Fri 1/31: Last time the Social Security pulled this wicked stunt, over 20,000 people died. Trump wants to do it again. Comment tonight by 11:59 pm EST!

The last time this policy was implemented, 21,176 people died. Stop this now!

Trump is becoming bolder about doing things that kill people, either to pay back his biggest lobbyists, distract from his impeachment woes, or to prove his bonafides in the trickle-down war on the poor.

His administration now wants to recreate a 1980’s policy from the Reagan era that resulted in 200,000 Americans losing their earned Social Security disability benefits and 21,176 deaths. Several people committed suicide after being told they no longer qualified for benefits and Medal of Honor winner and Vietnam war hero Roy Benavidez was told to get a job, despite war injuries that left him with severe pain and shrapnel in his heart.

After massive public outcry, that policy was reversed, but now the administration is proposing a similar rule, which increases the frequency of eligibility reviews in an attempt to rip benefits away from hundreds of thousands of Americans with disabilities, especially adults nearing retirement and children.

So we say…Why wait to howl until AFTER people die? Let’s do it NOW!

Proposed rule change here.
Comment here.
View other comment for inspiration only here.
Copies will be deleted by the administration.

More information!

While Social Security is best known as a retirement program, disability and survivors benefits are equally essential. That’s why we’re rallying our allies across the country to fight back against this proposed rule change and save the lives of thousands of Americans. Continue reading “Fri 1/31: Last time the Social Security pulled this wicked stunt, over 20,000 people died. Trump wants to do it again. Comment tonight by 11:59 pm EST!” →

Tues 4/9: Food Stamp-SNAP Chat is back until Wed, 4/10. Tell our Ministry of Misery what you think.

Graphic depiction of the percentage of all food stamp costs (not just workers without children) compared to our entire federal budget.

Tell Trump, Ben Carson, Seema Verma, Mick Mulvaney, Sonny Perdue and all of the other millionaire profiteers in his administration that we are watching them, not the $150 to $192/month in food aid a person needs for basic health.

Action – Stop this back-door attack of the 2018 Farm bill. Comments due by 4/10 Wednesday night, 11:59 pm EST.

We asked our legislators to pass the 2018 Farm Bill with the food stamp aid for millions of SNAP/CalFresh recipients intact. They did! But, now the Administration of Millionaires is using the Dept. of Agriculture to use a back door regulation process to impose work requirements on unemployed and underemployed people without dependent children, limiting their food aid benefits to three months. The proposal takes away states’ ability to waive SNAP’s time limits in areas that don’t have enough jobs and it could potentially disqualify 755,000 beneficiaries. There are a lot of reasons that people can’t get work that satisfies the government’s requirements, but there is one clear result of removing people from a cost-effective food supplement program – increased health care costs in our nation’s clinics and emergency rooms, costs that will dwarf any possible SNAP savings.

So tell the USDA to butt out. There were almost 50,000 comments on the Federal Register website in opposition to the proposed ~~cruelty~~ rules on work requirements (original set) (new set) the first time out. Already, another 4,000 new comments have been made on this extension. Let’s get this to 100,000, people!

For the first time, or for the tenth, comment here

Deadline now due Wed., April 10th (WED.), 11:59 pm. EST.

Talking points for SNAP

Continue reading “Tues 4/9: Food Stamp-SNAP Chat is back until Wed, 4/10. Tell our Ministry of Misery what you think.” →

Tues 4/2: Penny-wise & pound foolish, the GOP keeps trying to snip SNAP. Comments by tonight, Tuesday, 4/2.

Graphic depiction of the percentage of all food stamp costs (not just workers without children) compared to our entire federal budget.

Action – Stop this back-door attack of the 2018 Farm bill. Comments due by 4/2 Tuesday night, 11:59 pm EST.

We asked our legislators to pass the 2018 Farm Bill with the food stamp aid for millions of SNAP/CalFresh recipients intact. They did! But, now the Administration is using the Dept. of Agriculture to use a back door regulation process to impose work requirements on unemployed and underemployed people without dependent children, limiting their food aid benefits to three months. The proposal takes away states’ ability to waive SNAP’s time limits in areas that don’t have enough jobs and it could potentially disqualify 755,000 beneficiaries. There are a lot of reasons that people can’t get work that satisfies the government’s requirements, but there is one clear result of removing people from a cost-effective food supplement program – increased health care costs in our nation’s clinics and emergency rooms, costs that will dwarf any possible SNAP savings.

