Most employees at large companies should expect a 5 percent increase in their health insurance premiums in 2017 and few changes to the coverage and features.
Reported by NPR 12 hours ago.
Hikes In Employees' Health Premiums To Outpace Raises Again
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Class-action cyber attack lawsuit against Banner Health may be the first of many
One of Banner Health's physicians is leading a class-action lawsuit against the state's largest health system, but there may be more to come. Last week, Banner Health notified 3.7 million patients, doctors, enrollees and other health providers that there was a cyber attack on the Phoenix-based health system, starting with credit card purchases in several of its cafeterias, cafes and coffee shops across the country, including Phoenix. But patient and health insurance records also may be at risk. Immediately,…
Reported by bizjournals 9 hours ago.
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Fully understand the IoT with this report
The Internet of Things (IoT) Revolution is picking up speed and it will change how we live, work, and entertain ourselves in a million ways big and small.
From agriculture to defense, retail to healthcare, everything is going to be impacted by the growing ability of businesses, governments, and consumers to connect to and control their environments:
· “Smart mirrors” will allow consumers to try on clothes digitally, enhancing their shopping experience and reducing returns for the retailer
· Assembly line sensors will detect tiny drops in efficiency that indicate critical equipment is wearing out and schedule down-time maintenance in response
· Agricultural equipment guided by GPS and IoT technology will soon plant, fertilize and harvest vast croplands like a giant Roomba while the “driver” reads a magazine
· Active people will share lifestyle data from their fitness trackers in order to help their doctor make better health care decisions (and capture discounts on health insurance premiums)
No wonder the Internet of Things has been called “the next Industrial Revolution.” It’s so big that it could mean new revenue streams for your company and new opportunities for you. The only question is: Are you fully up to speed on the IoT?
Research analysts John Greenough and Jonathan Camhi of BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, spent months of researching and reporting this exploding trend and have put together a report on the Internet of Things that explains its exciting present and the fascinating future.
It covers how IoT is being implemented today, where the new sources of opportunity will be tomorrow and how 17 separate sectors of the economy will be transformed over the next 20 years, including:
· Agriculture
· Connected Home
· Defense
· Financial services
· Food services
· Healthcare
· Hospitality
· Infrastructure
· Insurance
· Logistics
· Manufacturing
· Oil, gas, and mining
· Retail
· Smart buildings
· Transportation
· Connected Car
· Utilities
If you work in any of these sectors, it's important for you to understand how the IoT will change your business and possibly even your career. And if you’re employed in any of the industries that will build out the IoT infrastructure—networking, semiconductors, telecommunications, data storage, cybersecurity—this report is a must-have.
Among the big picture insights you’ll get from *The Internet of Things: Examining How the IoT Will Affect The World*:
· IoT devices connected to the Internet will more than triple by 2020, from 10 billion to 34 billion. IoT devices will account for 24 billion, while traditional computing devices (e.g. smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, etc.) will comprise 10 billion.
· Nearly $6 trillion will be spent on IoT solutions over the next five years.
· Businesses will be the top adopter of IoT solutions because they will use IoT to 1) lower operating costs; 2) increase productivity; and 3) expand to new markets or develop new product offerings.
· Governments will be the second-largest adopters, while consumers will be the group least transformed by the IoT.
And when you dig deep into the report, you’ll get the whole story in a clear, no-nonsense presentation:
· The complex infrastructure of the Internet of Things distilled into a single ecosystem
· The most comprehensive breakdown of the benefits and drawbacks of mesh (e.g. ZigBee, Z- Wave, etc.), cellular (e.g. 3G/4G, Sigfox, etc.), and internet (e.g. Wi-Fi, Ethernet, etc.) networks
· The important role analytics systems, including edge analytics, cloud analytics, will play in making the most of IoT investments
· The sizable security challenges presented by the IoT and how they can be overcome
· The four powerful forces driving IoT innovation, plus the four difficult market barriers to IoT adoption
· Complete analysis of the likely future investment in the critical IoT infrastructure: connectivity, security, data storage, system integration, device hardware, and application development
· In-depth analysis of how the IoT ecosystem will change and disrupt 17 different industries
*The Internet of Things: Examining How the IoT Will Affect The World* is how you get the full story on the Internet of Things.
To get your copy of this invaluable guide to the IoT universe, choose one of these options:
1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> *START A MEMBERSHIP*
2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> *BUY THE REPORT*
The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the fast-moving world of the IoT.
Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 7 hours ago.
From agriculture to defense, retail to healthcare, everything is going to be impacted by the growing ability of businesses, governments, and consumers to connect to and control their environments:
· “Smart mirrors” will allow consumers to try on clothes digitally, enhancing their shopping experience and reducing returns for the retailer
· Assembly line sensors will detect tiny drops in efficiency that indicate critical equipment is wearing out and schedule down-time maintenance in response
· Agricultural equipment guided by GPS and IoT technology will soon plant, fertilize and harvest vast croplands like a giant Roomba while the “driver” reads a magazine
· Active people will share lifestyle data from their fitness trackers in order to help their doctor make better health care decisions (and capture discounts on health insurance premiums)
No wonder the Internet of Things has been called “the next Industrial Revolution.” It’s so big that it could mean new revenue streams for your company and new opportunities for you. The only question is: Are you fully up to speed on the IoT?
Research analysts John Greenough and Jonathan Camhi of BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, spent months of researching and reporting this exploding trend and have put together a report on the Internet of Things that explains its exciting present and the fascinating future.
It covers how IoT is being implemented today, where the new sources of opportunity will be tomorrow and how 17 separate sectors of the economy will be transformed over the next 20 years, including:
· Agriculture
· Connected Home
· Defense
· Financial services
· Food services
· Healthcare
· Hospitality
· Infrastructure
· Insurance
· Logistics
· Manufacturing
· Oil, gas, and mining
· Retail
· Smart buildings
· Transportation
· Connected Car
· Utilities
If you work in any of these sectors, it's important for you to understand how the IoT will change your business and possibly even your career. And if you’re employed in any of the industries that will build out the IoT infrastructure—networking, semiconductors, telecommunications, data storage, cybersecurity—this report is a must-have.
Among the big picture insights you’ll get from *The Internet of Things: Examining How the IoT Will Affect The World*:
· IoT devices connected to the Internet will more than triple by 2020, from 10 billion to 34 billion. IoT devices will account for 24 billion, while traditional computing devices (e.g. smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, etc.) will comprise 10 billion.
· Nearly $6 trillion will be spent on IoT solutions over the next five years.
· Businesses will be the top adopter of IoT solutions because they will use IoT to 1) lower operating costs; 2) increase productivity; and 3) expand to new markets or develop new product offerings.
· Governments will be the second-largest adopters, while consumers will be the group least transformed by the IoT.
And when you dig deep into the report, you’ll get the whole story in a clear, no-nonsense presentation:
· The complex infrastructure of the Internet of Things distilled into a single ecosystem
· The most comprehensive breakdown of the benefits and drawbacks of mesh (e.g. ZigBee, Z- Wave, etc.), cellular (e.g. 3G/4G, Sigfox, etc.), and internet (e.g. Wi-Fi, Ethernet, etc.) networks
· The important role analytics systems, including edge analytics, cloud analytics, will play in making the most of IoT investments
· The sizable security challenges presented by the IoT and how they can be overcome
· The four powerful forces driving IoT innovation, plus the four difficult market barriers to IoT adoption
· Complete analysis of the likely future investment in the critical IoT infrastructure: connectivity, security, data storage, system integration, device hardware, and application development
· In-depth analysis of how the IoT ecosystem will change and disrupt 17 different industries
*The Internet of Things: Examining How the IoT Will Affect The World* is how you get the full story on the Internet of Things.
To get your copy of this invaluable guide to the IoT universe, choose one of these options:
1. Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> *START A MEMBERSHIP*
2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> *BUY THE REPORT*
The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the fast-moving world of the IoT.
Join the conversation about this story » Reported by Business Insider 7 hours ago.
