All right! Let it begin!
Earlier this week in Chicago:
43 Occupy protesters cited for blocking roadwayABC7Chicago.com - Nov 7, 2011November 7, 2011 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Dozens of people were cited Monday during a protest by the Occupy Chicago group. Among the protesters were hundreds of seniors angry about proposed cuts to Social Security and Medicare. As the federal government ...
My mother, 80, a life long Democrat depends on her Social Security and Medicare. Millions like her across the country are stepping out today to oppose cuts by the Super Catfood Committee.
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Judy Moses, 71, prepares to be arrested during an Occupy Chicago protest against cuts to federal safety net programs, including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, on Monday.
But protest we must. Today in Boston,
from the WSJ:
November 9, 2011, 2:53 PM ET
Seniors Rally in Boston Against Cuts to Social Programs
Unions have joined with AARP and other groups to stop cuts to Medicare, SS, Medicaid.
AARP Massachusetts, the SEIU and AFL-CIO labor unions, and several senior activist groups are organizing the event, which kicked off this morning with a rally at the historic Wang Theatre in downtown Boston.
The supercommittee is looking for ways to cut the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion, and Republicans have urged cuts to safety-net programs, which Democrats have signaled they’d consider in exchange for tax increases on the wealthy. But for now the committee members are at a standoff, and it’s uncertain whether they’ll be able to reach deal by their Nov. 23 deadline.
First Chicago, now Boston, lets take this around the country, shall we?
The rally in Boston follows a Monday protest in Chicago, where hundreds of seniors and their supporters joined the Occupy Chicago movement to raise objections to cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and other social programs.
In Boston Wednesday, AARP alone bused in 600 older people from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut, and Maine.
The plan is for the rally to move to outside the Boston offices of Massachusetts Sens. Scott Brown, a Republican, and John Kerry, a Democrat.
Occupy Congress!
New study shows almost twice as many seniors now living in poverty.
From theAFL-CIO Blog
Nationwide, across all demographic groups, the new formula yielded greater numbers of Americans living in poverty: from 46.6 million, determined in 2010 under the old formula, to 49.1 million per the report released this week—an increase of 2.5 million.
Experts were surprised by the bureau’s finding that, under the new formula, poverty in the western states outpaced that of states in the South, where lower housing costs accounted for the difference. One bright spot: the Census Bureau now estimates that the percentage of children living in poverty is lower than had been previously thought—but not by a lot. The 2010 report placed the number of children living below the federal poverty line at 23 percent. Under the new formula, that share falls to 18 percent.