Category: Safety Net for the Middle Class

TheVoiceOfJoyce Want to increase your lifespan and dependency on drugs for anxiety, go to the Park. It’s a known fact, exposure to green spaces reduces asthma, high blood pressure and prescription drugs for anxiety. Perhaps, becoming a Park Ranger, or working in our National Parks may be therapeutic for people suffering from PTSD, homelessness, marginal employment. Build more green spaces, stop urban blight, global warming and help people thrive!

January 17, 2023

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/17/visiting-green-spaces-deters-mental-health-drug-use-researchers-find Visits to parks, community gardens and other urban green spaces may lower city dwellers’ use of drugs for anxiety, insomnia, depression, high blood pressure, and asthma, research has found. Researchers in Finland found that visiting such areas three to four times a week cuts people’s chances of turning to drugs for mental health problems … More TheVoiceOfJoyce Want to increase your lifespan and dependency on drugs for anxiety, go to the Park. It’s a known fact, exposure to green spaces reduces asthma, high blood pressure and prescription drugs for anxiety. Perhaps, becoming a Park Ranger, or working in our National Parks may be therapeutic for people suffering from PTSD, homelessness, marginal employment. Build more green spaces, stop urban blight, global warming and help people thrive!

TheVoiceOfJoyce The Inflation Reduction Act brought significant changes to our Medicare program. Most importantly Medicare will begin negotiating prices for the 10 most used prescription drugs. Insulin pricing is capped at $35/ month. Vaccines that are beneficial to Seniors are free and available to everyone. They include Shingrix, protection from Shingles, a debilitating disease that effects nerve endings. This Vaccine used to cost $200 at most pharmacies and two doses are effective for 10 yrs. There are now free Vaccines for Hepatitis A & B, pneumonia and an all in one, Tdap( tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough). Overall drug costs will be capped as well. Refer to this article from The NY Times for important Medicare phone #’s. Be well.

January 15, 2023

http://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/14/health/medicare-drug-prices.html With Shingrix available at pharmacies without charge, “the receptivity to vaccination for older adults will increase substantially, especially among underserved populations,” he predicted. Also free: hepatitis A and hepatitis B vaccinations, and Tdap, which protects against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough). The third major change: When prices for drugs covered under Part D, … More TheVoiceOfJoyce The Inflation Reduction Act brought significant changes to our Medicare program. Most importantly Medicare will begin negotiating prices for the 10 most used prescription drugs. Insulin pricing is capped at $35/ month. Vaccines that are beneficial to Seniors are free and available to everyone. They include Shingrix, protection from Shingles, a debilitating disease that effects nerve endings. This Vaccine used to cost $200 at most pharmacies and two doses are effective for 10 yrs. There are now free Vaccines for Hepatitis A & B, pneumonia and an all in one, Tdap( tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough). Overall drug costs will be capped as well. Refer to this article from The NY Times for important Medicare phone #’s. Be well.

TheVoiceOfJoyce What you don’t know, can hurt you or someone you love. Did you know, 1 in 5 workers, in low paying jobs, have signed non compete clauses? With Lina Kahn, as the head of the FTC, she’s banning non compete agreements. To break up monopoly power, non compete agreements should be banned at all salary levels. Money in Labor’s pocket, resurrects our Middle Class. All Americans should support banning non compete clauses in employment contracts. Why would I support this FTC ruling? I thrived in the Labor force without a non compete agreement, I changed jobs and professions every 3+ yrs and increased my salary regularly. The multi national corporations employing me, made millions from my ideas.

January 12, 2023

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jan/12/ftc-non-compete-agreements-biden-chair the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a sweeping new rule that would ban these non-compete agreements. This is a big deal. The FTC estimates that such a ban could increase wages by nearly $300bn a year (about $2,000 a worker, on average) by allowing workers to pursue better job opportunities. Non-competes also harm the … More TheVoiceOfJoyce What you don’t know, can hurt you or someone you love. Did you know, 1 in 5 workers, in low paying jobs, have signed non compete clauses? With Lina Kahn, as the head of the FTC, she’s banning non compete agreements. To break up monopoly power, non compete agreements should be banned at all salary levels. Money in Labor’s pocket, resurrects our Middle Class. All Americans should support banning non compete clauses in employment contracts. Why would I support this FTC ruling? I thrived in the Labor force without a non compete agreement, I changed jobs and professions every 3+ yrs and increased my salary regularly. The multi national corporations employing me, made millions from my ideas.

