Progressive Voices Archive

One of the most important achievements included in the new health care law passed earlier this year was the move to close the infamous gap in coverage provided to seniors under “Part D” of the Medicare prescription drug benefit - the so-called “donut hole.”

The recent arrest and indictment of a Chapel Hill nurse on murder and other abuse charges resulting from her alleged mistreatment of nursing home patients brings to light a vexing and too often hidden problem: elder abuse.

As measured by Gross Domestic Product growth alone, the recovery began nearly 10 months ago - but tell that to the more than 470,000 North Carolinians still without work. Tell the policymakers struggling to balance a budget in the face of declining revenue and you are likely to get a chuckle.

The anti-deficit fever rippling through Congress threatens to jeopardize the modest recovery that we’ve begun to experience in North Carolina and in other states. Most recently, and against the advice of mainstream economists, the US House of Representatives stripped extended state Medicaid assistance from an impending “jobs” bill, and it’s unclear if the Senate will restore it. If the Senate fails to act, North Carolina stands to lose $500 million in anticipated revenue for the upcoming budget year.

Throughout my childhood, politics was the primary topic of conversation at my dinner table. With the nightly news on in the background, the major story of the day often led to a long discussion over dinner.

In these tough times, it seems as though the American dream of homeownership is under attack from every quarter. Predatory loans, declining home values, harmful mortgage servicing practices and lost jobs have driven foreclosures to record highs.

With revenue shortfalls forcing lawmakers in Raleigh to make deep and painful cuts to the state budget, the last thing North Carolina needs is further legislation that would reduce the state’s investment in essential services by another 2%. Unfortunately, the General Assembly is considering a bill that would divert a portion of state grants to nonprofits away from the services they provide. This could mean: 2% fewer meals served to those in need; 2% less help for women experiencing domestic abuse; a 2% reduction in services to protect children’s safety; 2% fewer people served by free health clinics; 2% cuts in programs for seniors and people with developmental disabilities; and 2% fewer mentoring programs for students.

How do we plan for the next economic downturn? It may seem a trifle premature to be tackling this task. After all, the North Carolina economy is just beginning to start its recovery from the Great Recession. And if the current European slump remains under control, we should be able to count on a sustained, if slow and uneven, economic upturn for some time.

North Carolinians stand to benefit from national health reform in many ways. Already, children under age 26 can stay on their parent’s private health plans, small businesses are exploring the thousands of dollars in tax credits available if they provide health coverage, and a new federal “high-risk pool” will start on July 1, offering coverage to those uninsured with pre-existing health conditions.

At first blush, it seems like a surprising recommendation in this era of tight public budgets: How could anyone - even advocates at the North Carolina Alliance for Health - recommend eliminating the sale of revenue producing junk food from our public schools, much less recommend investing additional funds in our school lunch program? Simple: it’s because the cost of doing nothing will cost billions of dollars more.

In a recent letter to the editor published in Raleigh’s News & Observer, George Reed and Sandy Irving of the North Carolina Council of Churches praised the passage of federal health care reform legislation as an action that will mean earlier, better care for so many Americans and, for others, access to quality, affordable health care for the first time in their lives.

January 2009 seems so long ago-Barack Obama was inaugurated on a wave of popular enthusiasm for “change” as the country teetered on the brink of an economic crisis not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Obama quoted Tom Paine, but he just as easily could have recalled Franklin Roosevelt’s words at his first inauguration: “This Nation asks for action, and action now.”

Times of recession bring countless and untold consequences for society and for individuals. The pace of economic trends, such as the decline of certain industries, accelerates, and individuals suffer economic setbacks such as lost wealth and wages from which many will never recover.

Imagine being angry all the time but not having the words to express it or the experience to understand it. Imagine being raped or beaten by an adult who is supposed to love and take care of you. Imagine being so traumatized by being the victim of violence - or watching it happen to another — that flashbacks are as commonplace as computer games. Imagine hearing voices in your head that tell you to do things that will get you in trouble at school. Imagine being so sad that you don’t want to live into adulthood.

From today’s perspective, it’s hard to imagine a medical breakthrough so monumental that it would be known universally as “the Pill.” But that’s exactly what happened fifty years ago this month when the Advisory Committee of the FDA approved the first oral contraceptive for use as birth control. It was, indeed, monumental.