Monthly Archive for March, 2010

Historic Health Care Vote Today

Published
by
Andrew
on 21 March, 2010
in Politics
. 1 Comment

Today is the big vote on US Health Care, a moment that has been described as “historic” by President Barack Obama. The Democrats are now confident they have the necessary support to introduce health reforms. Congressman John Larson, chairman of the House Democratic caucus, claimed the party had the 216 votes needed to pass the bill. The debate has raged for more than a year and it has frequently looked as if the bill might collapse. It has taken extensive lobbying by the Democratic leadership and an impassioned plea to Democratic members of Congress by Obama, to allay the fears of some in the party who were reluctant to support the bill, either because of the costs involved, estimated at $940bn (£626bn), or because they objected to possible public funding of abortions.

Health reform had been the centrepiece of Obama’s domestic policy on the campaign trail. The debate has been hugely divisive and embittered right across America, as I witnessed myself after writing a letter about the subject to the Florida Times-Union newspaper in September. All 178 Republicans have promised to vote against the reform in the House, where the Democrats have an overwhelming majority. Passage by the House should ensure the bill will become law. It must return to the Senate this week but the Democrats only require a majority of 51, and have 59 votes in the 100-member chamber.

The bill aims to expand health care to a further 32 million Americans, giving the country 95% health coverage. It would require most Americans to carry insurance, with subsidies for those who can’t afford it, expand the government-run Medicaid programme for the poor, and create new marketplaces where small businesses and self-employed people can pool together to buy cheaper health care. However an amendment to allow a public or single-payer option was not included despite being passed in an earlier debate.

Most newscasters and commentators have focused on the opposition to the bill in terms of the views of the Republican Party or anti-establishment Tea Party movement that share fears of the hand of “Big Government” making unwelcome intrusions into the private lives of individuals and leaving a massive debt which must be paid off by future generations by tax increases. A conversation with a cashier at a local supermarket in Jacksonville Beach two days ago echoed this view. While chatting at the check-out she revealed she was unhappy with the health vote that was about to take place because it would make the US system more like the UK or Canada, and she told me ” I don’t want my grandmother being refused treatment because it cost too much”. I expressed my view that having experienced both American health care and the NHS, the British system was better. She disagreed. However I would have been more accurate to say that the Obama reforms would not create a system which matched the NHS.

Indeed there is a whole side of the argument that seems to have been ignored or at least been given little coverage. There are critics of the reforms that believe the proposed bill does not go far enough. Organisations like the Physicians for a National Health Program, Health Care Now!, and the Green Party of America , all favour a single payer or public option that would be more in line with the British NHS. While making health care available to many more Americans, Obama’s reforms have been drafted with considerable help from the insurance industry, will not make health care universal, and will not introduce a “not-for-profit” system. Nor will the reforms remove the obligation to employers to provide health care, an additional cost that could affect competitiveness with firms from countries that have universal health systems.

The status quo is unacceptable. Millions of uninsured and under insured Americans is a disgraceful state of affairs. Obama’s reforms attempt to address that situation and is maybe the best that can be expected given the nature of America’s political system and the millions spent by lobbyists on adverts attempting to preserve the current health system. However as “historic” as the vote may prove to be, it feels like a missed opportunity, and does not deliver what is really needed to improve the health care of ordinary working class Americans. I cannot help but feel disappointed. Change we can believe in? Not yet.

[Based on a report by The Observer]

Curtain call

Published
by
Andrew
on 21 March, 2010
in Life stories and Travel
. 0 Comments

Molly curtain call

A year ago this month Molly Cat came into our lives. A lady who saves cats from the “kill list”, i.e. those that cannot be found homes by animal charities and are put to sleep, had rescued Molly and her siblings and was displaying them outside a pet supply store to try to find them new keepers. When Molly reached out and put on an act, Tina’s heart melt. She phoned me and asked if we could get another cat. I was not convinced. I feared that Hadley Cat might object to sharing her home and there was all the extra expense. But I caved in because ultimately I knew I was fighting a losing battle. There was no way Tina could walk away from that cute three months old bundle of fluff.

Now I can’t imagine not having Molly around. After seeing the photos a year ago I was anxious to meet the new addition to the family. My six months in the USA from last May onwards gave me plenty of time to be with Molly. I had no choice really, she adores me and follows me around demanding attention. I missed both cats badly when I returned to the UK. Molly has identity issues - she chirps like a bird and acts more like a dog. She will play fetch, likes constant fuss, wants her tummy tickled, and loves sweet foods. Less refined than her “sister” Hadley, Molly was happy to sleep in the litter box, a plant pot of soil (having killed the plant), and she shreds any paper that is left lying around in view of her mischievous eyes. If she is not sleeping on a cushion next to me, or playing with her toys, then Molly is usually found in the window sill watching the world go by. So here’s a recent photo of our daft as a brush Molly in honour of her first year with us.

