FW/FYI: Meet with us May 4 , 9:15am at the Red Atlas ...re: Economic Justice and Resistance to Debt to Wall Street. We are looking into becoming a chapter of "Strike Debt" (an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street).
Francis Kromkowski
From: Francis Kromkowski [mailto:f.krom...@bresnan.net]
Sent: Friday, April 26, 2013 7:28 AM
To: 'Occupy Helena Discussion List'
Subject: Meet with us April 27 and May 4 , 9:15am at the Red Atlas ...re: Economic Justice and Resistance to Debt to Wall Street. Some Occupy Helena activists want to look into becoming a chapter of "Strike Debt" (an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street).
AND 
http://strikedebt.org/ http://www.occupyhelena.org/
The Occupy Wall Street Movement is about economic justice and resistance to Wall Street corporate greed. The Occupy encampments and protests have raised the Nation’s awareness about our corrupt economic system (dominated by Wall Street corporate wheeler dealers) that is the root of many other injustices we, the 99%) face.
And that economic system has not yet changed -- the banks (and the debt of ordinary people) have only grown larger.
As individuals, families, and communities, most of us are drowning in debt to Wall Street for the basic things we need to live, like housing, education, and health care. Even those of us who do not have personal debt are affected by predatory lending. Our essential public services are cut because our cities and towns are held hostage by the same big banks that have been bailed out by our government in recent years.
“Strike Debt” is an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement that aims to help change this.
Some Occupy Helena activists want to help address the debt problems of the 99% by look into becoming a chapter of “Strike Debt.”
“Strike Debt” is an offshoot of OWS that intends to means to address our debt issues through community direct action (including the “Rolling Jubilee” – described below ) -- more about all of this below and at the websites listed below.
Are you, members of Occupy Helena, willing for this (becoming a chapter of “Strike Debt”) to happen?
We need the consensus approval of Occupy Helena to go ahead with this.
A discussion about this will take place Saturday, April 27th (and then May 4th ) at 9:15am at the Red Atlas (the back section of The Staggering Ox). Let's also acknowledge May Day.
Please join us.
Strike Debt materials we are studying can be found at:
§ http://strikedebt.org/ and
§ https://www.facebook.com/pages/Strike-Debt/244850825627699
Debt is a tie that binds the 99%.
As individuals, families, and communities, most of us are drowning in debt to Wall Street for the basic things we need to live, like housing, education, and health care. Even those of us who do not have personal debt are affected by predatory lending. Our essential public services are cut because our cities and towns are held hostage by the same big banks that have been bailed out by our government in recent years.
We are not a loan. Strike Debt came from a coalition of Occupy groups looking to build popular resistance to all forms of debt imposed on us by the banks. Debt keeps us isolated, ashamed, and afraid. We are building a movement to challenge this system while creating alternatives and supporting each other. We want an economy where our debts are to our friends, families, and communities — and not to the 1%.
Debt resistance is just the beginning. Join us as we imagine and create a new world based on the common good, not Wall Street profits.
Strike Debt emerged from a series of Occupy Wall Street/Occupy Theory open assemblies that began in May 2012 in NYC. We are spreading the word that debt is a global system of domination and exploitation of the 99% by the 1%. Strike Debt links diverse individuals and communities to resist the debt system.
Our initiatives include publishing The Debt Resistors’ Operations Manual and beginning the Rolling Jubilee.l, hosting teach-ins and debt assemblies, supporting the Occupy Student Debt Campaign‘s pledge of student debt refusal, and launching the Rolling Jubilee, a mutual aid project in which donors buy debt at steeply discounted prices and then abolish it. We are also planning creative direct actions across the country, ranging from symbolic debt burnings to targeted shutdowns of predatory lenders of all kinds.
Take action. Join the resistance.
The Rolling Jubilee http://strikedebt.org/#initiatives
Strike Debt buys debt for pennies on the dollar, but instead of collecting it, we abolish it. We cannot buy specific individuals' debt — instead, we help liberate debtors at random through a campaign of mutual support, good will, and collective refusal.
Strike Debt kicked off this effort on November 15 with The People's Bailout, a variety show and telethon in NYC, http://www.lepoissonrouge.com/lpr_events/peoples-bailout/ All proceeds will go directly to buying people's debt and cancelling it.