TheVoiceOfJoyce The Guardian was invited to a household in Jackson, Mississippi where the water has stopped flowing once again. This is a city of 150,000 mainly Black residents and the Republican legislature voted down funds to fix the pipes bringing water to Jackson residents. The Federal Government provided $600 million for the project, in December. It’s anticipated that FEMA will begin work shortly. Since 4 members of the Mississippi delegation voted against the Jackson Water Supply Funding, who represents poor Black Americans in their State? Why aren’t all citizens of Mississippi entitled to water?

January 7, 2023

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jan/07/jackson-mississippi-water-outage-neighbors-helping The same morning, Jackson’s mayor, Chokwe Lumumba, held a press conference to discuss plans to drastically overhaul the city’s crumbling water infrastructure. In November last year the entire system was taken under federal government oversight after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found the city in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. The move … More TheVoiceOfJoyce The Guardian was invited to a household in Jackson, Mississippi where the water has stopped flowing once again. This is a city of 150,000 mainly Black residents and the Republican legislature voted down funds to fix the pipes bringing water to Jackson residents. The Federal Government provided $600 million for the project, in December. It’s anticipated that FEMA will begin work shortly. Since 4 members of the Mississippi delegation voted against the Jackson Water Supply Funding, who represents poor Black Americans in their State? Why aren’t all citizens of Mississippi entitled to water?

TheVoiceOfJoyce Putin and Shoigu live in a past historical glory of their own imagination. We might as well be watching Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime, with rogue Soviets triggerring War with the West. Unfortunately, for the Ukrainian people, Russia’s war is real. Russian missiles destroy infrastructure and murder individuals. The Ukrainians are constantly battling the missiles and Russian troops. Russian advancement on Ukrainian territory hasn’t occurred since the war started. The Russians don’t hold territory. It’s the New Year, let’s hope there will be Peace, though Putin and his 2 nd are signaling the opposite.

December 31, 2022

http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/dec/31/russia-ukraine-war-live-ukraine-troops-fighting-fiercest-battles-in-donbas-says-zelenskiy Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said victory for Russia over Ukraine was “inevitable” as he hailed Russian soldiers’ heroism in a new year’s video message. Moscow’s defence chief, who has been heavily criticised by pro-war voices in Russia for battlefield failures during the 10-month campaign, said the situation on the frontlines remained “difficult” and … More TheVoiceOfJoyce Putin and Shoigu live in a past historical glory of their own imagination. We might as well be watching Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime, with rogue Soviets triggerring War with the West. Unfortunately, for the Ukrainian people, Russia’s war is real. Russian missiles destroy infrastructure and murder individuals. The Ukrainians are constantly battling the missiles and Russian troops. Russian advancement on Ukrainian territory hasn’t occurred since the war started. The Russians don’t hold territory. It’s the New Year, let’s hope there will be Peace, though Putin and his 2 nd are signaling the opposite.

TheVoiceOfJoyce Healthcare is in crisis here, the Uk and the EU. Low salaries, understaffing, medical deserts, less GP’s entering the work force are creating a healthcare disaster . In GB, nurses are prepared to walk out. 100,000’s are needed for work and remain out of the workforce of most western nations. WHO is looking at European health system collapse. The US is also facing severe nursing shortages and long lines are occurring. As Covid cases continue to rise, will we be putting off other treatments? Better to address the issues now. In America, we need standards of care, a ratio of patient to healthcare professional staffing. Based on our populations need for more wellness and stress visits, more Dr’s and other healthcare professionals are needed. Can we pay more, educate and train more Dr’s and nurses and limit the role of insurance companies in our decision making? Healthcare for profit, is not working.

December 15, 2022

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/dec/14/a-ticking-time-bomb-healthcare-under-threat-across-western-europe In a third of countries in the region, at least 40% of doctors were aged 55 or over, the report said. Even when younger practitioners stayed despite stress, long hours and often low pay, their reluctance to work in remote rural areas or deprived inner cities had created “medical deserts” that were proving almost … More TheVoiceOfJoyce Healthcare is in crisis here, the Uk and the EU. Low salaries, understaffing, medical deserts, less GP’s entering the work force are creating a healthcare disaster . In GB, nurses are prepared to walk out. 100,000’s are needed for work and remain out of the workforce of most western nations. WHO is looking at European health system collapse. The US is also facing severe nursing shortages and long lines are occurring. As Covid cases continue to rise, will we be putting off other treatments? Better to address the issues now. In America, we need standards of care, a ratio of patient to healthcare professional staffing. Based on our populations need for more wellness and stress visits, more Dr’s and other healthcare professionals are needed. Can we pay more, educate and train more Dr’s and nurses and limit the role of insurance companies in our decision making? Healthcare for profit, is not working.