Normal service is resumed

Published
by
Andrew
on 19 March, 2010
in Life stories and Travel
. 0 Comments

Jax Weather After several days of temperatures struggling to reach fahrenheit figures in the 60s, and windchill making them feel lower, the sun has got his hat on today, has come out to play, and it has reached a very pleasant 74′ F (23′ C). Yesterday I was in a fleece and jeans. Yes a fleece in Florida, I ask you. The forecast for the weekend and next week is for similar temperatures in the 70s. I might even make the beach at this rate. This is the first day I have opened the windows of the apartment. I am told Florida suffered the worst winter this year since records began. Ah but no snow like the good people of Leeds had to endure. Well my late lunch has been consumed and so I will venture out into the glorious weather for a relaxing read under the old currant bun as my Grandad used to call it.

Sand, sea and… destitution

Published
by
Andrew
on 19 March, 2010
in Life stories, Politics and Travel
. 0 Comments

Homeless person on Jacksonville Beach

Many think that life at the beach would be idyllic. For one section of the community in Jacksonville Beach living by the seaside is less about sunbathing and surfing, but more literal - the sands and environs are the closest they have to a home, it is their life. There can be few examples of the wide gulf in wealth within US society as strong as the differing experiences of people who populate “The Beaches” area of Jacksonville.

While a couple of miles down the A1A multi-million dollar homes nestle around the Ponte Vedra Golf Course (a few miles further and you encounter the exclusive and world famous Sawgrass Golf Club), at the other end of the social ladder homeless people sleep on the sands through necessity not choice. There is a mission house on Shetter Avenue which provides daily meals, showers, clothing and some medical assistance, but many homeless people find themselves without a bed for the night and gather on the beach instead.

During my six months in Jacksonville Beach my early morning bike rides would often coincide with small groups of homeless people awaking near the dunes and getting ready to make the journey to the Mission House for a meal. One man (pictured above) was a permanent fixture on the beach, his belongings in tattered plastic bags and a small suitcase that had seen better days. Whenever I saw him he was either asleep or more often indulging in a bizarre ritual of a dance-like shuffle making a small square shape motion in the sand while nodding to some kind of music. Whether it was from a mp3 player or just a tune in his head was difficult to tell. A walk along the beach yesterday once again included passing this dancer moving to to the beat of his own private world.

Another encounter was more involved. One evening back in July at the Ritz bar I had my camera ready for the space shuttle launch at Kennedy some 150 miles south, having been told the tail of flame could be seen from the beach on a clear day. As I made my way over to the boardwalk with a few other shuttle spotters, I met Rodney and Tammy, a homeless couple trying to earn small change by telling jokes. Rodney and TammySpotting the camera Rodney told me to take their photo as it was their second anniversary, and I duly obliged. Three weeks later I bumped into Rodney again one morning as I locked my bike up outside Walgreens. “You do right to lock it up my friend, I had mine stolen a few days ago”, he informed me. We spoke for around five minutes during which time it became obvious he was local celebrity, nearly all those entering the store said hello to him. Rodney offered to take the shirt off his back to clean my bike wheels to earn $2. He got the money without the toil. I told him that I’d taken the photo of Tammy and himself a few weeks before and that I would print him a copy. Rodney was delighted and told me the two regular spots on the beach where they spent the night so I might find them to hand it over. On my rides I always carried the photo in my bag in case I saw Rodney again. In the end probably a couple of months passed before I did, spotting Tammy and Rodney walking along the very road Tina was driving us down to collect her children from their father’s. We pulled over, my initial shout startled and seemed to worry them. As I approached it was clear Rodney did not recognise me, his face wracked with concern, but a swift explanation and offering of the photo brought about huge smile, and a vigorous handshake. As we drove away Tammy and Rodney remained motionless, both holding the photo and peering at it in amazement. In the scheme of things a small gesture and certainly no answer to their problems, but I hoped it made their day and made them realise someone cared something about their situation.

While trying to research homelessness in Jacksonville Beach I came across this video report from First Coast News made in November 2009 just before I left the US. It contained some familiar faces. Police Clean Out Homeless Camp In Jacksonville Beach I have yet to see Rodney or Tammy during my latest visit to Jacksonville Beach so I don’t know if they are still in the area or have been moved on to another county, or worse, sent to jail.

The City Rescue Mission in central Jacksonville says that homelessness has increased 33% in Jacksonville and could increase another 10% to 20% in the near future. Below is a factsheet that City Rescue Mission has produced:

Federal officials say homelessness over all is expected to rise 10 percent to 20 percent in 2009.

Each year, more than 3 million people experience homelessness, including 1.3 million children. One-third of the homeless population is made up of families.

And according to national studies, even more Americans are at risk of homelessness. Millions of low-income American households pay more than 50 percent of their income on rent when estimates say the figure should be no more than 30 percent.

A missed paycheck, a health emergency, or an unpaid bill creates a crisis, pushing them out of their homes and in to homelessness.

While the number of homeless individuals in shelters was about the same as last year, the number of people in families increased by 9% to 516,700, suggesting that family homelessness was on the rise.

Approximately 40% of homeless men are veterans, although veterans comprise only 34% of the general adult male population. The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans estimates that on any given night, 200,000 veterans are homeless, and 400,000 veterans will experience homelessness during the course of a year.