The Debt Resistors' Operations Manual http://strikedebt.org/#initiatives
This manual — written by an anonymous collective of resistors, defaulters, and allies from Strike Debt and Occupy Wall Street — aims to provide specific tactics for understanding and fighting against the debt system. You'll find detailed strategies and resources for dealing with credit card, medical, student, housing and municipal debt, tactics for navigating the pitfalls of personal bankruptcy, and information to help protect yourself from predatory lenders. Recognizing that individually we can only do so much to resist the system of debt, the manual also introduces ideas for those who have made the decision to take collective action.
Explore the creative ideas for debt resistance at the Strike Debt website and Facebook page and join us April 27, 9:15am at the Red Atlas.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Strike-Debt/244850825627699
From: ohdiscuss...@csatlevel4.net [mailto:ohdiscuss...@csatlevel4.net] On Behalf Of JE Siemers
Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 3:51 PM
To: OH
Subject: [Ohdiscuss1] Official call for consensus to become a Strike Debt chapter. Please respond by May 3rd.
attached - Happy May Day to you, with a woodcut dedicated to the workers by Walter Crane, 1895 (info.below)
Hi OHers,
This is an official call for consensus for Occupy Helena to become a Strike Debt chapter and move forward with our own local workgroup. Strike Debt is an offshoot of OWS(see below). Please respond by May 3rd. Thanks so much for your participation in the next phase of the fight for equality and economic justice for the 99%.
“1 in every 7 Americans is being pursued by a debt collector.”
OH is meeting Sat. mornings, 9:15AM, Red Atlas (off of Lundy Court) to explore and discuss Strike Debt theory/actions as they relate to our community, and other economic issues, (e.g., sequestration). The next meeting is May 4th.
On April 25th, 2012 - Student Loan Debt Reached $1,000,000,000,000.00
Over the summer preparations will be made for presentations focused on Student Debt, Housing Debt, and Medical Debt.
We hope to take action in the fall by way of presentations, HCTV, letters, networking, and a Debt Assembly.
There is interest in taking part in the Rolling Jubilee project and to explore how to do a debt cancellation action in our area. The Jubilee project has made two debt buys so far and has cancelled one million dollars in debt. A donation of $50 cancels $1,000 of debt.
Strike Debt: “We are not a loan. Strike Debt came from a coalition of Occupy groups looking to build popular resistance to all forms of debt imposed on us by the banks. Debt keeps us isolated, ashamed, and afraid. We are building a movement to challenge this system while creating alternatives and supporting each other. We want an economy where our debts are to our friends, families, and communities — and not to the 1%.” http://strikedebt.org/
Walter Crane's "Garland for May Day 1895" is lettered "Merrie England" together with progressive slogans ("Shorten Working Day & Lengthen Life", "The Land for the People", "No Child Toilers", "Art and Employment for All") and with socialism ("Production for Use Not for Profit").
From: Francis Kromkowski <f.krom...@bresnan.net>
To: 'Occupy Helena Discussion List' <ohdis...@csatlevel4.net>
Sent: Monday, April 29, 2013 10:10 AM
Subject: [Ohdiscuss1] 84 million US adults lack adequate health care coverage
84 million US adults lack adequate health care coverage http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/04/29/heal-a29.html
One-quarter of adults reported being unable to pay for basic necessities such as food, heat or rent due to medical costs.
84 million US adults lack adequate health care coverage
By Kate Randall
29 April 2013
Nearly half of US adults ages 19 to 64—an estimated 84 million people—did not have health insurance for all of 2012, or had coverage that did not adequately protect them from high health care costs.
A new report from the New York-based Commonwealth Fund documents the fact that growing numbers of workers and their family members are foregoing care because they cannot afford it, or are struggling under the weight of mounting medical bills.
This health care crisis will not be remedied by the full implementation of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act in January 2014. Many of the currently uninsured or underinsured will be shunted into inferior plans with large out-of-pocket costs, or will simply not be able to afford coverage offered by private health insurers on the so-called exchanges. Many low- and middle-income households will continue to lack adequate insurance and be forced to skip care or medications due to cost.
The only age group to show an improvement in health care coverage in the Commonwealth Fund report was young adults, ages 19 to 26, where the percentage of uninsured at any time during the prior year fell from 48 percent in 2010 to 41 percent in 2012. This is most likely due to a provision of the new health care bill already in effect that allows people in this age group to be covered under their parents’ insurance plans. Uninsured rates for all other age groups increased or remained the same.
