Thursday, April 21, 2011

The List: Five Things to Know About the Republican's Budget


Five Things to Know About the Republican's Budget
Minnesota Edition


5.  State Economist Stinson has said that an all-cuts budget would be worse for business than an increase on the richest of the rich.

4.  The GOP budget slashes 30,000 jobs, mostly in the private sector, threatening Minnesota's fragile economic recovery.

 
3.  Cuts funding for internet safety programs that keep kids safe from online predators.


2.  Take the food out of the mouths of seniors. The Republicans first proposed cuts to take meals away from 3,700 meals-on-wheels seniors each year


1.    No matter what kind of Enron-accounting the GOP uses, their budget is still $1.2 billion short.






Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Ask D.F.L. Q&A via Twitter


Everyone is invited to participate in "Ask D.F.L." on Twitter tomorrow at Noon. This is your opportunity to chat directly with the State Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party's Chair Ken Martin. Just type your question using the hash tag #askdfl

When: 
Thursday, April 21st
             Noon

Where:  On Twitter

Who:  Everyone is invited to participate!
            Interact with State DFL Chair Ken Martin.


Follow Senate District 25 DFL on Twitter (@SD25DFL) and Facebook!

Follow the State DFL on Twitter (@MinnesotaDFL) and Facebook!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Onward to Health Care Reform III



The Republicans at the Federal and State levels are trying to privatize public health insurance programs.  They see the increasing costs of these programs as major reasons for our government deficits.  This is part of their agenda to solve all our problems with competition and the "free market".  The "free market" has brought us to a government run by large corporations through their money buying elections. 
They also conveniently forget how Wall Street created our current mess, not the public health insurance and other social programs.

Here in Minnesota the Republicans have put forward a privatization plan to change existing state public health insurance plans to a voucher system.  Low-income Minnesotans would use vouchers to buy coverage in the private marketplace.  The StarTribune has an article on how this would work,
http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/119371774.html.

The voucher system is complex and works fine as long as a person doesn't get sick.  But the whole purpose of health insurance is to protect you when you do get sick!

If the Republicans were open to creative ideas they would embrace the Minnesota Health Plan (MHP), which covers everybody and cost less.


(c)2011 Senate District 25 DFL / Steve & Joan Janusz. All rights reserved.

Note:  Opinions expressed in this article are that of the authors and do not neccessarly reflect the views of the Senate District 25 DFL or DFL in general.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Real Stories of Health Reform

 Minnesotans feel the benefits of health reform every day. Here are just a few of their stories.

For years Democratic leaders have worked to end insurance companies worst practices, lower premium costs for families, and make sure every American has access to quality care. One year ago this Wednesday, President Obama and our Democratic leaders in Congress made that long-held dream a reality and signed the Affordable Care Act into law.
Check back each day this week to see a new video, highlighting the difference the Affordable Care Act has made for people and families around Minnesotans.
March 21, 2011, The Ihle Family



Not long after their son William was born, Justin and Kari Ihle of Brooklyn Park, MN found out their son had Tuberous Sclerosis. It's a genetic condition that affects William's major organs, his brain, and recently has caused seizures. William regularly sees 6-7 specialists and takes medication to help control the seizures. His condition is something that will need to be monitored for his entire life. And until the passage of the Affordable Care Act, it was a pre-existing condition that would have made it impossible for him to be approved for health insurance if his father had ever changed jobs, lost his job, or once William was too old for his parents' insurance. Watch the Ihles tell the story in their own words, and describe the real way the Affordable Care Act has helped their family. 

[ Source  -  This is from the State DFL's website: http://dfl.org/RealStoriesHCR ]