News

  • Ask The Advisor June 2014

    DeSantis' claim that airplanes have not been "vectors" for the spread of the coronavirus is untrue, according to experts. A "vector" spreads the virus from location to location, and airplanes have ferried infected passengers across geographies, making COVID-19 outbreaks more difficult to contain. Joseph Allen, an associate professor of exposure assessment science at Harvard University called airplanes "excellent vectors for viral spread" in a press call. .Spending Bill Dominates "Lame Duck" Session .What We Know and What We are Still Learning … Continued

  • Benefit Bulletin July 2016

    When attending town halls, find out how your candidate stands on this issue. Ask whether he or she supports expanding Medicare coverage to dental care. .The report's release coincided with two days of high-level White House negotiations that President Obama recently held with Senate Democratic and Republican leaders over reducing the federal deficit, ahead of the pressing debt limit deadline. The attractiveness of the proposal is not only the aforementioned enormous savings to the federal government, but the ingenious political cover. The change appears miniscule, the savings to the government low at first, and it's so complicated nobody except a government economist would even claim to understand it. .After receiving no cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) this year, Social Security beneficiaries will finally receive a raise effective January 1st. But the increase in benefits is so small, it will be the lowest payable COLA ever in the history of the program — raising a ,000 benefit by just .00. … Continued

The deal will likely move to the House and Senate for a vote before the Presidents Day recess begins. .Throughout the remainder of the 113th Congress, TSCL will continue to urge Members of Congress to pass the Social Security Fairness Act since we believe strongly that it would go far in ensuring the retirement security of millions of seniors. To aid us in our efforts, we encourage you to contact your elected officials to request their support for S. 896 and H.R. 1795. .The measure's inclusion in the stimulus is likely to be a point of contention between Republicans and Democrats as they work to hash out a compromise this week that will address state and local funding, money for schools and extending expiring unemployment payments. .Our nation is in a hyper-partisan period as the November elections approach. In this environment it becomes tricky when reporting about issues that affect you and other TSCL supporters because the issues are so often intertwined with politics. .Following the meeting at the White House, Congressman Welch told reporters: "It simply makes no sense for Medicare to buy wholesale and pay retail prices. As a businessman, President Trump understands that. I hope he helps us enact our legislation to provide urgently needed relief to consumers and taxpayers." In addition, Congressman Cummings said, "We had a productive meeting today … The President committed to reviewing our proposal, and he seemed enthusiastic about the idea." .In fact, generic medicines represent around 90 percent of all prescriptions dispensed in the U.S., and we depend on China for 80 percent of the core components to make our generic medicines. .In order to pass it all 50 Democratic Senators would have to support the legislation. If that were not the case there would have to be enough Republican Senators voting "yes" to reach at least 50 votes in favor of passage. .But last Monday the drug company executives announced they would not be going to the White House meeting. A spokesman for PhRMA, the giant lobbying group for many of the biggest drug manufacturers, said the White House talks were a distraction. .In addition, on Wednesday, the Social Security Administration announced that seniors will receive a 1.5 percent Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2014, which is slightly lower than 2013's 1.7 percent COLA, and is far lower than the 3 percent average COLA over the past thirty years. Officials also announced on Wednesday that the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security payroll tax will increase in January from 3,700 to 7,000. In a press release, SSA noted that about 10 million workers will pay higher taxes in 2014 as a result of the increase.