Pacific Progressive

America's Neglected infections of Poverty: Fighting Poverty with Research

This material was first published by Science Progress.

By Peter Hotez 

We now know that one of the key reasons the “bottom billion,” the 1.4 billion people living on less than $1.25 per day, remain trapped in perpetual poverty is because they are infected with a group of chronic, debilitating, and mostly parasitic infections known asneglected tropical diseases, or NTDs. The NTD elephantiasis disfigures the limbs and genitals of more than 100 million adults living in Africa, Haiti, and South Asia, where this incapacitating disease prevents people from working. India loses almost $1 billion annually as a result of the disease. The situation is similar for river blindness, an NTD found mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, and chronic hookworm infection, a disease that affects 600 million people worldwide, causing severe growth and development delays in children that can reduce future wage earnings by 40 percent.

For the last three years, I have used a global public health lens to discover the hidden burden of neglected infections of poverty in the United States, which closely resemble the impact of NTDs in the world’s poorest countries. These neglected infections are not rare. They represent some of the most prevalent diseases among the 40 million Americans who live in poverty.

There are a number of powerful social and economic forces preventing millions of people from realizing the American dream. These neglected infections may signify another equally potent poverty trap for our nation’s bottom 40 million.

Indeed, America’s neglected infections of poverty may be the most important diseases you have never heard of—diseases of high prevalence that occur largely among the poorest people, especially people of color, who live in areas of the country that are largely forgotten and seldom visited.

New Rules Spell Out Protections for Consumers with "Limited Benefit" Insurance Policies

This article was published by Kaiser Health News.

By Julie Appleby, KHN Staff Writer

At least 1.5 million people will soon receive notices from employers or insurers that their health plans fall short of meeting a key standard in the new health overhaul law – and by how much.

The Obama administration on Thursday outlined what must be in the notices sent to people with limited-benefit plans, which cap coverage for medical care, sometimes to as little as $2,000 a year. The law bans annual limits entirely in 2014, but restricts them in the meantime: the current limit is $750,000 annually.

Under the law, the Department of Health and Human Services can grant waivers for some policies if meeting the new limits would lead to significant premium increases or cause substantial numbers of workers to lose their insurance. Already, 222 insurers, unions and employers with policies covering 1.5 million people have been granted such waivers, including insurers Aetna and Cigna, and employers such as McDonald’s, Waffle House and Darden Restaurants.

In addition to information on caps, other dollar limits in the policies – such as restrictions on the amount of physician office care or hospitalization coverage – must be detailed in letters and enrollment materials, says Steve Larsen, deputy director for oversight in HHS’ Office of Consumer information and Insurance Oversight.

What Bernie Said, Part 2

by: William Rivers Pitt, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

As Congressional Republicans and the White House wrangle over the relative merits of exploding the deficit by giving hundreds of billions of dollars in tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires who don't need the money, the real world they appear to know nothing about plods drearily on. AUSA Today story from Wednesday reported:

U.S. Postal Service workers who handle letters addressed to Santa at the North Pole say more letters ask for basics - coats, socks and shoes - rather than Barbie dolls, video games and computers. At New York City's main post office, Head Elf Pete Fontana and 22 staff elves will sort 2 million letters in Operation Santa, which connects needy children with "Secret Santas" who answer their wishes.

Fontana, a customer relations coordinator for the Postal Service, has been head elf for 15 years. "The need is greater this year than I've ever seen it," he says. "One little girl didn't want anything for herself. She wanted a winter coat for her mother."

Cesar, 7, wrote for himself and his baby sister. "This year my mom don't have much money to spend on Christmas gifts so I'm writing to you," Cesar told Santa. "It would make us very happy if you and your elves would bring us toys and clothes." One mom sent a turn-off notice from the electric company, Fontana says.

Melanney, 9, asked Santa for a coat and boots. "I have been a very good girl this year," she wrote.

Puts things in perspective, don't you think?

Kaiser Told to Pay Withheld Raises to Southern Californian Employees

An Administrative Law Judge ruled that Kaiser Permanente violated the law by withholding scheduled raises and benefits from 2,300 Southern California Kaiser workers who voted to leave SEIU and join NUHW in January.  The dispute involved employees in the Health Care Professionals, Psych-Social Chapter and American Federation of Nurses units in the Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Impacted members of the American Federation of Nurses are located at Kaiser's Los Angeles Medical Center.

