29 results for author: Jeanne Larson

KEEP THE INTERNET OPEN AND FREE

KEEP THE INTERNET OPEN AND FREE By Jeanne Larsen On February 26, 2015, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) followed Chairman Tom Wheeler's plan to base Net Neutrality rules on Title II of the Communications Act, giving internet users the strongest protections possible by making broadband networks open, accessible, reliable and affordable for everyone. Big corporations like AT&T, Comcast and Verizon are spending huge amounts of money on public relations media blitzes, lobbyists and political campaign donations to convince the public and legislators that Congress must overrule the FCC decision. According to Free Press at http://www...

CRITICAL PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN

Elected Congressional officials must act soon in order for CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) and several child nutrition programs to continue beyond this year. CHIP provides affordable health insurance coverage to millions of kids in the US, and over 150,000 in Wisconsin. Thanks in part to CHIP, 93 percent of children in America have health coverage with low premiums, deductibles, and the preventive care children need. Nutrition programs like school breakfast and lunch and WIC provide nourishing meals to low- and moderate-income children both in and out of school. These vital programs help parents meet basic needs for their families, ...

JUSTICE ANN WALSH BRADLEY

Incumbent Justice Ann Walsh Bradley faces challenger Rock County Circuit Judge James Daley for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat on April 7. A Richland Center native, Justice Bradley taught high school before earning a UW Law School degree. Prior to election to the Supreme Court in 1995, she served as a Marathon County Circuit Court Judge. She and her husband, Mark, raised four children in Wausau, where they still live. During Justice Bradley's nearly 30 years on the bench, she has been recognized for her intelligence and integrity, earning a reputation for being tough, fair, and independent. Justice Bradley is committed to keeping partisan politics ...

Wisconsin Becoming a Low-Wage Economy

By Jeanne Larson UW-Milwaukee Professor Marc Levine's October 2014 study for the Center for Economic Development, "Is Wisconsin Becoming a Low-Wage Economy? Employment Growth in Low, Middle, and High Wage Occupations: 2000-2013," uses Bureau of Labor Statistics data to illustrate a troubling long-term trend in Wisconsin: the number of low-wage jobs is growing much faster than middle- or high-wage occupations. Levine divided Wisconsin's 750 occupations into three tiers based on median wages, the midpoint where half the workers in the job are paid more, half are paid less: Low-wage           $12.50/hour or less Middle-wage     ...

Walker Squanders Public Dollars, Perpetuates Job Creation Myth

The 7-23-14 Marquette Law School Poll shows that 51% of Wisconsin voters hold a mistaken impression on job creation: 9% of voters say Wisconsin is creating jobs faster than other states, 42% say Wisconsin is creating jobs at about the same rate as other states. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports results of the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages -- the government's most reliable source of employment data and the one Walker endorsed as the authoritative measure of job trends at the state level -- as follows: Instead of 250,000 new private-sector jobs, as Walker promised, the state is on pace for less than half that many in ...

Inequality for All

The movie "Inequality for All," with former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich, is a humorous, enlightening expose on America's widening income gap where Reich answers questions like: What is happening with the distribution of income and wealth in the US? Why? And, is it a problem? Reich notes some inequality is inevitable, but the US has by far the most unequal distribution of income of developed nations, ranking 64th in the world. In 1978 the typical US male worker's income was $48,000, adjusted for inflation, while someone in the top 1% made $390,000. In 2010, a typical male worker made $34,000 while someone in the top 1% made $1,101,000. Today ...

General Electric and the Effective Corporate Tax Rate

During NBC's 2014 Olympics coverage, General Electric commercials show a cute kid proudly talking about what her mom does at GE. These slick public relations ads give one a warm, fuzzy, positive feeling about GE and their corporate slogan, "Imagination at Work," confirming that GE symbolizes everything that makes America great. Here are some facts GE may not want viewers to know: • From 2006 to 2011, GE's net federal income taxes were negative $3.1 billion, despite $38.2 billion in pretax US profits over those six years. • From 2002 to 2011, GE's effective federal income tax rate on its $81.2 billion in pretax US profits was at most 1.8 ...

2013 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures

• Alzheimer’s disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the US. • More than 5 million Americans are living with the disease. • 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer's or dementia. • In 2012, 15.4 million caregivers provided more than 17.5 billion hours of unpaid care valued at $216 billion. • In 2013, Alzheimer's cost the US $203 billion. • Average per-person Medicare costs for those with Alzheimer's and other dementias are three times higher than for those without these conditions. • In 2050, Alzheimer's is projected to cost the US $1.2 trillion (in current dollars). The federal sequester cut medical research dollars. Top ...

Affordable Care Act (ACA/Obamacare) Fiction versus Fact

1. Fiction: A mass email circulating since 2010 claims under the ACA, Medicare Part B premiums will reach $247 per month by 2014. Fact: News from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services disproves that email. Standard premiums for Medicare Part B, covering doctors' services and outpatient care, remain at $104.90 per month for 2014, the same as 2013. People who pay surcharges because of higher incomes will see their rates stay flat. The annual Part B deductible stays unchanged at $147. Officials say the premium, calculated as 25 percent of the program's costs in the previous year, has been held flat because Medicare costs have slowed, in part ...