There were early signs that the economic crisis may have affected trends in homelessness nationally. Notably, a greater share of people accessing the homeless system in 2008 came from stays with friends and family and from places where they had lived a year or more, suggesting that people who had been stably housed were becoming homeless after exhausting their housing options.

The number of homeless families with children has increased significantly over the past decade. Families with children are among the fastest growing segments of the homeless population. In its 2007 survey, the U.S. Conference of Mayors found that families with children comprised 23% of the homeless population. These proportions are likely to be higher in rural areas. Research indicates that families, single mothers, and children make up the largest group of people who are homeless in rural areas.

Sources: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/who.html, http://www.nlchp.org/hapia.cfm and http://www.ich.gov/

Time flies

Published
by
Andrew
on 16 March, 2010
in Life stories and Politics
. 0 Comments

It has been some considerable time since I added an update to this blog. Back in September 2009 in fact, then still still a couple of months away from ending my Florida adventure. Maybe with a hint of appropriate consistency I am once again sat at the table in the Jacksonville Beach apartment, this time just for a brief two weeks holiday, the very place where the last blog entry took shape.

A great deal has occurred since that last blog post. The arrival of my parents in Florida in July provided a lot of potential material to post, photos to edit, and yet limited the available time to carry out such tasks. I fell behind with the entries and apart from a couple of retrospective postings, lost the drive needed to catch up and continue a regular offering. Furthermore a restructure at work turned my attention to submitting a job application, preparing for a video conference interview via Skype, and the days in the local Beaches Library were dedicated to retaining my own job rather than the observations of Florida life. Once the interview was complete Tina and I then spent ten days in Italy, attending her brother’s wedding in Siena. Those ten days provided more items to write about but little free time, the most notable event was proposing to Tina in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican, Rome on 23rd October. She accepted by the way!

Leaving Tina and Florida in mid November and returning to the cold, bleak Leeds streets, and a workplace where staff morale was the lowest I have ever encountered, was as hard as it was painful. I had obtained a position in the restructure, a promotion in fact, but no joy could be taken from it when colleagues and friends were unsuccessful and in danger of losing their jobs. Most shocking was the tragic news that during the six months I was away two colleagues took their own lives. The mood at work was sombre at best, sometimes mutinous, motivation absent, and the feeling towards management close to outright fury. This atmosphere, the cold weather, and the returning to an empty house every night left my mood very dark, and the last thing on my mind was writing a blog.

But there are positives. Tina and I have, with her ex-husband’s co-operation and support (in fact he suggested it), decided to live in the UK. Tina came over for Christmas which was a happy time, and we looked for wedding venues, settling on Temple Newsam House in Leeds. We now are embroiled with the frustrating and complex task of sorting out the application for settlement in the UK for Tina and two of her boys, so they can be over in time for a September wedding. Having been used to having Tina, her boys, and the cats around for six months, not to mention being in a location where mid November still allowed cycling after dark in t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, it was remarkably hard to go back to Britain to the solitary life. Furthermore the need to save money has necessitated a frugal life of simple pastimes, staying home reading, watching TV, or browsing the internet. I have so far failed to see a Stoke City match at the Britannia this season, my football fix obtained from a few trips to the now defunct Farsley Celtic FC.

One distraction I have embraced enthusiastically is a greater involvement with the Green Party as the General and local Council Elections loom. I helped during the unsuccessful campaign in the Leeds ward of Hyde Park & Woodhouse byelection in February, and have been leafleting around the Farnley & Wortley ward with the aim of getting Cllr Andy Parnham re-elected and helping Cllr David Blackburn’s Parliamentary campaign for the Leeds West Constituency. Leafleting has a rather soothing and stress-busting effect. When striding up an unknown driveway, one’s concentration is locked on folding the leaflet correctly, the potential awkward letterbox that makes insertion a chore, and the possibility of some slavering beast waiting on the other side to remove any straying fingers. All worries of the day at work, or the months ahead are gone, the mind is cleared and focused on the simple task of getting the paper through the slot without incident, and the exercise is also good for body and soul. While this blog as suffered, I have been busy updating the Farnley & Wortley Green Party website and have also assisted with the Headingley Green Party’s new site too. I have also agreed to be David Blackburn’s election agent during the General Election campaign.

While this latest holiday in Jacksonville Beach affords me the time to restart blogging, I must give credit to another source of inspiration. A contractor called David has been working in our office since my return to Leeds. Stoke born and bred, a similar age to myself, and a great fan of Stoke City during my favourite era - the Lou Macari Years in the early 1990s - so no wonder we have stuck up a rapport and shared plenty of laughs. David discovered my blog by accident, and has apparently been working his way through past entries. It was his compliments about the stories and enjoyment of them that gave me the impetus to write something new. Sometimes the thought of “what’s the point” flits across one’s mind, but if other people do appreciate the efforts made, it is flattering and galvanises the resolve to continue. I find writing fulfilling, people seem to enjoy reading my observations, and if I can provoke thought and positive action from just one person then the whole exercise is worthwhile. So thanks David, and we must keep in touch when you move to your next contract.

In the meantime I think I should make the most of the sunshine and head outside. Who knows what things are going on out there that are just asking to be written about!