_House Republicans could force 19% benefit cut to Disability Insurance _
San José, CA – On August 14, Social Security will be 80 years old. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law during the Great Depression to curtail mass poverty among older Americans. Today the Social Security benefits go to 39 million retirees, 11 million disabled people, and 9 million dependents or survivors of the retired or disabled. Social Security has brought down the poverty rate for the elderly so the poverty rate for elders is actually lower than working age adults or children.
_House Republicans could force 19% benefit cut to Disability Insurance _
San José, CA – On August 14, Social Security will be 80 years old. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law during the Great Depression to curtail mass poverty among older Americans. Today the Social Security benefits go to 39 million retirees, 11 million disabled people, and 9 million dependents or survivors of the retired or disabled. Social Security has brought down the poverty rate for the elderly so the poverty rate for elders is actually lower than working age adults or children.
San Jose, CA – En mayo de 2015, la tasa oficial de desempleo fue de 5.5 %, bastante cerca a la tasa del 5.0% que existía cuando comenzó la última recesión en diciembre del 2007. Sin embargo, a pesar de la aparente recuperación del mercado laboral, los salarios continúan aumentando a un ritmo sumamente lento, mientras que las ganancias se han disparado de forma exponencial. De hecho, para el detrimento de aquellos que tienen que trabajar para sobrevivir, las empresas han utilizado la recesión para impulsar la reestructuración del mercado laboral en beneficio de sus intereses.
San Jose, CA – More than 30 people gathered at the First Unitarian Church here, June 27, to participate in the Legalization for All Network (L4A Network) workshop. The workshop was one of many that took place at the U.S. Social Forum.
San José, CA – On July 2, the Labor Department released its report on the job market for June of 2015. The official unemployment rate fell to 5.3% in June from 5.5% in May, the lowest since the early months of the recession in April 2008. In addition, the payroll jobs report showed a gain of 223,000 in June. With unemployment down and job numbers up, the economic expansion continues.
San José, CA – On June 28, the European Central Bank (ECB) stopped emergency lending to Greek banks. With depositors trying to withdraw money and banks without access to cash, the Greek government called for a six-day bank shutdown from June 29 to July 6. ATM withdrawals were limited to 60 euros (about $66) a day per account holder. In addition, capital controls mean that money cannot flow out of Greece unless permitted by the government.
Steff Yorek, the Political Secretary of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, responded to the Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality, June 26 stating, “Today the Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land. This is an important accomplishment in terms of LGBTQ equality and realization of a democratic demand.”
San Jose , CA – The U.S. Social Forum begins today, June 24, here in San Jose with a concurrent site in Philadelphia. The event is bringing together many different sections of the people’s movement under the slogan “Another World is Possible, Another System is Necessary.”
San José, CA – On Feb. 16, Federal District Judge Andrew Hanen placed an injunction on President Obama’s expansion of the Deferred Action program. While the Obama administration said that it would appeal the injunction, Hanen’s decision stopped the expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which was set to start on Wednesday, Feb. 18. The injunction may even delay the start of the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA) which was supposed to begin in mid-May.
San José, CA – on Oct. 14, a second nurse, Amber Vinson, was confirmed sick with the Ebola virus after helping to treat Ebola victim Thomas Duncan, who was originally turned away from a hospital after developing a high fever. Three days earlier, another nurse who also helped care for Duncan, Nina Pham, came down with Ebola and was hospitalized.
