Saturday, October 23, 2010

More are working -- jobless rate falls for seven months in a row

The N.C. Employment Security Commission announced yesterday that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in North Carolina fell from 9.7 percent in August to 9.6 percent in September.

The jobless rate in NC has now fallen for seven consecutive months since standing at 11.2% in February, and indicator that things are slowly getting better.


Good news, I hope for my friends and acquaintances that are unemployed. 
I know quite a few of them as I spent 10 months actively looking for a job.  
When I say looking for a job, I mean all day, every day, looking for openings, following up with anyone at the company I could contact and networking.  

So I know what it feels like to be unemployed.  And just because I was fortunate enough to have capabilities that some organization needed doesn't mean I've forgotten.

So, first, a note to the unemployed.  Keep  trying!  Keep talking to people -- they might not have a job lead, but they could have a new idea you could try.  

Second, -- a big thank you to President Obama and the Democrats in Congress that extended unemployment benefits and passed the COBRA subsidy (that unfortunately has expired).  Those measures helped my family weather my unemployment.  Without it, we may have had to go without healthcare coverage, and the small amount I collected helped at least pay for food as we watched our savings dwindle.  

So I really get upset when politicians say that the unemployed are lazy and unemployment is some type of hand out.  
I hope all those politicians who said that have to look for a job themselves soon.  

So don't forget to vote, and choose wisely!

Sincerely,


Tracy

Monday, October 18, 2010

Shadow groups spending big this election!

Beware!  
According to the non-partisan Campaign Finance Institute —non-candidate groups will end up spending around $564 million this year.
 
That's up 40 percent from two years ago. Most of the additional money appears on the conservative side.
The  institute projects that ultimately about $334 million will be spent to help Republican candidates.
That's about $100 million more than pro-Democratic groups are likely to spend — a reversal from 2006 and 2008.

Just think if they donated all that money to charity...

all the best,

Tracy

Would repealing health reform be healthy for the economy?

From an editorial in the News and Observer in Raleigh, NC:

My granddaddy had a pack of hunting dogs, some of which liked to chase cars. One day we were trying to break them of doing so, and he stopped short and said with a twinkle in his eye, "I wonder what that dog thinks he is going to do if he catches a car?"

So it is with Republicans who say they want to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). What are they going to do if they catch the car?
Before health care reform was passed, our health system was unsustainable and was going to bankrupt our nation. If the act is repealed, our health system will again be unsustainable and will bankrupt our nation. If PPACA is the last step, we still won't have a sustainable health care system. However, it is a step in the right direction and can be improved upon.
The law has many flaws, but does two important things.


Read the rest at : http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/10/17/742470/repealing-reform-wont-be-healthy.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz12kloC43r


 Here's to thinking about issues this season!

All the best,

Tracy



http://ow.ly/2VuRZ

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Voter checklist

Since researching candidates can be somewhat dry, and watching debates sometime frustrating (depending on the questions and how the candidate you thought you liked is answering those questions), I was thinking that a quick checklist for candidates would be helpful.


So watch for the next post -- Tracy's checklist for a productive (and sane) government.

Thanks,

Tracy

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Before you vote, read...

You've probably noticed by the number of political ads that an election is drawing near -- November 2.  In many places, early voting will also be available.

But before you leave for voting, be sure to check out the candidates and their records.  

There is a great deal of negative ads out there -- if you see or hear one sponsored by a third party with a nice sounding name, be suspicious!  Special interest is pouring money into the campaign to get candidates elected that will do what they want, which might be not in your best interest. (This is worse than usual due to the recent Supreme Court ruling)

So where do you go to get accurate information?  

The League of women voters lists forums and events:     http://lwvnc.org/ 

A great voter guide is available from UNC TV  http://www.unctv.org/election/candidates/Wake/index.html
Some overlooked but important posts are county commissioners and judges.  There is also something new this year, a ranking type / instant runoff race for in the NC Court of Appeals.  

So good luck, and please do your research...

Or if you'd rather not, subscribe to the blog for Tracy's picks in the next post.

Thanks for reading,

Tracy

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Judging Too Soon Can Be Misleading

Too often things are latched onto by the media before all the facts are in.


This week, articles blasted health reform -- claiming hourly workers at MacDonalds would loose their mini-med plans due to the fact that the carrier claimed to not be able to make the 80-85% medical loss ratio (or conversely, they spend more than 15-20% on administrative costs, (including executive bonuses).


"Horrors!  It's due to that health reform bill, we knew it would have bad effects." said the ever-present critics.


Step back a moment. 
Maybe the hourly workers aren't getting a very good plan. 

In fact, the next day, that was the judgement.  The workers weren't getting much for the hard earned money they were paying -- in good faith that their employer was offering something worthwhile.
In fact, they were paying over $700 dollars a year for coverage that maxed out at $2000.

So health reform isn't to blame, and in this case is a good thing -- and plans like these should be investigated.  They are either inefficient, or someone's making too much money. 

If they had car company reform back ten years ago, maybe the car industry wouldn't have been in such a mess.  And if any oversight had been applied to the investment community, maybe the banking system wouldn't have been near collapse. 

In a perfect world, we wouldn't need government oversight.  But you see, it isn't a perfect world.

all the best,

Tracy

Links to articles on mini-meds:

To read more:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/05/news/companies/mini_meds_insurance_mcdonalds.fortune/

Article on the GOP and lobbying against regulations:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-health-politics-money-20101005,0,4869233.story