AARP Tells Washington To Fix Health Care

3/26/2009

posted by N. Sioris

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AARP has launched an effort called "Divided We Fail," which is a national bi-partisan effort designed to attract attention to the absolute necessity for health care reform in this country. AARP believes that all Americans should have access to affordable, quality health care.

According to their website, Divided We Fail is taking on this challenge so that Americans can achieve long-term financial security and get the health care they need. Their goal is to rally individuals, policymakers, and business leaders to this cause through a number of ways, which may include:

• strengthening Social Security
• making affordable, quality health care available for all
• making prescription drugs more affordable for all
• creating incentives to save for retirement, or
• expanding job opportunities so people can keep working and contributing to society as they get older.

AARP intends to mobilize its' members and the public to demand solutions.


The Divided We Fail Platform outlines the main areas of emphasis for the organization. They include:

• Affordable health care, including prescription drugs, and these costs should not burden future generations.
• Wellness and prevention efforts, including changes in personal behavior such as diet and exercise, should be top national priorities.
• Long-term care choices that- allow people to maintain their independence at home or in their communities with expanded and affordable financing options.
• Social Security must be strengthened without burdening future generations.
  Our children and grandchildren should have an adequate quality of life when they retire.
• Workers should be provided with financial incentives to save, have access to effective retirement plans, and should be able to keep working and contributing to society regardless of age.
• Americans of all ages should have access to tools to help manage their finances and save for the future. There should be better, easy to understand information to help increase financial literacy and manage money wisely.

The Motto: "Divided We Fail, but together we can do anything."

If you are interested in getting involved with Divided We Fail, check out these links at the AARP website:

Get Involved

Take The Pledge

Activist Resources

Retirees Can Benefit From Suspension of Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)

3/23/2009

posted by N. Sioris

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With the obliteration of Trillions of dollars of investment wealth as a result of the stock market meltdown, retirees can take a small amount of solace from the one-year suspension of the required minimum distribution (RMD) rule.

The RMD rule normally requires folks that are age 70 1/2 or older to take a specified amount of money out of their IRA, 401(k) or similar retirement accounts on an annual basis. The amount you must take out is based on age and account value at the end of the previous year. However, late last year Congress passed temporary legislation waiving the penalty if you do not take out the required amount. Under normal circumstances the penalty is an onerous 50 percent of the amount that you should have taken out of your account(s).

The temporary tax-law change allows seniors some flexibility about how much to withdraw from retirement accounts. Some may choose not to withdraw anything in order to give their balances time to recover from the decline. Others may wish to take only what they absolutely need in order to get by.

Financial and tax experts suggest that for anyone that has the ability to use income from other sources, they should keep withdrawals to a minimum in order to avoid locking in stock market losses. The experts also point out that not drawing down on these accounts now will help them last longer into the future.


A Word of Caution:

Tax law is complicated and everyone's situation is unique. This post is not to be construed as tax advice. Please check with your personal tax adviser regarding the strategy that will be best suited for you.

President Barack Obama On 60 Minutes With Steve Kroft

3/22/2009

posted by N. Sioris

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If you missed 60 Minutes Sunday Evening, you can watch Steve Kroft's interview with President Barack Obama by clicking the video images below.

The President covered topics ranging from defending his Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, to telling Wall Street executives that they need to "get out of town" in order to appreciate the populists' perspective on why the American people are so angry with those that have received the TARP bailout money, to responding to Dick Cheney's criticism of his decision to close Guantanamo Bay.

The 90-minute interview began with a walk on the White House grounds and ended in the Oval office. President Obama said that some of the decisions that he is faced with are often a choice "between bad and worse." He said that the hardest decision he has had to make so far, was to send an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan.

Whatever your political persuasion, I hope we will all unite behind President Obama for the good of us all.

Follow The Money on Open Secrets. Org

3/18/2009

posted by N. Sioris

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Today I was getting ready to write a post about "Zombie" banks. The term zombie banks has been bandied about quite a bit during the past couple of weeks, so I thought I would explain what they are and how the term came about.