↧
Caregivers Could Be The REAL Silent Majority In This Election
There is probably not another segment of the population as large and drowning in quiet desperation as our country’s 34 million unpaid family caregivers. Yet their needs have barely been discussed on the national stage of this presidential election.
Why is that? Maybe it’s just that caregivers don’t have any time left on their hands to organize protest marches or come up with Twitter hashtags to keep their situation front and center in Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s headlights. But come November, don’t be surprised if the nation’s family caregivers rise up and speak in one voice.
Care of elderly parents, spouses and the nation’s veterans who return home with damages both visible and unseen carries a price tag of $500 billion a year, according to the Rand Corp. And the family members who provide this care ― most notably spouses and adult daughters ― often have to sacrifice their own lives in the process. Frequently they must cut back on their work hours or burn through personal and vacation days to provide an elderly parent or a spouse with care. For many, dropping out of the workplace can mean lost wages, health insurance and reduced Social Security benefits later on. And then there is the emotional toll. There is an acute lack of respite care, relief from the daily grind of what caregiving entails. Caregivers are mad as hell about all of it and not wanting to take it anymore.
Here’s where the two major presidential candidates stand on a few key ideas related to family caregiving:
On tax relief to family members who care for ailing parents and grandparents.
Family caregivers spend plenty of money out of pocket related to their patients, and in many cases receive no tax deduction or credit. Clinton would offer a 20 percent tax credit to help family members offset up to $6,000 in caregiving costs for their elderly family members, allowing caregivers to claim up to $1,200 in tax relief each year. That’s fine, but how about throwing spouses in the mix too? Trump’s silence is deafening except to say that Clinton would raise taxes. He also balks a bit at the idea of paid family leave for caregiving. “I think we have to keep our country very competitive, so you have to be careful of it,” he has said. Yeah, don’t want to upset those big companies now do we?
*Improving the professional caregiving workforce.*
Since the reason that so many family members become caregivers in the first place is the cost and incompetence of the “professional” caregiving system, actually training those professional care workers would certainly be a step in the right direction. Care workers are paid poorly. That absolutely contributes to an obscene turnover rate of more than 100 percent annually in nursing homes. And as any family caregiver can vouch, there are parts of the job that just dance on your last nerve. So by helping the paid caregivers, the idea is that you would be helping the family version.
Clinton’s proposal would create opportunities for care workers to learn the skills they need through apprenticeships, create career pathways for them and ensure fair wages. Silence again from Trump. But when he builds his walls to keep immigrants at bay, how can he be so sure that he won’t be sending most of the paid caregiving workforce “back where they come from?” Many of these low-paying jobs are filled by poorly educated minority women.
It is anticipated that more than 1.3 million new paid caregivers will be needed to meet demand over the next decade. The Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, now known as PHI, predicts that by 2020 the direct care work force will become the largest occupation in the United States, surpassing the number of retail salespeople, notes the New York Times.
Where will all these new workers come from? Talk about the jobs that nobody wants!
Make some changes to Social Security.
Millions of Americans withdraw from the workforce to provide care for aging loved ones or children. Since Social Security is based on your top 35 years of earnings, caregivers who do this wind up hurting their own retirement by reducing their benefits. Under Clinton’s plan, family members who are acting as caregivers would continue to receive credit toward their Social Security benefits. Trump: No position, says Forbes.
Give us a break, literally.
Clinton wants to invest $100 million over 10 years in a program that would give grants to improve respite care access for family caregivers. No clue on Trump, although when it comes to child care, he thinks more companies should provide affordable on-site help which he says beats waiting for the government to intervene. Having on-site child care allows him to employ “great people,” he said. But no word on whether someone can stop by and stay for a few hours with Dad who has Alzheimer’s.
Before anyone gets too excited, The Hill reported on the introduction last November of the Lifespan Respite Care Reauthorization Act, which would have extended and increased funding for respite services for caregivers. Congress currently appropriates $3.36 million through existing laws that let states provide respite services both in the home and at respite care centers. This bill would have increased funding to $15 million per year for four years. And it was given a 1 percent chance of being enacted.
Quality care for veterans.
Clinton has long advocated for improved and streamlined health care for veterans. She doesn’t stop at health care but includes other benefits that extend to veterans’ families. Here’s how she answered a teenager’s question about what she would do for veterans:
Trump wants Veterans Administration reforms that would ensure that veterans receive quality care quickly, wherever and whenever they need it. He has called the current state of the VA “absolutely unacceptable.” He would issue ID cards to qualified veterans to enable them to see any doctor or care facility that accepts Medicare and get the care they need immediately. He pledges that there will be no more excessive red tape, long drives, or long wait times and that medical outcomes will be improved. On his website, he promises to “make the VA great again.”
Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar,rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an entire religion ― from entering the U.S.
[INPUT]
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 6 hours ago.
Why is that? Maybe it’s just that caregivers don’t have any time left on their hands to organize protest marches or come up with Twitter hashtags to keep their situation front and center in Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s headlights. But come November, don’t be surprised if the nation’s family caregivers rise up and speak in one voice.
Care of elderly parents, spouses and the nation’s veterans who return home with damages both visible and unseen carries a price tag of $500 billion a year, according to the Rand Corp. And the family members who provide this care ― most notably spouses and adult daughters ― often have to sacrifice their own lives in the process. Frequently they must cut back on their work hours or burn through personal and vacation days to provide an elderly parent or a spouse with care. For many, dropping out of the workplace can mean lost wages, health insurance and reduced Social Security benefits later on. And then there is the emotional toll. There is an acute lack of respite care, relief from the daily grind of what caregiving entails. Caregivers are mad as hell about all of it and not wanting to take it anymore.
Here’s where the two major presidential candidates stand on a few key ideas related to family caregiving:
On tax relief to family members who care for ailing parents and grandparents.
Family caregivers spend plenty of money out of pocket related to their patients, and in many cases receive no tax deduction or credit. Clinton would offer a 20 percent tax credit to help family members offset up to $6,000 in caregiving costs for their elderly family members, allowing caregivers to claim up to $1,200 in tax relief each year. That’s fine, but how about throwing spouses in the mix too? Trump’s silence is deafening except to say that Clinton would raise taxes. He also balks a bit at the idea of paid family leave for caregiving. “I think we have to keep our country very competitive, so you have to be careful of it,” he has said. Yeah, don’t want to upset those big companies now do we?
*Improving the professional caregiving workforce.*
Since the reason that so many family members become caregivers in the first place is the cost and incompetence of the “professional” caregiving system, actually training those professional care workers would certainly be a step in the right direction. Care workers are paid poorly. That absolutely contributes to an obscene turnover rate of more than 100 percent annually in nursing homes. And as any family caregiver can vouch, there are parts of the job that just dance on your last nerve. So by helping the paid caregivers, the idea is that you would be helping the family version.
Clinton’s proposal would create opportunities for care workers to learn the skills they need through apprenticeships, create career pathways for them and ensure fair wages. Silence again from Trump. But when he builds his walls to keep immigrants at bay, how can he be so sure that he won’t be sending most of the paid caregiving workforce “back where they come from?” Many of these low-paying jobs are filled by poorly educated minority women.
It is anticipated that more than 1.3 million new paid caregivers will be needed to meet demand over the next decade. The Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, now known as PHI, predicts that by 2020 the direct care work force will become the largest occupation in the United States, surpassing the number of retail salespeople, notes the New York Times.
Where will all these new workers come from? Talk about the jobs that nobody wants!
Make some changes to Social Security.
Millions of Americans withdraw from the workforce to provide care for aging loved ones or children. Since Social Security is based on your top 35 years of earnings, caregivers who do this wind up hurting their own retirement by reducing their benefits. Under Clinton’s plan, family members who are acting as caregivers would continue to receive credit toward their Social Security benefits. Trump: No position, says Forbes.
Give us a break, literally.
Clinton wants to invest $100 million over 10 years in a program that would give grants to improve respite care access for family caregivers. No clue on Trump, although when it comes to child care, he thinks more companies should provide affordable on-site help which he says beats waiting for the government to intervene. Having on-site child care allows him to employ “great people,” he said. But no word on whether someone can stop by and stay for a few hours with Dad who has Alzheimer’s.