In a 23-page finding, the judge ordered Kaiser to “immediately restore and apply” the scheduled wage increases, plus interest, and to resume the tuition reimbursement benefit and steward training benefit provided under the workers' prior union contract. The judge’s ruling cited the “massive damage done” to workers’ rights by Kaiser’s withholding of the raises and benefits and characterized the company's justification for its actions as “lack(ing) merit” and “without legal foundation.” If allowed to stand as law, Judge Schmidt argued, Kaiser's position “would seriously impair, if not virtually eliminate as a practical matter, the fundamental right of employees under Section 7 to change their bargaining representative.” 
 
David Mallon, a psychiatric social worker for 10 years at Kaiser Downey, suggested that this victory increases pressure on Kaiser to bargain in good faith with employees who have voted to join NUHW. “This ruling was clear and definitive. Kaiser broke the law. Instead of subjecting workers to further legal delays in violation of our rights, Kaiser should meet us at the bargaining table and settle a fair contract.” 

States Sue Bank of America: Bank Employees Dish, and Other Highlights

by Karen Weise ProPublica,

On Friday, Arizona and Nevada both filed suit against Bank of America, saying it deceived homeowners trying to avoid foreclosures. The suits allege that Bank of America knowingly misled homeowners in the loan modification process, regularly promising quick help when the process instead dragged out [1] over months if not years, foreclosing on homeowners during the modification process [2] despite promises that homeowners would be safe and making “false” promises to homeowners that their trial modifications would become permanent, among other complaints [3].

A Bank of America executive told the Arizona Republic that he was “disappointed [4]” in the suits and said the bank is already working to improve its processes and programs. “We and other major servicers are currently engaged in multistate discussions to address foreclosure-related issues more comprehensively,” he said.

The Arizona case also says the bank repeatedly violated the terms of a multi-state, $8.68 billion settlement with Countrywide (now a subsidiary of Bank of America) to provide loan modifications for homeowners with troubled loans. A recent investigation by the Nation magazine tore into the settlement, calling it a “fiasco [5]” that failed to help homeowners as promised.

We pulled out some highlights from the two lawsuits. You can read the full Arizona [6] and Nevada [7] suits for yourself.

“I felt like I was always lying to borrowers”

Interviews with former bank employees provide a window into the bank’s call centers. One employee told the Nevada Attorney General’s office, “I felt like I was always lying to borrowers [8],” saying they were told to mislead homeowners about the status of their applications. The employee complained to a supervisor, and says of what happened next: “Her instructions in response were just to give the borrowers their status and to tell them that they are ‘in the process,’ in spite of the fact that the computer showed that nothing was happening.”

Some Appointees to Oil and Gas Commission Are Industry Execs, Lobbyists

by Marie C. Baca ProPublica

December 13, 2010: This post has been corrected.

Joseph Pettey is the owner of Pettey Oilfield Services Inc., and the 2003 West Virginia Oil and Gas Festival Man of the Year. Thomas E. Stewart is a third-generation driller who lobbies the government on behalf of energy companies. Both sit on the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, which is increasingly positioning itself as an authority on drilling-related issues like hydraulic fracturing.

The 38-state commission was created in 1935 to promote the efficient harvesting of oil and gas. Its mission was later expanded to acknowledge the need to protect health, safety and the environment while accomplishing that goal. It is funded by government grants and fees from the states. The commission members are appointed by the member governors. Most are state regulators who oversee gas and oil drilling, but at least seven states have representatives who are either lobbyists or energy executives.

Pettey is the official representative for West Virginia; Stewart is an associate representative for Ohio; lobbyist Robert W. Harms is an associate representative for North Dakota; James R. Daniels, the general manager of Murfin Drilling Company, is an associate representative for Kansas; William S. Daugherty, CEO of natural gas company NGAS, is Kentucky’s official representative and D. Michael Wallen, also of NGAS, is its associate representative; Rick Calhoon of Pruet Oil and Charlie Williams Jr. of oil and gas production company Vaughey & Vaughey are associate representatives for Mississippi; and Steven C. Agee of Agee Energy LLC is an associate representative for Oklahoma.

Big Health Insurers Seek to Boost DC Influence

This article was published by Kaiser Health News.