AmericaSpeaks TheVoiceOfJoyce In a letter to the editor, so much of what’s wrong with American Healthcare has been detailed and they’re my pet peeves, too! The Pharmaceutical Industry hasn’t created break through products, because they’re making huge profits by advertising to the Public. Stop the advertising and their money can be used for R&D and lowering their costs to us. The insurance industry is linked to healthcare, their for profit model and reams of paperwork, benefits them and not the hospital or the patient. Third, there are too few physicians in America by design. Our Country lags behind other Nations in quality of care, costs and a decrease in mortality. When does healthcare change to serve the needs of “We the People”? Who is doing a well health assessment of you? When will we adapt standards of care guaranteeing a ratio of healthcare providers to consumers? Our quality of life is important. Good health makes it possible to pursue our dreams!

December 12, 2022

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/12/11/why-american-health-care-is-so-expensive/ But Mr. Goldhill didn’t mention that pharmaceutical companies in the United States spend more on sales and marketing (including consumer advertising and direct marketing to physicians and other health providers) than on research. Why, for instance, do we allow advertising of prescription drugs, when its only function is to have ill-informed patients pressuring physicians … More AmericaSpeaks TheVoiceOfJoyce In a letter to the editor, so much of what’s wrong with American Healthcare has been detailed and they’re my pet peeves, too! The Pharmaceutical Industry hasn’t created break through products, because they’re making huge profits by advertising to the Public. Stop the advertising and their money can be used for R&D and lowering their costs to us. The insurance industry is linked to healthcare, their for profit model and reams of paperwork, benefits them and not the hospital or the patient. Third, there are too few physicians in America by design. Our Country lags behind other Nations in quality of care, costs and a decrease in mortality. When does healthcare change to serve the needs of “We the People”? Who is doing a well health assessment of you? When will we adapt standards of care guaranteeing a ratio of healthcare providers to consumers? Our quality of life is important. Good health makes it possible to pursue our dreams!

TheVoiceOfJoyce Why does the House GOP and one Democrat believe eliminating child poverty is wrong?

December 8, 2022

The House will reinstate the child tax credit, if they can also extend the tax breaks for Corporations. Once again, the poor and middle class get to pay for all the programs coming out of the Federal Government. It’s, too bad, they couldn’t pass the For the Families Act and get universal PreK schooling. With … More TheVoiceOfJoyce Why does the House GOP and one Democrat believe eliminating child poverty is wrong?

TheVoiceOfJoyce After COP27, the World is faced with a warming Arctic and Antarctica. They’re melting at an alarming rate and several , untested, proposals have been made. Only one, tackling the Arctic warming problem, appears to be viable without unintended consequences. That’s cloud brightening. If the predictions are correct, we’ve got 7 years to solve our problems, before Global temperatures rise more than 4 degrees Celsius.

November 27, 2022

The proposed project also assumes International cooperation? Another stumbling block. Nations, individually, haven’t developed plans to limit emissions or fossil fuel usage. Why isn’t survival on everyone’s mind? http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/27/melting-point-could-cloud-brightening-slow-the-thawing-of-the-arctic Given that it seems to take about seven years to get planning permission for a loft conversion, this seems to me like an astonishingly optimistic timescale. … More TheVoiceOfJoyce After COP27, the World is faced with a warming Arctic and Antarctica. They’re melting at an alarming rate and several , untested, proposals have been made. Only one, tackling the Arctic warming problem, appears to be viable without unintended consequences. That’s cloud brightening. If the predictions are correct, we’ve got 7 years to solve our problems, before Global temperatures rise more than 4 degrees Celsius.

TheVoiceOfJoyce This plant, situated in Willowbrook, Illinois , has been in operation since the mid 1980’s.

November 26, 2022

The plat, employing more than 18, 000 workers, releases EtO , an ethanol sterilization gas into the atmosphere. By 2006, The EPA, deemed this gas to be carcinogenic. Why weren’t emissions capped and, or, the plant shut down, then! Instead, with cancer cases piling up, in 2018, the Willowbrook community learned of their danger and … More TheVoiceOfJoyce This plant, situated in Willowbrook, Illinois , has been in operation since the mid 1980’s.