Before anyone gets too excited, The Hill reported on the introduction last November of the Lifespan Respite Care Reauthorization Act, which would have extended and increased funding for respite services for caregivers. Congress currently appropriates $3.36 million through existing laws that let states provide respite services both in the home and at respite care centers. This bill would have increased funding to $15 million per year for four years. And it was given a 1 percent chance of being enacted.
Quality care for veterans.
Clinton has long advocated for improved and streamlined health care for veterans. She doesn’t stop at health care but includes other benefits that extend to veterans’ families. Here’s how she answered a teenager’s question about what she would do for veterans:
Trump wants Veterans Administration reforms that would ensure that veterans receive quality care quickly, wherever and whenever they need it. He has called the current state of the VA “absolutely unacceptable.” He would issue ID cards to qualified veterans to enable them to see any doctor or care facility that accepts Medicare and get the care they need immediately. He pledges that there will be no more excessive red tape, long drives, or long wait times and that medical outcomes will be improved. On his website, he promises to “make the VA great again.”
Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar,rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an entire religion ― from entering the U.S.
[INPUT]
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 6 hours ago.
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Cape May Holding Hiring Event August 17
Cape May is hosting a hiring event on Wednesday, August 17 from 1 to 6 p.m. at 175 Cape May Drive, Wilmington, OH 45177. During the event, Cape May will be looking for STNAs, LPNs and RNs.
Wlimington, OH (PRWEB) August 10, 2016
Cape May, a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community, is hosting a hiring event on Wednesday, August 17 from 1 to 6 p.m. at 175 Cape May Drive, Wilmington, OH 45177. During the event, Cape May will be looking for STNAs, LPNs and RNs to work with older adults in a warm, fun and caring environment. Cape May is offering a $500 sign-on bonus for STNAs and a $1,000 sign-on bonus for LPNs and RNs.
“This hiring event is a great way for us to reach out into the community and recruit caring individuals who embrace our mission,” said Cassey Milburn, human resources director for Cape May. The Cape May mission to provide older adults with caring and quality services toward the enhancement of physical, mental and spiritual well-being consistent with the Christian gospel is the heart of the organization. “We are looking for compassionate people who have a heart to serve. If that’s you, we welcome you to join a strong team of professionals and make a difference in someone’s life,” continued Milburn.
Cape May provides a friendly and team‐oriented workplace, dedicated to career, family and faith. Employees have the opportunity to touch lives within an innovative faith-based work culture, while working with the latest technology. Cape May offers competitive wages, affordable health insurance, an employer-matched retirement savings plan, free meals, education assistance, advancement opportunities, and free training designed to enhance work skills.
Interested candidates may apply in advance to RSVP at http://www.capemayohio.org/careers/.
###
About Cape May
Cape May is one of 12 retirement communities owned and operated by OPRS Communities, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services (OPRS), headquartered in Columbus. Since 1922, OPRS has defined the highest standards of quality of life for older adults. Each year, OPRS serves more than 73,000 people annually through its wholly owned subsidiaries OPRS Communities and Senior Independence. Reported by PRWeb 4 hours ago.
Wlimington, OH (PRWEB) August 10, 2016
Cape May, a not-for-profit continuing care retirement community, is hosting a hiring event on Wednesday, August 17 from 1 to 6 p.m. at 175 Cape May Drive, Wilmington, OH 45177. During the event, Cape May will be looking for STNAs, LPNs and RNs to work with older adults in a warm, fun and caring environment. Cape May is offering a $500 sign-on bonus for STNAs and a $1,000 sign-on bonus for LPNs and RNs.
“This hiring event is a great way for us to reach out into the community and recruit caring individuals who embrace our mission,” said Cassey Milburn, human resources director for Cape May. The Cape May mission to provide older adults with caring and quality services toward the enhancement of physical, mental and spiritual well-being consistent with the Christian gospel is the heart of the organization. “We are looking for compassionate people who have a heart to serve. If that’s you, we welcome you to join a strong team of professionals and make a difference in someone’s life,” continued Milburn.
Cape May provides a friendly and team‐oriented workplace, dedicated to career, family and faith. Employees have the opportunity to touch lives within an innovative faith-based work culture, while working with the latest technology. Cape May offers competitive wages, affordable health insurance, an employer-matched retirement savings plan, free meals, education assistance, advancement opportunities, and free training designed to enhance work skills.
Interested candidates may apply in advance to RSVP at http://www.capemayohio.org/careers/.
###
About Cape May
Cape May is one of 12 retirement communities owned and operated by OPRS Communities, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ohio Presbyterian Retirement Services (OPRS), headquartered in Columbus. Since 1922, OPRS has defined the highest standards of quality of life for older adults. Each year, OPRS serves more than 73,000 people annually through its wholly owned subsidiaries OPRS Communities and Senior Independence. Reported by PRWeb 4 hours ago.
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The Minimum Wage: Taking Away The Right To Work
Submitted by Roy Cordato via The Mises Institute,Do you believe that a minority teenager, maybe a high school drop out, with very few job skills, has a right to work? Or do you believe that being low skilled, maybe so low-skilled that you can only command $8 or $9 an hour in the job market, means you should have this right taken away? *Oddly enough, for the progressive left, those who claim to be the most compassionate in our society, have adopted the latter position*.
In fact, the *position that was adopted by the Democratic Party platform this summer argues that anyone whose skills are so low that they can’t command $15 and hour has no right to gainful employment*. They argue that any employer who attempts to hire such a person at a rate that is commensurate with his or her skills will be breaking the law and subject to severe penalties.
*This is the reality of raising the minimum wage*. *If you are in favor of a legal hourly minimum wage of $15 you are arguing that a person loses his right to be employed if his skills are not at a level where he can generate at least an equal amount in production for an employer.* (It should be noted that you are actually saying more than this since to hire someone for $15 an hour it probably costs an employer about $17 or $18 given Social Security taxes and mandated benefits like, in some cases, health insurance.)
*Of course, this is not how the minimum wage is typically described.* When raising the minimum wage is discussed we typically hear moralistic platitudes like “no one should be forced to work for less than $15 per hour” or people “deserve to receive a living wage.”
Progressives: “We Won’t Allow You to Work”
But what is never explicitly stated is the implied flip side to these clichés. When the Bernie Sanderses or Hillary Clintons of the world claim that no on should be “forced to work for less than $15 per hour” what* they are really saying is that no one should be allowed to work for less than $15 regardless of how poorly they have been educated or how limited their skills*. Or when they say that people deserve a living wage they never add the implied follow up which is “or no wage at all.”
*In the mind of the typical progressive, there is no relationship between skills and wages.* The view seems to be that if a higher minimum wage is mandated that employers will continue to make all of the same hiring decisions that they had been making previously except that the people they employ will be paid more. In some cases, more than a 100 percent more. In this progressive view, a person’s wage is just some arbitrary dollar amount that is forced upon the worker and that without a minimum wage an employer could pay his workers any positive amount above zero and the worker would be forced to take it. It is classic Marxist economics where workers are exploited and are at the mercy of employers. As Marx himself put it, there is very little difference between an employment relationship and a slave relationship.
*But in a free and competitive labor market that is not how things work. * Competition for labor insures that people are paid according to what economists call the value of their marginal product, which is a fancy way of saying that wages will tend to reflect the value to the employer of the worker’s productivity. If an employer underpays the worker he runs the all to real risk of having that employee leave for another employer who would likely outbid him.
This also means that an employer will not pay any worker more per hour than the value of what that worker is producing per hour. *Simply put, the cost associated with employing a worker — that is wages, plus benefits, plus employment related taxes — has to be less than the benefits that are received by employing the worker. Employers are not in the business of taking losses on the workers they employ.* At $15 per hour, a low skilled worker who can only produce $8, $10, or $14.99 worth of output per hour will not only go unemployed but as noted above lose his or her right to be employed at any of those lesser wages that might put that person in a job.