By Bara Vaida, KHN Staff Writer

Five of the nation's largest health insurance companies are taking a key step toward building their own inside-the-Beltway coalition to influence implementation of the new health law and congressional efforts to change it. The companies – Aetna, Cigna, Humana, UnitedHealthcare and Wellpoint – are shopping around Washington for a public relations firm to represent them, according to a source familiar with their work. Public Strategies and APCO are among PR firms that have spoken with the insurers, the source said.

"They plan to go public," the person said. "They spent a ton of money [in 2009 on lobbying and the election] and liked being influential and they don’t want that to go away."

For months there have been rumors the companies might abandon their trade group,America's Health Insurance Plans. But industry sources say they aren’t. 

What exactly the group hopes to achieve isn't entirely clear. Humana's spokesman would only say that it doesn't plan to leave AHIP. Officials with the other four companies could not be immediately reached. In November, Cigna CEO David Cordani and Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini both publicly stated at a Reuters Health Summit that they are opposed to halting progress on implementing the health law, but thought the law could be improved.

Fannie and Freddie’s Regulator Opposes Reducing Mortgages for Struggling Homeowners

by Karen Weise ProPublica

Dec. 20: This post has been corrected [1].

The Obama administration has been pushing for banks and investors to cut mortgage balances for homeowners who owe more than their home is worth. But the regulator for the biggest investors of them all -- the government-controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- won't let the two do it.

The administration and some banks themselves have increasingly seen reducing the size of a borrower's loan -- what's known as principal reduction -- as an important tool for helping the quarter of all homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages. The Treasury Department told ProPublica that the imbalance between what borrowers owe and what their homes are worth is one of the "main causes" of homeowners defaulting on their loans.

The administration sees principal reduction as a win-win, keeping families in their homes and allowing owners of the mortgages to recoup more money than they would through foreclosures. The logic is that if homeowners owe closer to what their home is actually worth, it decreases the likelihood they will default on the loan even after its modified.

Fannie and Freddie would seem to be the perfect players to promote principal reduction to prevent foreclosures. They're under government control, and they own or guarantee about half of the country's mortgages, meaning they pay the loss if a homeowner defaults. Because of that dominance, they also set the tone for how companies manage, or "service" in industry parlance, delinquent loans.

Gov Asks California Supreme Court to Allow Sale of State Office Buildings

Download SupremeCourtFilingDec21

These are copies of the papers filed with the California Supreme Court on behalf of Gov. Schwarzenegger to force the sale of the state office buildings to go thru before he leaves office.  

The big losers if this sale goes thru will be the taxpayers because they will sell buildings they already own and use every day and then rent them back. It's like selling your car to your neighbor because you need money for the weekend and then renting the car back everyday to go to work.

The Legislative Analyst's Office explains how the winners are the real estate companies and the losers are taxpayers. Download Sale_leaseback_110910

Texas Up by 4, Florida Up by 2, New York and Ohio Down by 2 - House Reapportionment

The Census bureau released the reapportionment of House seats.  Texas was the big winner with 4 more seats.  The northeast was the biggest loser, dropping 5 seats total.  California remains the largest state delegation with 53 seats. 

The press kit for the first 2010 Census results is available.

Approach with Caution: Pepperdine University Study of California K-12 Expenditures

A study performed by Pepperdine University and paid for by the California Chamber of Commerce Educational Foundation (An Analysis of K-12 Education Expenditures in California:  FY 2003-04 to FY 2008-09) should be used with caution according to the California Budget Project because of the way numbers were crunched.

The California Budget Project points out several flaws in the study:

• Pepperdine's spending benchmark do not reflect the change in education costs from FY 2003-04 to FY 2008-09.  Pepperdine uses changes in California per capital personal income (PCPI) which does not take into account increases in health care costs for school districts.  Health care costs have been rising well above the rates of both personal income and inflation for several years.
• The time periods used do not match budget or fiscal years.  The Pepperdine study uses a calendar year change in PCPI but school budgets run from July to June.
• Calculation of "direct classroom expenditures" excludes principals, classroom aides, librarians, counselors and other classified staff.  
• The allocation of benefits of teachers, administrators and classified staff does not match actual dollars spent but is based on a proportional allocation.