So tell the USDA to butt out. Leave a public comment on the Federal Register website in opposition to the proposed rules on work requirements for SNAP benefits (food stamps). Comment here.

Deadline Tues, April 2nd (TONIGHT), 11:59 pm. EST.

Talking points for SNAP

Continue reading “Tues 4/2: Penny-wise & pound foolish, the GOP keeps trying to snip SNAP. Comments by tonight, Tuesday, 4/2.” →

The Poor People’s Campaign has started again, 50 years later. We’re in.

Updated 5/23/18

This is not one of our normal daily calls-to-action…

This is both a history lesson and a connection that we have to a campaign that started 50 years ago. Every time we call our legislators or go to a City Council meeting to fight some form of injustice, every action we’ve participated in for the Trump Resistance, such as the Women’s March, the March for Our Lives, Citizenship Fairs, political postcard parties, environmental rallies and DACA clinics, we have been connecting with the values of the Poor People’s Campaign. We are standing together to challenge Trumpism and the power of the 1% – and indeed “transform the political, economic and moral structures of our society.”

Continue reading →

Thurs 5/10: “Child-abuse-by-government” is now official policy. We cannot be silent.

It is also a crime. Routine separation of asylum-seeking families violates international law. From slavery to Manzanar, we already know that America is capable of grave moral lapses. In the future, school children will wonder how we, literally a nation of immigrants, stood by and let this happen to children like them.

Part #1 – First we rip kids away from their parents…

At a law enforcement conference in Arizona, AG Jeff Sessions declared that the Department of Justice will try to deter those seeking asylum with a policy of “100% prosecution” of all who enter the U.S. illegally and separating parents from children instead of keeping them in a detention center together. “If you are smuggling a child then we will prosecute you, and that child will be separated from you as required by law.”

Homeland Security is cruelly separating families at the border for no legitimate reason. Immigration authorities have separated at least 700 children from their families, and about a hundred of them are under the age of four. Continue reading “Thurs 5/10: “Child-abuse-by-government” is now official policy. We cannot be silent.” →

4/25 – War on the poor – Part 1 – Cutting their Lifeline…

Quote by Warrent Buffett, Sunday New York Times Op-ed.

Today, The Hill reported that the GOP is making a push to cut taxes on capital gains, as the richest amongst us apparently feel they left some money on the table after the tax-cut measure President Trump signed into law last year.

In the meantime, in one of the richest countries in the world, our legislators continue their war on our poorest citizens.

Cutting their Lifeline…

Ajit Pai’s FCC is poised to severely limit its Lifeline program, which provides a modest $9.25 monthly subsidy to lower-income people. The proposed rollback would rob hundreds of thousands of poor people of affordable phone and internet access and disproportionately impact people of color, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities, as well as many in Puerto Rico and other disaster-stricken parts of America.

The FCC has ignored bipartisan objections from Senate and House leaders who have heard from concerned constituents that this plan would make it difficult for them to search for jobs, advance their education, meet their basic needs and stay informed.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan would also implement a budget cap on Lifeline — which would limit program participation or slash funding to fully eligible recipients and he’s hoping to impose a lifetime benefits cap that would cut off funding for the most vulnerable users, like elderly people and people with disabilities, by limiting the amount of time an individual can use the program. Continue reading “4/25 – War on the poor – Part 1 – Cutting their Lifeline…” →

SNAP, SNAP, SNAP – The swamp monsters come after the poorest among us. COMMENT TODAY!

How cruel are we?

The Agriculture Department is considering a policy change in the SNAP (Supplimental Nutrition Assistance Program) that would expose single adults to a harsh three-month time limit on food stamp benefits if they aren’t employed at least half-time or in a qualifying work or training program.

SNAP recipients in states that have few or no employment programs and fails to offer them a spot in a work or training program — which is the case in most states — or those who live in high-unemployment areas, will have their benefits cut off after three months, even if they are searching diligently for a job or working less than 20 hours a week.

Because this provision denies basic food assistance even to people who want to work and will accept any job or work program slot offered, it is effectively a severe time limit rather than a work requirement, as such requirements are commonly understood. This will help no one get out of poverty and will take food away from people who need assistance.

Action: Let’s stand indivisible with the most vulnerable members of our society and write a comment to protest this new policy.

Today is the FINAL DAY we can submit public comments objecting to this change here. Continue reading “SNAP, SNAP, SNAP – The swamp monsters come after the poorest among us. COMMENT TODAY!” →