The Cruelty of the Minimum Wage
*This is the cruelty embedded in the calls by progressives for a $15 minimum wage.* Historically the idea that the minimum wage will put the least fortunate among us out of work was widely recognized. It is why early twentieth century progressives favored the minimum wage in the first place. It was part of the general scheme of the progressive movement’s support of eugenics to keep the “feeble mined,” immigrants, and people of color out of the labor markets. *In South Africa, minimum wages were originally supported by all-white labor unions in order to keep lower skilled blacks from being hired to work in the diamond mines, that is to prevent them from competing for jobs that “belonged to white workers.”*
While modern day progressives support the same policies that the eugenicist founders of their movement did, they claim to be doing so out of humanitarian concerns and I do not question these motives.* The problem is that the economic arguments that the founders of their movement understood quite well and used to promote nefarious and hateful ends still stand.* Reported by Zero Hedge 3 hours ago.
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A startup that wants to be your personal healthcare assistant just raised $70 million
You've likely never heard of Accolade, the digital health company that bills itself as a "healthcare concierge" service."We're the best-kept secret in healthcare right now," Accolade CEO Raj Singh told Business Insider.
Now, the little-known company based in Seattle is making a big splash with a $70 million series E funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. Madrona Venture Group and others also joined in on the round. This round brings their total funding to $160 million.
Accolade's job is to act kind of like how a hotel concierge helps you out, by suggesting the best places to eat. But instead of a recommendation for a pizza place nearby, Accolade wants to give you direct guidance on the next steps you need to take if you need something for your health, like a new medication or to refill a prescription.
Say you just ran out of contact lenses, for example. You could call up your Accolade assistant, and she could tell you what needs to happen to get more: if you need a new prescription, that could mean connecting with an optometrist, or if there's a good deal out there for cheaper lenses tucked away in your health insurance plan, it could be just sharing that information.
Accolade caters to employers, so if your place of work has Accolade, you'd be matched up with with that health assistant (like a mentor for your health), who sticks with you and is around via phone, portal, or mobile app. The assistant has access to your health insurance, and other information so that they can answer questions you might have or unlock any special perks you might have hidden away. The idea is that by having one point person, you don't have to repeat the same information every time you have a question for your insurance provider.
And that way, the "concierge" can remind you of important things that need to happen if you or a loved one have a chronic condition like diabetes. And the technology can plug in all the other perks your employer has, so the assistant can point you in the right direction of other technologies you can take advantage of.
Singh joined the Accolade team last year after 22 years working at and co-founding travel management company Concur Technologies (which later sold to SAP).
"Accolade is an interesting mix of human beings, technology, and clinical science," Singh explained, when asked about what convinced him to join the company. That, blended together, fits the bill of what's called the "Triple Aim:" can you get people better care that they're happy about, while simultaneously cutting down on costs.
That's something that seemed to pull investors in, too. "Accolade is simply the best tool we’ve seen to help companies simultaneously improve both the quality and the cost of healthcare,” Andreessen Horowitz general partner Jeff Jordan said in a release.
The team currently has about 700 people on staff, with the majority of those health assistants or doctors, nurses, or pharmacists who support those assistants. Ideally, Singh said, the grand vision is to make this a platform that's available to hundreds of millions of Americans, as well as sharing more data that could demonstrate just how cost-effective the company's service is.
*SEE ALSO: A startup that wants to change how we care for seniors just raised another $42 million*
*DON'T MISS: A 27-year-old who worked for Apple as a teenager wants to make a yearly blood test to diagnose cancer — and he just got $5.5 million from Silicon Valley VCs to pull it off*
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Couples improved their sex lives in a week with this one simple tip Reported by Business Insider 23 hours ago.
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The MAP Recovery Network Welcomes Turning Point of Tampa
MAP’s Recovery Network gives innovative providers, such as Turning Point of Tampa, the ability to distinguish their services using outcomes data.
Tampa, FL (PRWEB) August 11, 2016
MAP Health Management, LLC, the facilitator of the MAP Recovery Network Behavioral Health Population Management Platform, announced today that Turning Point of Tampa has joined the Premier Outcomes-Driven Provider Network. By joining the MAP Recovery Network, Turning Point of Tampa expands its potential to differentiate itself as a quality treatment provider by optimizing and extending the care continuum for clients seeking treatment for Chemical Dependencies, Eating Disorders, and Dual Diagnoses.
Long-term, abstinence based recovery is the goal at Turning Point of Tampa, a facility that specializes in the treatment of men and women. The staff understands extending the care continuum for clients following the completion of treatment has proven to significantly increase recovery success rates. As a MAP Recovery Network member, Turning Point of Tampa will license and utilize MAP’s specifically designed platform to gain meaningful visibility into patient populations, conduct risk assessments, increase patient engagement when necessary, and ultimately improve treatment outcomes.
According to Robin Piper, CEO and Clinical Director at Turning Point of Tampa, “We are excited to join the MAP Recovery Network. Knowing that we have the nation’s leading software to help us improve our treatment outcomes is a positive step for our clients. Turning Point of Tampa is committed to delivering the best possible treatment options and our forward-thinking philosophy blends well with MAP’s approach. We strive for long-term recovery and we recognize that relapse is all too common. Our staff is dedicated to providing our clients with every opportunity to maintain long-term recovery and get back to living their lives fully. We position them for health and success.”
MAP strives to improve treatment outcomes for individuals struggling with drug and alcohol dependencies and other behavioral health illnesses. As the field of behavioral health transitions to a value-based care model, comprehensive, integrated solutions are required in order to meet the demands of health insurance payers, as well as the increasingly knowledgeable and technologically savvy healthcare consumer.
“Extending the care continuum for every patient with a chronic illness is the foundation of effective treatment and quality providers have begun to implement these practices”, stated Jacob Levenson, Chief Executive Officer of MAP Health Management. “With the knowledge gained from empirical patient data, providers such as Turning Point of Tampa are able to improve their treatment efficacy rates and increase the number of individuals who sustain long-term recovery.”
Levenson, a nationally recognized Health IT expert, has guided MAP to develop data-derived technology tools which is unparalleled in the behavioral health treatment space. The field is transitioning to an era of data-driven healthcare delivery with new models of integration and interoperability - an analytical tool designed to access data and streamline service delivery is essential. Turning Point of Tampa has aptly positioned itself on the forefront of chemical dependency and behavioral health treatment data collection and demonstration and will be able to showcase its treatment results and long-term recovery rates.
About Turning Point of Tampa
A nationally recognized treatment facility, Turning Point of Tampa is committed to providing affordable and effective programs that specialize in Chemical Dependencies, Eating Disorders, and Dual Diagnoses. Turning Point of Tampa’s highly credentialed staff provides real structure, teaching clients how to practice 12-step principles in a residential setting. Programs and treatment are designed on an individual basis taking into account every variable in a client’s life. The staff strives to continually evaluate industry research, as well as its own data, in order to improve and develop the most effective programs possible. Turning Point of Tampa offers multiple levels of care including residential treatment, day treatment, intensive outpatient treatment, family programs, and aftercare. For more information, go to http://www.tpoftampa.com.
Turning Point of Tampa
6227 Sheldon Road
Tampa, FL 33615
800-397-3006
About MAP Health Management, LLC
MAP Health Management is the nation’s leader in the provision of a comprehensive, accessible technology platform designed to improve treatment outcomes for patients treated for addictions and other behavioral health illnesses. MAP provides telehealth services, extended treatment support programs, and revenue cycle management to nationally recognized addiction treatment providers and behavioral health professionals committed to measuring and demonstrating outcomes data. Network members are able to differentiate themselves to consumers and health insurance payers by demonstrating treatment success rates using data-driven technologies. MAP’s dedicated teams of research analysts, clinical directors, recovery advocates, technology professionals, and billing experts strive to improve patient outcomes, empower treatment providers with data, reduce expenses, and drive facility revenue. For more information, go to http://www.ThisisMAP.com. Reported by PRWeb 19 hours ago.
Tampa, FL (PRWEB) August 11, 2016
MAP Health Management, LLC, the facilitator of the MAP Recovery Network Behavioral Health Population Management Platform, announced today that Turning Point of Tampa has joined the Premier Outcomes-Driven Provider Network. By joining the MAP Recovery Network, Turning Point of Tampa expands its potential to differentiate itself as a quality treatment provider by optimizing and extending the care continuum for clients seeking treatment for Chemical Dependencies, Eating Disorders, and Dual Diagnoses.
