with the Senate & was funded via Jan 2014 omnibus budget S. 622: Animal Drug Bill (Passed Senate 5/8, house 6/3, LAW 6/13) Highlighted in episode CD030: Military Construction & Anti-Biotics Reauthorizes a fee system for accelerating testing or distribution of animal antibiotics Caps the amount of revenue the fees can bring into the government H.R. 1919: Electronic System for Tracing Pharmaceutical Drug Origins (Passed House 6/3) Highlighted in episode CD030: Military Construction & Anti-Biotics Allows so much time for implementation that the soonest the system would exist is 2028 Prohibits states from enacting stricter standards H.R. 742: Repeal Part of Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform (Passed House 6/12 by 420-2) Highlighted in episode CD031: First Draft of 2014 NDAA Makes SEC (Wall Street Police) liable for lawsuits that arise from them sharing information with other regulators. H.R. 634: Some Financial Gamblers Would be Exempt from Providing Collateral (Passed House 6/12 by 411-12) Highlighted in episode CD031: First Draft of 2014 NDAA H.R. 1256: Merge the Wall Street Police Forces (Passed 6/12) Highlighted in episode CD031: First Draft of 2014 NDAA The Commodity Futures Trading Commission and SEC would have to issue the exact same rules. Would exempt the biggest foreign swap gamblers from United States swaps regulations. Matt Taibbi: "This really just gives banks permission to go around the world regulator shopping." H.R. 1960: House NDAA (Passed 6/14, Final version LAW 12/26) Highlighted in episode CD031: First Draft of 2014 NDAA H.R. 1797: The Abortion Bill (Passed House 6/18, S. 1670 introduced to Senate committee 11/7) Highlighted in episode CD032: The Abortion Bill Doctors can't perform an abortion on a fetus that is 20 weeks or older. Doctors can be fined and sentenced to five years in prison. The mother can't be prosecuted. Exceptions: Life of the mother in danger, rape, or incest. H.R. 1613: Deepwater Drilling in The Center of the Gulf of Mexico (Passed House 6/27) Highlighted in episode CD033: Let's Deepwater Drill Approves the treaty with Mexico allowing drilling the Western Gap - in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. Slipped into the 2014 budget and is now LAW H.R. 2231: Force Offshore Drilling Upon States (Passed House 6/28) Highlighted in episode CD034: Let's Drill Offshore Forces Federal government to lease at least 50% of the unleased Outer Continental Shelf with the most fossil fuel resources Increase oil and gas production Forces leases off of the east coast and southern California Limited the content of environmental impact studies H.R. 2609: Energy & Water Funding (Passed House 7/10) Highlighted in episode CD035: Energy and Water Shorted renewable energy by $1.9 billion Shorted power grid upgrades, fuel efficiency, energy efficient buildings, geothermal energy, wind energy, energy assistance for the poor, environmental clean ups, and natural gas. Gave more than requested for nuclear energy and fossil fuels. H.R. 2094: The Epinephrine Bill (Passed House 7/30, Senate 10/31, LAW 11/13) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July Public schools will be allowed to stockpile epinephrine for students with food allergies and train staff to administer it H.R. 2218: Coal Waste is Not Hazardous (Passed House 7/25) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July Coal industry will have 10 years of meet groundwater protection standards EPA cannot categorize waste from burning coal, oil, natural gas, and tar sands as ‘hazardous waste’. H.R. 1582: Stop EPA Regulations (Passed House 8/1) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July EPA is not allowed to issue a regulation costing over $1 billion The social cost of carbon – climate change, cancer rates, etc. – can’t be used in a cost-benefit analysis H.R. 367: Stop All Regulations, Expect Federal Reserve Regulations (Passed House 7/31) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July Authored by Jo Ann Emerson Forces Federal agencies to get Congressional approval for all major rules that cost over $100 million, affect the finances of businesses, or create a carbon tax If Congress does nothing for 70 working days, the rule can’t be enacted None of this is subject to judicial review Monetary policy by the Federal Reserve is exempted H.R. 313: Stop Government Conferences (Passed House 7/31) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July Government conferences capped at $500,000 but private companies can make up the rest. All conference materials must be posed online. H.R. 2879: Screw Federal Workers (Passed House 8/1) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July Makes it easier to fire high level Federal employees Caps some Federal worker bonuses and prohibits any bonus at all for others. H.R. 1660: Customer Service in Government (Passed House 7/31) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July Each agency must establish customer service standards but will get no extra funding to do so. H.R. 2769: No IRS Conferences (Passed House 7/31) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July H.R. 2768: IRS Staff Must be Told that Taxpayers Have Rights (Passed House 7/31) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July H.R. 2565: IRS Agents Can't Target Audits for Political Purposes (Passed House 7/31) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July and CD028: The IRS Scandal H.R. 2009: Stop Enforcement of ObamaCare (Passed House 8/2) Highlighted in episode CD038: Wasting July IRS prohibited from enforcing tax provisions of Affordable Care Act H.R. 5: The Charter School Bill (Passed House 7/19) Highlighted in episode CD039: The Charter School Bill Expands the number of charter schools Gives charter schools as much taxpayer money as real public schools Charter school programs can be provided by for-profit businesses Public money will go to private schools and tutoring Sex education must teach abstinence to get Federal funds High schools students contact information must be given to military recruiters H.R. 2217: DHS Funding Bill (Passed House 6/6) Highlighted in episode CD042: House DHS Funding Bill Never went to conference & was funding in the omnibus budget in January 2014. S. 157 Natural Gas Pipeline in an Alaska National Park (Passed Senate 7/19, House 9/10, LAW 9/18) Highlighted in episode CD043: Nothin' Allows permits for small hydroelectric projects and a natural gas pipeline to cut through an Alaska national park. H.R. 2844: Prevent Americans From Knowing They Have Slow Internet (Passed House 9/9) Highlighted in episode CD043: Nothin' FCC does a 25 country comparison of data transmission speeds and price; this bill repeals that report. H.R. 2275: Damage ObamaCare (Passed House 9/12, passed House & Senate 10/16, LAW 10/17) Highlighted in episode CD043: Nothin' and CD049: Crisis… Postponed The bill was the "vehicle" to end the shutdown. The text was completely changed Prevents Americans from getting subsidies until the Secretary of Health and Human Services has a subsidy verification system in place. Funded government until 1/15/14 Suspended debt ceiling until 2/7/14 Killed the Monsanto Protection Act H.R. 3102: Cut Food Stamps by $40 Billion (Passed House 9/19) Highlighted in episode CD044: Pretend to Defund ObamaCare Was Titled the "Nutrition Reform and Work Opportunity Act" H.R. 1410: Stop a Casino Near Arizona Cardinal's Stadium (Passed House 9/17) Highlighted in episode CD044: Pretend to Defund ObamaCare Done on behalf of wealthy casino-owning tribes in Arizona that don't want the competition S. 793: Organization of American States is the Main Diplomatic Group in South America (Passed House 9/17, Senate 9/25, LAW 10/2) Highlighted in episode CD044: Pretend to Defund ObamaCare South American wants us out of their business; we're saying we're not going away. H.R. 761: Mining Projects are "Infrastructure" (Passed House 9/18) Highlighted in episode CD044: Pretend to Defund ObamaCare Exempts mining projects from environmental regulations. H.R. 1961: Fire Safety Exemption for the Delta Queen (Passed House 9/25) Highlighted in episode CD045: Stop the Shutdown Exempts an old wooden boat from fire safety standards for 10 years so it can carry passengers overnight The Shutdown Bills The House CR that didn’t really defund the Affordable Care Act (Episode CD044) The Senate CR that has not had a vote yet in the House (Episode CD045) The House CR that delays the Affordable Care Act for year (Episode CD046) The House CR that delays the Affordable Care Act & kills employer-paid health benefits for Congress and their staff. The House bill that requests a conference committee with Senate Funds National Parks and some museums Funds operations in Washington D.C. Funds veterans benefits Funds the National Institutes of Health Funds the National Guard and reserves H.R. 2275 finally ended the shutdown (see above) Back to Work H.R. 3080: Rush Water Projects (Passed House 10/23, Passed Senate with changes 10/31) Highlighted in episode CD050: Privatize Water Projects Speeds up and consolidates studies Speeds up permitting by letting utilities and natural gas companies pay the Army Speeds up environmental reviews Prohibits lawsuits after five months Privatizes maintenance and management of public water infrastructure H.R. 992: Expands Bank Bailouts (Passed House 10/30) Highlighted in episode CD051: Expand Bank Bailouts Bill written mostly by Citigroup lobbyists Makes foreign banks eligible for a bailout Allows bailout-eligible banks to trade in credit default swaps H.R. 2374: Prevent Brokers from Having a Fiduciary Duty to Their Customers (Passed House 10/29) Highlighted in episode CD051: Expand Bank Bailouts Prevents a Department of Labor regulation forcing brokers to do what is best for their customers, not themselves S. 252: Reauthorize and Decrease Funding for Premature Birth Research (Passed House 11/12, Senate 11/14, LAW 11/27) S. 330: HIV Organs Can Go to People With HIV (Passed Senate 6/17, House 11/12, LAW 11/21) Highlighted in episode CD053: TPP- The Leaked Chapter S. 893: Cost