However, in the research process, I stumbled upon a website that I think actually makes a much more interesting post. The website is, Open Secrets.org ,Center for Responsive Politics. "Zombie Banks" post will have to wait for another day.

Open Secrets.org shines a spotlight on the incestuous relationship between money and congressional influence in America. Under the section of the website that is called "Influence and Lobbying" you will find a sub-category called "Revolving Door."

Here is a copy of the first paragraph of this page:

"Although the influence powerhouses that line Washington's K Street are just a few miles from the U.S. Capitol building, the most direct path between the two doesn't necessarily involve public transportation. Instead, it's through a door—a revolving door that shuffles former federal employees into jobs as lobbyists, consultants and strategists just as the door pulls former hired guns into government careers. While members of the executive branch, Congress and senior congressional staffers spin in and out of the private and public sectors, so too does privilege, power, access and, of course, money."

According to their mission statement, CRP's (Center for Responsive Politics) mission is to:

• Inform citizens about how money in politics affects their lives
• Empower voters and activists by providing unbiased information
• Advocate for a transparent and responsive government

When Will We Say; Enough is Enough?

If you are as outraged as I am with the revelations that have been exposed as a result of the global financial collapse, corporate fraudsters, unprecedented corporate greed, utter incompetence on Wall Street and virtually no Congressional oversight, you may want to bookmark Open Secrets.org as one of your favorites and check in regularly to see what latest insult is being perpetrated by these so called "masters of the universe."

Until we, the public, demand better from our elected officials, we deserve the government we have.

Bernard Madoff To Plead Guilty While Facing Victims In Court

3/08/2009

posted by N. Sioris

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Disgraced financier, Bernard Madoff is expected to enter a guilty plea on Thursday to one of the most monumental Ponzi schemes ever perpatrated. He has been insulated in his luxurios Manhattan apartment, where he has been under house arrest since December.

Before his arrest, the 70 year old former NASDAQ market chairman told an investigator there was "no innocent explanation" and he expected to go to prison.

On Thursday, he is expected to enter a guilty plea in the multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme. U.S. District Judge, Denny Chin invited victims to address the court, setting up an unusual confrontation with the people he is accused of cheating. Prosecutors submitted papers noting that crime victims have the right to be "reasonably heard at any public proceeding in the district court involving a release plea, sentencing, or any parole proceeding."

Mark Seal,of Vanity Fair Magazine provided close up portrayals of several of Madoff's victims in the video clips below as well as in this months' issue of Vanity Fair Magazine. You can read Mark Seal's Vanity Fair article in full here.

The victim's accounts are truly heartbreaking. Bernard Madoff needs to be made accountable to the fullest extent of the law for the devastation that he wrought upon the lives of his many victims.

Seniors Will Get $250.00 Stimulus Checks In May

3/04/2009

posted by N. Sioris

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In May 2009, senior Social Security recipients and retirees will receive $250.00 per person from Uncle Sam, as part of the economic stimulus plan.

The senior payment figures are; $250.00 for individuals, $500.00 for couples that both receive Social Security benefits. This will include retirees, older veterans, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries, and people with disabilities.

Unlike the previous rebate distribution program in 2008, recipients will not have to file a tax form in order to receive the money. It will simply show up in the regular Social Security distributions - either through direct deposit or a check in the mail.

Federal and State retirees who do not receive Social Security benefits also qualify to receive the payment but may have to file a 2009 tax return in order to receive it.

The House of Representatives draft of the stimulus package, which was approved in January did not include the senior payment, however it did end up in the Senate approved bill after Montana Democrat, Max Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee proposed it. The Senate provision was also strongly promoted by Democrat Senator, Sheldon Whitehouse, of Rhode Island.

AARP supported the measure from the beginning. AARP sent a letter to lawmakers arguing that many retirees would be ineligible for "workers' tax credits" but were in need of hardship relief. AARP cited research that shows that older people tend to spend such cash payments immediately.

You can read more about the Social Security's Economic Recovery One-Time Payment by clicking here.

You can also link to Frequently Asked Questions about the the payments by clicking here.