Long-term, abstinence based recovery is the goal at Turning Point of Tampa, a facility that specializes in the treatment of men and women. The staff understands extending the care continuum for clients following the completion of treatment has proven to significantly increase recovery success rates. As a MAP Recovery Network member, Turning Point of Tampa will license and utilize MAP’s specifically designed platform to gain meaningful visibility into patient populations, conduct risk assessments, increase patient engagement when necessary, and ultimately improve treatment outcomes.
According to Robin Piper, CEO and Clinical Director at Turning Point of Tampa, “We are excited to join the MAP Recovery Network. Knowing that we have the nation’s leading software to help us improve our treatment outcomes is a positive step for our clients. Turning Point of Tampa is committed to delivering the best possible treatment options and our forward-thinking philosophy blends well with MAP’s approach. We strive for long-term recovery and we recognize that relapse is all too common. Our staff is dedicated to providing our clients with every opportunity to maintain long-term recovery and get back to living their lives fully. We position them for health and success.”
MAP strives to improve treatment outcomes for individuals struggling with drug and alcohol dependencies and other behavioral health illnesses. As the field of behavioral health transitions to a value-based care model, comprehensive, integrated solutions are required in order to meet the demands of health insurance payers, as well as the increasingly knowledgeable and technologically savvy healthcare consumer.
“Extending the care continuum for every patient with a chronic illness is the foundation of effective treatment and quality providers have begun to implement these practices”, stated Jacob Levenson, Chief Executive Officer of MAP Health Management. “With the knowledge gained from empirical patient data, providers such as Turning Point of Tampa are able to improve their treatment efficacy rates and increase the number of individuals who sustain long-term recovery.”
Levenson, a nationally recognized Health IT expert, has guided MAP to develop data-derived technology tools which is unparalleled in the behavioral health treatment space. The field is transitioning to an era of data-driven healthcare delivery with new models of integration and interoperability - an analytical tool designed to access data and streamline service delivery is essential. Turning Point of Tampa has aptly positioned itself on the forefront of chemical dependency and behavioral health treatment data collection and demonstration and will be able to showcase its treatment results and long-term recovery rates.
About Turning Point of Tampa
A nationally recognized treatment facility, Turning Point of Tampa is committed to providing affordable and effective programs that specialize in Chemical Dependencies, Eating Disorders, and Dual Diagnoses. Turning Point of Tampa’s highly credentialed staff provides real structure, teaching clients how to practice 12-step principles in a residential setting. Programs and treatment are designed on an individual basis taking into account every variable in a client’s life. The staff strives to continually evaluate industry research, as well as its own data, in order to improve and develop the most effective programs possible. Turning Point of Tampa offers multiple levels of care including residential treatment, day treatment, intensive outpatient treatment, family programs, and aftercare. For more information, go to http://www.tpoftampa.com.
Turning Point of Tampa
6227 Sheldon Road
Tampa, FL 33615
800-397-3006
About MAP Health Management, LLC
MAP Health Management is the nation’s leader in the provision of a comprehensive, accessible technology platform designed to improve treatment outcomes for patients treated for addictions and other behavioral health illnesses. MAP provides telehealth services, extended treatment support programs, and revenue cycle management to nationally recognized addiction treatment providers and behavioral health professionals committed to measuring and demonstrating outcomes data. Network members are able to differentiate themselves to consumers and health insurance payers by demonstrating treatment success rates using data-driven technologies. MAP’s dedicated teams of research analysts, clinical directors, recovery advocates, technology professionals, and billing experts strive to improve patient outcomes, empower treatment providers with data, reduce expenses, and drive facility revenue. For more information, go to http://www.ThisisMAP.com. Reported by PRWeb 19 hours ago.
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WHY IT MATTERS: Health Care
THE ISSUE: About 9 in 10 Americans now have health insurance, more than at any time in history. But progress is incomplete, and the future far from certain.
Reported by ajc.com 19 hours ago.
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Obamacare On "Verge Of Collapse" As Premiums Set To Soar Again In 2017
If Obamacare enrollments continue their current trend and insurers continue to hike premiums at alarming rates then *Republicans may not have to worry about "repealing and replacing Obamacare" as it might just work itself out "naturally".* The 4th open enrollment period for Obamacare begins on November 1, 2016 and industry experts are warning that another year of tepid demand from "young and healthy" Americans *could force more insurers out of the exchanges effectively marking the end of Obamacare as we know it*. According to a story published by The Hill, 11 million people bought health insurance through the exchanges for 2016 which was drastically below the Congressional Budget Office's initial projection of 21 million. Well we're shocked! * Turns out that whole "adverse selection bias" was a real thing. *So you're telling us that young, healthy people don't want to pay for insurance they know they'll never use? *We guess America's youth can actually do basic math, after all. *Apparently they were able to figure out they would rather take the lower tax associated with Obamacare penalties than the larger tax associated with buying a healthcare policy they'll never use. *We guess Millennials are a little less enthusiastic about embracing socialism when the costs are coming out of their pockets.*
With America's youth continuing to shun health insurance, insurers are all racking up massive losses on the exchanges. For many insurers the losses will simply result in massive premium hikes but others have decided to withdraw from the exchanges all together. In fact, *UnitedHealthCare recently announced plans to exit most state exchanges by 2017* (see our post entitled "Largest US Health Insurer Exits California, Illinois Obamacare Markets") Per The Hill:
In the last month, two major insurers – Aetna and Anthem – both reversed course on their plans to expand in the marketplace. *Now, all five of the nation’s largest insurers say they are losing money on the exchanges.*
“From a policy point of view, *we’re basically seeing the exchanges unravel,*” said Michael Abrams, a healthcare strategist with Numerof & Associates who consults for insurers including UnitedHealthGroup.
2016 average premiums were up substantially in most states (see map below) and, with no one making money, 2017 seems no better. According to The Hill:
Already, many insurers this year are proposing substantial rate hikes with the hopes of making up for higher recent medical costs. The a*verage premium increase next year is about 9 percent*, according to an analysis of 19 cities by Kaiser Family Foundation. *But some hikes are far higher: Blue Cross Blue Shield has proposed increases of 40 percent in Alabama and 60 percent in Texas.*
For her part, Hillary Clinton has vowed to stick with Obamacare insisting that *taxpayers just need to spend more money on advertising to drive higher enrollments*:
Clinton has already laid out plans to help *boost enrollment by making coverage more affordable for people who are still priced out of ObamaCare*.
Like Obama, she vowed to *invest in advertising and in-person outreach* to help more people enroll. Clinton would also *increase ObamaCare subsidies so that customers spend no more than 8.5 percent of their income on premiums – down from 9.5 percent under current law*.
She has also proposed a tax credit of up to $5,000 per family specifically to offset rising out-of-pocket costs – a side effect of cheaper plans offered under ObamaCare.
Right, more advertising should fix it because no one in the country is familiar with Obamacare. As Obama likes to say when things don't go as planned, it's not that Obamacare is bad it's just that we've failed to explain it properly. *No, we think people get and they just don't like it. *
We also find it hard to understand how a Clinton administration could make healthcare cheaper than "free?" Perhaps we should start paying people to take taxpayer subsidized healthcare? *If at first you don't succeed, throw more taxpayer money at it...* Reported by Zero Hedge 14 hours ago.
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Trump's economic vision reveals the obvious - he's an Oligarch, not a Populist
Donald Trump's economic proposals, elusive and less-than-fully-formed though many of them remain, paint a clear picture. His economic vision is not "populist," contrary to conventional wisdom. Though Trump provides some (vague) sops to working Americans, the thrust of his plans would overwhelmingly do what Republican economic proposals have been doing for decades - favor the rich and well-to-do at the expense of everyone else.
Trump does propose renegotiating or bowing out of trade deals that - despite Beltway insider wisdom - adversely affect working Americans. But the overall impact of his proposals is unmistakable. They would dump more money into the hands of the well off, while cutting the legs out from under the already frayed American social safety net that helps ordinary Americans.