of Living Adjustment for Disabled Veterans (Passed Senate 10/28, House 11/12, LAW 11/21) Highlighted in episode CD053: TPP- The Leaked Chapter H.R. 2922: Personal Security Detail for Supreme Court Justices (Passed House 11/12, Senate 12/10, LAW 12/20) Highlighted in episode CD053: TPP- The Leaked Chapter H.R. 982: Publicly Publish Names of People Who Make Asbestos Trust Fund Claims (Passed House 11/13) Highlighted in episode CD053: TPP- The Leaked Chapter H.R. 2655: Penalize Americans for Using the Justice System (Passed House 11/14) Highlighted in episode CD053: TPP- The Leaked Chapter Imposes mandatory financial penalties for filing “frivolous” lawsuits. Eliminates the 21-day grace period to withdraw a lawsuit without financial penalty. H.R. 3350: Allow Insurance Companies to Sell Junk Policies (Passed House 11/15) Highlighted in episode CD053: TPP- The Leaked Chapter H.R. 2061: DATA Act (Passed House 11/12) Highlighted in episodes CD054: Hidden Data Act and CD057: Data Act-tually Pretty Good Streamline reporting standards and publish spending data on USAspending.gov H.R. 1965: Hand Over Our Land to Oil Companies (Passed House 11/20) Highlighted in episode CD055: Three Bills for Fossil Fuels Speeds up oil and gas permitting Forces us to lease our land to fossil fuel companies Leases land for oil shale development - a technology that still doesn't exist Limits Americans' access to the courts to stop drilling Severely limit Native Americans' access to the courts to stop drilling H.R. 2728: Prevent Fracking Regulations (Passed House 11/20) Highlighted in episode CD055: Three Bills for Fossil Fuels Prevents Federal regulation of fracking Rigs studies to only examine benefits of fracking, not the costs H.R. 1900: Speed Up Gas Pipeline Permitting (Passed House 11/21) Highlighted in episode CD055: Three Bills for Fossil Fuels Automatically permits pipelines that are not permitted in under 120 days H.R. 3547: Public Insurance for Private Space Flights (Passed House 12/2, served as the vehicle for the 2014 budget, LAW 1/17/14) Highlighted in episode CD059: NDAA 2014 Taxpayers will pay for private space accidents starting at $500 million and up to $2.8 billion H.R. 2719: TSA Must Publish Their Plans for New Technology (Passed House 12/3, S. 1893 referred to Senate committee 12/20) Highlighted in episode CD059: NDAA 2014 TSA must publicly publish a plan for the security technology they intend to buy Private sector must be included and plan must identify "public private partnership" opportunities H.R. 3626: Illegal To Have Firearms Undetectable to Metal Detectors (Passed House 12/3, Senate 12/9, LAW 12/9) Highlighted in episode CD059: NDAA 2014 H.R. 1105: Private Equity Fund Advisors Don't Need to Register With SEC (Passed House 12/4) Highlighted in episode CD059: NDAA 2014 H.R. 3309: Limit Patent Lawsuits (Passed House 12/5) Highlighted in episode CD059: NDAA 2014 Claims must be available on a public, searchable website Limits lawsuits down the supply chain Lawsuit losers must pay expenses and fees of the winners H.R. 3304: NDAA for 2014 (Passed House 10/28, Senate 11/19, LAW 12/26) Highlighted in episode CD059: NDAA 2014 A cyber-security section was added last minute by Jay Rockefeller Creates a "Conflict Records Research Center" and allows states, foreign governments, and “any source in the private sector” to give money to the Department of Defense. Allows contractors to make more than the President of the United States. Expands the drug war to Chad, Libya, Mali, & Niger.
Social Security has been a blessing for many, but portends to become a curse. For two years running, there have been no COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) raises coming to senior citizens, disabled workers, and dependents of diseased workers and all are up in arms about it. Are they really entitled to a raise? Are we really entitled to the benefits we get? Let's talk about it.
Social Security has been a blessing for many, but portends to become a curse. For two years running, there have been no COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) raises coming to senior citizens, disabled workers, and dependents of diseased workers and all are up in arms about it. Are they really entitled to a raise? Are we really entitled to the benefits we get? Let's talk about it.
Robert Nichols Esq is the host for this edition which reports on the following news stories. Spinal Surgery Second Opinion Process Clarified by WCAB. Multiple Amicus Briefs Filed in Ogilvie Appeal. Daly City Councilwoman Pleads Not Guilty. CDI Terror Financing Probe Targets California Insurers. Harvard Study: Computers Don't Save Hospitals Money. Workers' Comp Managers Going Back-to-Basics to Manage Claims Costs. Some Comp Cost Increases Blamed on Medicare Rules. Court of Appeal Clarifies. Commencement of Cost of Living Adjustment for Life Pensions. CMS Network Lien Reps Face Sanctions for Frivolous Litigation. San Bernardino Bus Driver Convicted of Workers' Compensation Fraud.
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