Forty-six percent of all US adults did not have insurance for the full year, or had coverage that provided insufficient protection from health costs. Nearly a third—55 million—were uninsured at some time in 2012. Some 30 million people—an additional 16 percent—were insured, but had such high out-of-pocket costs that they could be considered underinsured, according to the report.
In the period from 2003 to 2012, the number of uninsured or underinsured people rose from 61 million (36 percent of adults) to 81 million (46 percent). Half of the uninsured/underinsured (40 million) in 2012 came from households with incomes under 133 percent of the federal poverty level ($14,856 for an individual or $30,657 for a family of four). Among adults earning between 133 percent and 249 percent of the federal poverty level, an estimated 21 million went for a period without coverage or were underinsured in 2012.
More than two of five adults—75 million people—reported problems with medical bills. Problems included an inability to their pay bills, being contacted by a collection agency, or being forced to change their way of life to meet medical costs. Of those reporting problems paying bills, 32 million said they had received a lower credit rating as a result, making it more difficult and expensive to obtain credit to purchase a home or car and threatening higher credit card interest rates and reductions in credit lines.
An estimated 28 million people reported using all of their savings to pay off medical bills. One-quarter of adults reported being unable to pay for basic necessities such as food, heat or rent due to medical costs, while 17 million delayed career or education plans. Four million people reported filing for bankruptcy; 5 million took out a second mortgage or other loan. Those unable to find a way to finance their medical care have been forced to go without.
In 2012, a staggering 80 million adults ages 19 to 64 (43 percent) reported problems getting needed health care due to cost, an increase of 17 million people since 2003. People in this group were far less likely to have a regular source of health care, or be up to date on recommended cholesterol, blood pressure, colon cancer and other screenings. Only 49 percent of women with incomes below 133 percent of the federal poverty level had a mammogram in the recommended timeframe.
The Commonwealth Fund report shows people going without vitally needed care in record numbers in 2012, including:
* 53 million who had a medical problem, but did not visit a doctor or clinic;
* 50 million not filling a needed prescription;
* 49 million skipping tests, treatments and follow-ups recommended by a health care provider;
* 37 million not getting care from a specialist, despite being referred by their doctor.
An estimated 66 million people reported having hypertension, diabetes, asthma, emphysema, lung disease or heart disease. Twenty-eight percent of these chronically ill adults reported skipping doses or not filling prescriptions for their regular medications because they could not afford to pay for it, putting their health and lives at risk. Among those chronically ill who were uninsured at the time of the survey, 60 percent reported not being able to pay for their medications.
Growth in health care premiums is a major burden, particularly for lower income households. In 2012, the average annual premium for single coverage in employer-based plans climbed to $5,615 for an individual plan and $15,745 for family plans. Employers have also shifted the proportion of these premiums employees are required to cover, as well as increasing deductibles and co-payments.
The poor and those who must purchase their own insurance have been particularly hard hit by premium costs. More than one-third of those with incomes below 133 percent of the federal poverty level spent 10 percent or more of their income on premium costs. Among those who must purchase their own coverage, 31 percent reported spending 10 percent or more of their income on premiums.
Under the Obama health care overhaul, individuals and families will be required to obtain health care coverage or pay a penalty. Those who are not insured through their employer and are not eligible for government programs such as Medicaid will be required to purchase coverage on the insurance exchanges set up under the Affordable Care Act and may obtain subsidies to do so based on income.
But this will not provide relief to the vast majority of those who are currently uninsured and underinsured. An article to be published this week in the Journal of General Internal Medicine notes that most low-income households, despite receiving subsidies, will be able to afford only the lowest-tier of health care on the exchanges, the so-called Bronze plans.
While someone making up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level will be required to pay only 2 percent of his or her income to obtain Bronze coverage, these inferior plans will cover only 60 percent of costs, leaving the insured with the responsibility to pick up the remaining 40 percent. This will inevitably lead to “insured” families skipping care, treatments and medications.
Physicians for a National Health Program calculates that a 56-year-old making $45,900 will pay an estimated $4,361 in premiums for individual Bronze coverage, after subsidies, and up to $4,167 in additional deductibles and co-pays. This means that more than 18 percent of his or her income will go toward health care costs.
Obamacare, far from guaranteeing decent medical care for all, will institutionalize inferior and inadequate care for tens of millions of Americans and lead to a reduction in coverage or an increase in costs for millions more who are currently covered under employer-sponsored plans. It will at the same time guarantee increased profits for the insurance industry by supplying it with millions of additional paying customers.
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