Start with Obamacare. For all its flaws, Obamacare has extended health insurance coverage to some twenty million people not previously covered. Replacing it with nothing - Trump's current "proposal" - will not benefit working Americans. It will only exacerbate one of the most morally (and economically) indefensible pillars of American society - the tradeoff between health care versus every other family need, a conundrum that places millions of Americans on the knife's edge of financial ruin at the first serious family health crisis.
Furthermore, Medicaid expansion - the most salutary feature of the Affordable Care Act - has extended coverage to millions of poor Americans who otherwise would be holding their breath until the next costly visit to the emergency room. Indeed, early studies show that Medicaid Expansion - whose full impact on ordinary Americans has been blunted by the unconscionable decision of many Republican governors to reject it - has already yielded positive health results.
Trump's tax proposals are just a more extreme version of standard Republican Oligarchonomics. Under cover of the pleasant sounding phrase "tax cuts for everyone," Trump's plan calls for drastic reductions in business taxes and taxes on the wealthiest Americans. And unbelievably, the "working class billionaire" 'populist' proposes eliminating the estate tax, which doesn't claim a single dollar tax from estates worth less than $5.4 million dollars. Under current law, that affects about 1 in 500 estates. In other words, only the very wealthiest Americans are currently subject to the tax, which is why the Gates family, Warren Buffett and other very wealthy Americans consider calls for its elimination a moral disgrace and public policy mistake. Indeed, there is no single policy proposal that is more anti-populist than this one, a GOP favorite for two decades now.
Even Trump's allegedly populist attack on the carried interest loophole becomes meaningless in the face of his proposed tax rates. The new business rate would be lower than the current carried interest rate, so every rich American who currently benefits from the latter would benefit even more from the former.
Furthermore, every independent estimate of Trump's plans show that he would increase deficits drastically, despite his harping on the "out-of-control" debts run up during the Obama years. Higher deficits are not, in and of themselves a bad thing. But it takes little imagination to surmise who will pay the price when the higher deficits bring the next round of calls for fiscal austerity.
While Trump has been all over the place about a minimum wage on the campaign trail - sometimes he's favored increasing it, other times abolishing it altogether - no related proposals appear on his website. Again, little imagination is required to guess at whether he'd lift a finger to increase the current $7.25 federal rate.
Finally, Trump has been uncharacteristically muted about the financial crisis and its aftermath, especially the TARP and related bailouts that made those chiefly responsible financially whole, the lack of accountability for those same individuals, or its lingering deleterious impact on ordinary Americans. No doubt, that's because despite his rhetoric to the contrary, it's the very people Trump pals around with who walked away scot free from the catastrophe they made (and Trump's recently announced all male team of key economic advisors is a who's-who of American oligarchs).
Indeed, the financial crisis is the Trumpian business model writ large - hypocritical incestuousness whereby wealthy and well-connected private businesses leverage every government-aided loophole and carve-out to make their wealth and then insulate themselves from the fallout when things go south by exploiting those same connections.
(Feel free to regard the previous two paragraphs as overheated. But that's what a real populist would sound like).
Once in office, Trump would be a mortal lock to make life even better for the crony capitalists he claims to oppose. And everyone else will be holding the bag. Calling this man a populist is a sick joke. He's an oligarch in temperament, outlook and practice.
And he'll do his best to run America like one.
(Check out my joint memoir on divorce, written with my former wife - Divorce: A Love Story).
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 11 hours ago.
Trump does propose renegotiating or bowing out of trade deals that - despite Beltway insider wisdom - adversely affect working Americans. But the overall impact of his proposals is unmistakable. They would dump more money into the hands of the well off, while cutting the legs out from under the already frayed American social safety net that helps ordinary Americans.
Start with Obamacare. For all its flaws, Obamacare has extended health insurance coverage to some twenty million people not previously covered. Replacing it with nothing - Trump's current "proposal" - will not benefit working Americans. It will only exacerbate one of the most morally (and economically) indefensible pillars of American society - the tradeoff between health care versus every other family need, a conundrum that places millions of Americans on the knife's edge of financial ruin at the first serious family health crisis.
Furthermore, Medicaid expansion - the most salutary feature of the Affordable Care Act - has extended coverage to millions of poor Americans who otherwise would be holding their breath until the next costly visit to the emergency room. Indeed, early studies show that Medicaid Expansion - whose full impact on ordinary Americans has been blunted by the unconscionable decision of many Republican governors to reject it - has already yielded positive health results.
Trump's tax proposals are just a more extreme version of standard Republican Oligarchonomics. Under cover of the pleasant sounding phrase "tax cuts for everyone," Trump's plan calls for drastic reductions in business taxes and taxes on the wealthiest Americans. And unbelievably, the "working class billionaire" 'populist' proposes eliminating the estate tax, which doesn't claim a single dollar tax from estates worth less than $5.4 million dollars. Under current law, that affects about 1 in 500 estates. In other words, only the very wealthiest Americans are currently subject to the tax, which is why the Gates family, Warren Buffett and other very wealthy Americans consider calls for its elimination a moral disgrace and public policy mistake. Indeed, there is no single policy proposal that is more anti-populist than this one, a GOP favorite for two decades now.
Even Trump's allegedly populist attack on the carried interest loophole becomes meaningless in the face of his proposed tax rates. The new business rate would be lower than the current carried interest rate, so every rich American who currently benefits from the latter would benefit even more from the former.
Furthermore, every independent estimate of Trump's plans show that he would increase deficits drastically, despite his harping on the "out-of-control" debts run up during the Obama years. Higher deficits are not, in and of themselves a bad thing. But it takes little imagination to surmise who will pay the price when the higher deficits bring the next round of calls for fiscal austerity.
While Trump has been all over the place about a minimum wage on the campaign trail - sometimes he's favored increasing it, other times abolishing it altogether - no related proposals appear on his website. Again, little imagination is required to guess at whether he'd lift a finger to increase the current $7.25 federal rate.
Finally, Trump has been uncharacteristically muted about the financial crisis and its aftermath, especially the TARP and related bailouts that made those chiefly responsible financially whole, the lack of accountability for those same individuals, or its lingering deleterious impact on ordinary Americans. No doubt, that's because despite his rhetoric to the contrary, it's the very people Trump pals around with who walked away scot free from the catastrophe they made (and Trump's recently announced all male team of key economic advisors is a who's-who of American oligarchs).
Indeed, the financial crisis is the Trumpian business model writ large - hypocritical incestuousness whereby wealthy and well-connected private businesses leverage every government-aided loophole and carve-out to make their wealth and then insulate themselves from the fallout when things go south by exploiting those same connections.
(Feel free to regard the previous two paragraphs as overheated. But that's what a real populist would sound like).
Once in office, Trump would be a mortal lock to make life even better for the crony capitalists he claims to oppose. And everyone else will be holding the bag. Calling this man a populist is a sick joke. He's an oligarch in temperament, outlook and practice.
And he'll do his best to run America like one.
(Check out my joint memoir on divorce, written with my former wife - Divorce: A Love Story).
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 11 hours ago.
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Administration Paints Rosy Future For Obamacare Marketplaces
Despite dire warnings from Republicans and some large insurers about the stability of the Affordable Care Act exchanges, an Obama administration report released Thursday indicated the individual health insurance market has steadily added healthier and lower-risk consumers.
Reported by ajc.com 7 hours ago.
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Free or Low-Cost Health Insurance
Patch Riverhead, NY -- Free program at Riverhead Free Library
Reported by Patch 7 hours ago.
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Bellevue man unable to cancel phantom insurance plan, asks Department of Labor to step in
Jim Ziegler, 47, turns to the Department of Labor after spending weeks trying to find out why his previous employer activated a health insurance plan after he left the company.
Reported by Seattle Times 18 hours ago.
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More Small, Midsized Firms Choose To Pay Workers’ Medical Costs Directly
Instead of buying a health insurance policy to cover their workers, a growing number of small and midsized companies are opting to pay their employees’ medical claims directly, a potentially riskier practice financially called self-insuring, a recent study found.