"For Those Who Say California is Ungovernable, this Litigation Should Serve as Exhibit A"

That is a quote from the brief filed by Gov. Schwarzenegger asking the State Supreme Court to force the sale of two dozen state office buildings before he leaves office. (LA Times - Schwarzenegger Begs High Court to Intervene in Building Sales or They'll "Be Lost Forever')  The case number is S189114 and is captioned as Schwarzenegger v. CA 6 (Epstein) if you want to look it up on the California Supreme Court docket.

The case against the sale was brought by two former members of the Los Angeles State Building Authority who were dismissed by the Governor after opposing the sale of the buildings.  The financial soundness of the sale was questioned by the Legislative Analysts Office which concluded that the "sale-leaseback was poor fiscal policy" and will cost the taxpayers $800 million and not save money as claimed.  Download Sale_leaseback_110910  State Treasurer Bill Lockyer also spoke out against the sale.

A Modern Corporate Tax

This article was published by the Center for American Progress.

By Alan J. Auerbach Download the introduction and summary (pdf)

Download this report (pdf)

Read more from the "Creating 21st Century Jobs" series

The U.S. corporate tax system debuted more than 100 years ago and has evolved little to meet the challenges of today’s economy. The country would benefit greatly from a reform of this system that maintains corporate tax revenues while increasing incentives for businesses to locate, invest, and produce in the United States, thus offering the prospect of higher wages and better job opportunities for American workers.

At its peak in the 1960s, the U.S. corporate income tax accounted for more than one-fifth of all federal revenues, making it the second most important federal revenue source after the personal income tax. Figure 1 shows that since then corporate tax revenues have declined as a share of national income and total federal revenues. After the major Reagan-era tax cuts in 1981, the corporate tax has provided less than 12 percent of federal revenues in all but four fiscal years, during the period 2005–2008, when a booming financial sector generated temporarily high profits and tax revenues. Few analysts expect a rebound back to those levels.

Bush Sr., James Baker Instrumental in Getting Nigeria to Drop Bribery Charges Against Cheney

 

by: Jason Leopold, t r u t h o u t | Report

Dick Cheney recently faced bribery charges related to $180 million in bribes that executives working for Halliburton's former subsidiary, Kellogg, Brown & Root paid to Nigerian government officials between 1994 and 2004. (Image: Lance Page / t r u t h o u t; Adapted:Kristin Fitzsimmons / Wikimedia)

Former President George H.W. Bush and ex-Secretary of State James Baker were part of a negotiating team that convinced Nigerian government officials to drop bribery charges against Dick Cheney and Halliburton, the oil services firm he led prior to becoming vice president.

Bush and Baker, whose law firm was hired by Halliburton in 2004 to handle the bribery allegations, participated in conference call discussions with senior Nigerian government officials, including the country's attorney general, Mohammed Adoke, last weekend on behalf of Cheney in an attempt to work out a settlement, according to a report published by an African news agency.

The negotiations took place in London and included Halliburton represenatives.

On December 17 Femi Babafemi, a spokesman for Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the agency that filed the 16-count indictment last week, said the case against Cheney, Halliburton and several other current and former executives has been "formally dropped."

Earlier this week, Babafemi said Halliburton agreed during negotiation talks to a "plea bargain" and to "pay $250 million in fines in lieu of prosecution." He said the Nigerian government accepted the terms of the settlement.

Tale of Three Cities: Foreclosures Don’t Always Follow the Script

by Jennifer LaFleur, ProPublica, and Sanjay Bhatt, The Seattle Times Dec. 17, 2010, 4 p.m.

This story was also published [1] in The Seattle Times on Sunday.

As a symbol of the national foreclosure crisis, Jaymie Jones isn't what you might expect.

The 52-year-old Seattle-area woman worked her way up in the financial-services industry over three decades from bank teller to mortgage executive.

In spring 2007, she bought her dream home in Kirkland, signing a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage.

Then, as Jones celebrated New Year's Eve on a beach in Mexico, the call came: Her division was shutting down. Jones tapped her savings over the next year and tried for a loan modification, but in the end, the bank filed to foreclose. The dream was over.

In the conventional narrative of the foreclosure crisis, rapacious lenders hooked up with irresponsible buyers in a tale of "Lending Gone Wild."

There was certainly much of that. But a Seattle Times-ProPublica analysis of foreclosures from three areas hit hard by the housing crash tempers that image -- and punctures some other popular notions about the mortgage meltdown.

Most of those in foreclosure were young people, right? Not true. Like Jones, half of them were over age 40.