Reported by ajc.com 19 hours ago.
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Morning roundup: Another state budget cut could be coming; Big health insurance hike for state employees; Oklahoma earthquake felt in Wichita
Another state budget cut could be coming Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget director has asked all state agencies and universities to plan for the possibility of a 5 percent cut, the Wichita Eagle reports. Eileen Hawley, the governor’s spokeswoman, confirmed that budget director Shawn Sullivan had requested the information from state agencies, but stressed that no decision has been made about whether cuts will be needed. No decisions are planned until after the November Consensus Revenue Estimating…
Reported by bizjournals 17 hours ago.
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Empire State Brokerage Services, LLC Launches Partnership with Starr Companies
Empire State Brokerage Services, LLC has been announced a new agreement with Starr Companies to underwrite Business Owner’s Policies. The arrangement enhances Empire State Brokerage Services’ small business insurance package offerings.
PLAINVIEW, NY (PRWEB) August 12, 2016
Empire State Brokerage Services, LLC announced today that it has reached an agreement with Starr Companies to represent their small business accounts.
The Starr BOP insurance program is available in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut and Upstate, New York. It is not available in Metro New York City or Long Island.
The arrangement covers the following categories of small business:· Medical Offices
· Professional Offices
· Retail Operations
· Technology
· Wholesale Operations
· Artisan Contractors (in all states except New York)
The arrangement with Starr Companies provides Empire State Brokerage Services, LLC new opportunities to underwrite the following lines of insurance through their portal:
· Business Owner’s Policies (BOP's)
· Umbrella or Excess Casualty Options
The Business Owner’s Policy options Starr Companies provides are renowned for their high quality and breadth of coverage. Their comprehensive Property and Liability coverages can include protection for everything from office buildings themselves to important paperwork housed within them.
All insurance policies are written by an admitted insurance company of Starr Companies.
Empire State Brokerage Services, LLC is excited to begin this agreement, as it will help the brokerage to conveniently provide quick service and varied policy package options to its clients online.
Retail agents interested in these packages can call Empire State Brokerage Services, LLC at (516) 396-4600.
About Starr Companies
Starr Companies (or Starr) is the worldwide marketing name for the operating insurance and travel assistance companies and subsidiaries of Starr International Company, Inc. and for the investment business of C.V. Starr & Co., Inc. and its subsidiaries. Starr is a leading insurance and investment organization with a presence on five continents; through its operating insurance companies, Starr provides property, casualty, and accident & health insurance products as well as a range of specialty coverages including aviation, marine, energy and excess casualty insurance. Starr’s insurance company subsidiaries domiciled in the U.S., Bermuda, Hong Kong and Singapore each have an A.M. Best rating of “A” (Excellent). Starr’s Lloyd’s syndicate has a Standard & Poor’s rating of “A+” (Strong). Starr’s insurance company subsidiary domiciled in China has an A.M. Best rating of “A-” (Excellent).
About Empire State Brokerage Services, LLC
Empire State Brokerage Services, LLC is an independent brokerage firm, offering competitive rates on policy packages to assist retail insurance agencies with insurance placements. We’ve served agents nationwide since 2009, and we continue to assist our clients with the attention to detail and understanding they deserve. For more information, visit us online at http://www.empirebrokerage.com. Reported by PRWeb 15 hours ago.
PLAINVIEW, NY (PRWEB) August 12, 2016
Empire State Brokerage Services, LLC announced today that it has reached an agreement with Starr Companies to represent their small business accounts.
The Starr BOP insurance program is available in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut and Upstate, New York. It is not available in Metro New York City or Long Island.
The arrangement covers the following categories of small business:· Medical Offices
· Professional Offices
· Retail Operations
· Technology
· Wholesale Operations
· Artisan Contractors (in all states except New York)
The arrangement with Starr Companies provides Empire State Brokerage Services, LLC new opportunities to underwrite the following lines of insurance through their portal:
· Business Owner’s Policies (BOP's)
· Umbrella or Excess Casualty Options
The Business Owner’s Policy options Starr Companies provides are renowned for their high quality and breadth of coverage. Their comprehensive Property and Liability coverages can include protection for everything from office buildings themselves to important paperwork housed within them.
All insurance policies are written by an admitted insurance company of Starr Companies.
Empire State Brokerage Services, LLC is excited to begin this agreement, as it will help the brokerage to conveniently provide quick service and varied policy package options to its clients online.
Retail agents interested in these packages can call Empire State Brokerage Services, LLC at (516) 396-4600.
About Starr Companies
Starr Companies (or Starr) is the worldwide marketing name for the operating insurance and travel assistance companies and subsidiaries of Starr International Company, Inc. and for the investment business of C.V. Starr & Co., Inc. and its subsidiaries. Starr is a leading insurance and investment organization with a presence on five continents; through its operating insurance companies, Starr provides property, casualty, and accident & health insurance products as well as a range of specialty coverages including aviation, marine, energy and excess casualty insurance. Starr’s insurance company subsidiaries domiciled in the U.S., Bermuda, Hong Kong and Singapore each have an A.M. Best rating of “A” (Excellent). Starr’s Lloyd’s syndicate has a Standard & Poor’s rating of “A+” (Strong). Starr’s insurance company subsidiary domiciled in China has an A.M. Best rating of “A-” (Excellent).
About Empire State Brokerage Services, LLC
Empire State Brokerage Services, LLC is an independent brokerage firm, offering competitive rates on policy packages to assist retail insurance agencies with insurance placements. We’ve served agents nationwide since 2009, and we continue to assist our clients with the attention to detail and understanding they deserve. For more information, visit us online at http://www.empirebrokerage.com. Reported by PRWeb 15 hours ago.
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Collapse Fatigue
By Mr. and Mrs. Cognitive Dissonancewww.TwoIceFloes.com
(This article did not start out as a collaborative effort by Mrs. Cog and I, but it most certainly ended that way. For well over a year now we have both wanted to write on this topic, but were unable to do so for a variety of reasons. Funny how things work out when like minds work together. For those of you who have read both Mrs. Cog and I, the mixing of our voices takes on a tone different than either of us brings to the table individually. Enjoy! - Cognitive Dissonance)
When we initially awaken and realize life is not what we were taught, inner alarms scream for our attention. Even though we can sense a danger we didn’t previously perceive, we cannot judge how close it is. There is no scale to measure proximity, only the palpable fear of a real and present danger.
Naturally, most of us will desperately grasp for answers. How can this be? What does this mean? What do I do now? And who is to blame?
We need answers! Or at least we think we do.
As we search for answers, we find there is no shortage of players who are more than willing to supply us with *all* the answers to our now life changing questions. Most of these people speak with a voice of absolute authority, stating factoids and tidbits with complete certainty and conviction. Naturally they insist their truth must be your truth, for only a fool and still asleep sheep would reject self evident 'truth'.
Scared and desperate for answers, we eagerly listen to those who are brimming with explanations. We quickly discover the alternative media, where much of this information is promoted, is populated by a whole herd of people who arrived long before us, thereby seemingly affirming this new stream of stories and explanations as correct. Many of us find ourselves quickly, even gratefully, moving from our old herd to the new one.
Similar in structure to the world we are now rejecting, the alternative herd has many factions, some quite cohesive, others more fractured and splintered. There are survivalists, preppers, the woo-woo crowd, the intellectuals, the political activists, the militants and so on. There appear to be an unlimited number of cubbyholes where all sorts of kooks, geeks, homesteaders, healers and revolutionaries hang out. Just when you think you've seen it all, you see another.
Within these groups there are many opposing approaches and opinions. Often, the same silliness and unnecessary drama we all experienced in junior high school, the office or perhaps within uncomfortable family situations, exists in these new venues where we find ourselves seeking answers.
The same propaganda techniques originally used to keep us in the dark about life are also employed in the alternative media. Scare tactics, faulty reasoning, ad hominem attacks and the always popular “science has proved…” or “history has shown…” neatly sum up tidy arguments for why you should now view life a particular way.....their way.
We tell ourselves we're looking for truth. However, “the” truth is singular. The alternative media arrogantly claims a monopoly on truth in no uncertain terms. No chance they could be wrong, intentionally infiltrated with misinformation. Right? There are few along the way who will tell you there may be many truths, or that the truth for you may different than for me.
Eventually we find some perspective, even if it's not the warm and fuzzy narrative the mainstream media often provides, then swallow hard and carry on. We create a new narrative to tell ourselves in order to try to make sense of all this new information. We begin to change some of our behaviors. Some of us change everything. Or at least we think we do.
As many of our readers know, after considering ex-patting (moving to another country) we chose a drastic lifestyle change and moved to our small mountain homestead here in Southwestern Virginia. By way of blogging about our experiences, we have talked to dozens of individuals and families who have either physically relocated or introduced at times radical changes into their lifestyle as a result of what they learned.
After several years of conversation a very interesting pattern has slowly emerged.
We prepare and ready ourselves for ( fill in the blank ). And we wait. It feels similar to a long wait at the oncologist’s office, a place we most certainly don’t wish to be. We dash to our appointment to see the doctor, then wait and wait in the reception area. We hurry to complete additional tests, then we wait and wait for the lab results. We rush to infuse the toxic drug cocktail, then we wait and and wait for the terrible side effects, all while praying for remission. It's always hurry up and wait.
None of us actually want what we are waiting for. But if it must happen, hurry up and bring it on so we can rip the band-aid off and move on.
Collapse feels so close, and yet so far. How long can it remain upright?
The socioeconomic collapse, the disintegration of social and individual morals, the unraveling of the (perceived) American Dream, the fall of the American Empire, the foreseeable and potentially catastrophic interruption of goods and services, fossil fuel shortages, even the complete domination by the military/industrial/financial/big pharma complex has all turned into one big ball of hurry up and wait.
While we wait, each of us reassesses the costs and benefits of many of our previous decisions, then quietly adjust our inner narrative to align with our new findings. Lots of wiggle room can be found here to be used and abused.
Whether or not we are well adjusted to our new routine and altered mentality, we begin a fierce bargaining process with ourselves. This can often be heavily influenced by friends and family not being on board with the extreme changes we have made to our lives. Little or no personal affirmation can be garnered anymore from our formerly dependable emotional allies. Suddenly we are alone.
When we were an accepted member of the “normal people” herd, and in particular our own personal pod, we could get a quick pat on the back and the needed approval simply for wearing the right outfit, gossiping well at the water cooler or rooting for the right sports team. We could extract glowing admiration and unlimited confirmation endorphins if our display of wealth through luxury cars, fancy houses and high end accessories showed we excelled over others. Even the lowly trailer park has its own version of this tawdry behavior.
But then we woke up a bit and nothing looked as it once did. Worse, no matter how badly we want to be reinserted back into the matrix, we cannot un-know what we now know. Even if we pretend to ignore it, we can't put the toothpaste back into the tube.
So we trudge forward. And we continue to hurry up and wait. And wait. And wait some more.
Now, collapse is a funny thing. Ultimately it is very personal, even though we tend to see it more as a process or societal event. For those who have already lost their job, their home or the secure structure that once defined their life, the collapse is already here. And those slowly bleeding out clearly see the collapse just around the corner.
This demoralizing 'reality' contrasts with those who still live within an insulated environment, often those who still receive massive infusions of government sourced money. For them, there has been no dramatic change in their reality. "What collapse?" they say. "I see nothing of the sort."
We find them living within the ever expanding Washington DC suburbs, the closest you can physically get to the government cash register. Or the many college towns still bursting with economic activity paid for mostly with government backed student loans. And at hundreds of hospitals, along with the cluster of doctors and specialists offices huddled around them, all fed by direct infusion of health insurance, welfare, Obamacare and Big Pharma payments. There are many other examples, but you get the picture.
People who claim some awareness of things not being right will point their finger at the so-called sheep who trudge along day after day unthinkingly supporting the slowly decaying systems. And most of us who point fingers are quick to declare we are not them. We understand the evils now. We know it is unsustainable. We have taken action to address what we see happening. Whether this is actually true is beside the point. We believe it to be true, therefore it is 'truth'....for us.
So we continue to hurry up and wait. And wait. And wait some more.
At first, the extended waiting is a blessing in disguise. We have time to maneuver. We can make preparatory purchases and adjust our behavior. All of those answers we embodied to create our version of the truth can be acted upon. It’s all a grand bargaining with, and within, ourselves.
As part of the bargaining we might tell ourselves if we grow food and preserve it, we will not go hungry if ( fill in the blank ) happens. You know, so we can sleep a little better at night. Or if we grow those herbs and stock up on these teas, essential oils and some colloidal silver, we can treat or prevent many illnesses, thereby reducing our need for hospitals and doctors. Perhaps we purchase a quality axe and various other manual tools to back up the chain saw and other gas dependent conveniences we all take for granted. We should be sleeping even better now.
So we continue to bargain with ourselves in order to move forward. But ultimately, we are still waiting. And waiting. And waiting some more.
For many, the waiting becomes exhausting. And with exhaustion comes fatigue. We refer to this as collapse fatigue.
Believe it or not, this feeling is entirely voluntary. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best and ALWAYS move forward.
We have found many who had previously relocated have chosen to return to the cities or burbs where they can once again experience easy access to modern conveniences and social networks. There they find the affirmation they long for, which often comes from attending social events, shopping and getting together with friends and family for fun activities. By returning, perhaps they can get back to a more 'normal' existence since the crash/collapse/interruption of systems never seems to arrive.
Others who never relocated, but did make major changes to their way of life, grow weary, a bit embarrassed even, and are throwing in the towel and returning to more comfortable and convenient ways. Turning the back yard into a garden was a great deal of work compared to popping down to the local Stop & Shop for a store roasted chicken and a 'fresh' salad in a bag. Don't forget the false facade called dressing.
Besides, the neighbors were always making rude comments and no one was supportive. Worse, because zoning laws prevent or severally limit raising livestock, solar panels on the roof and rain collection systems, how self-sufficient could they have become anyway? At least that's what they tell themselves.
And then there are those who adjust well to their new life. They show few signs of fatigue or regret for turning their lives upside-down. We think the difference is that at some point, either before or during their self transformation, they began moving towards the concept of a more physically rewarding and emotionally healthy future, rather than running away from perceived dangers, real or otherwise. Geographic cures rarely work, while personal transformation often does.
By moving toward an embodied vision of what it means to live well, to be safe and secure, life stops depending upon specific events to occur, or other people waking to join our new herd, for us to be happy, healthy and well adjusted to our new surroundings. When we begin to create our own reality because we want to, rather than because we feel we need to, only then can we free ourselves from the need for constant confirmation that anchored us to the self destructive world we once lived within.
Once we free our mind from the ties that bind us to our chains, we can more easily walk away from the need to be constantly confirmed in an old way of life that is neither natural nor healthy. The reason we desperately seek affirmation is because we all know deep down within our inner being that the old ways are addictive and self destructive. This truth is self evident, regardless how strong our denial may be.
The common thread for those who awaken, yet do not suffer from collapse fatigue, seems to be finding some degree of inner peace. The way forward is always rough, full of roadblocks and potholes, with two steps forward and one (or two) back. It can be a lengthy and frustrating process if we are reluctant participants.
The biggest stumbling block appears to be pangs of loneliness and isolation, the feeling no one really sees life as we do. Most of us find it very hard to function without the affirmation of the herd to assure us we are on the right track. We are programmed from birth to crave verification, *especially* when what we wish verified is contrary to our very nature.
This pretty much sums up how most feel nowadays.
But at the end of the day, just before we fall asleep, ultimately we are alone in our head. Upon awakening, it remains the same. When facing decisions throughout our day, no matter who else is in our life, we are the only one inside our mind thinking and reasoning through the choices. Once we accept we are indeed ultimately alone, we come to realize we, all of us, are united together in our aloneness. It is then we cease to be lonely. It turns out to find the others we must look within.
By doing so we free ourselves to think critically and outside the conditioned confines of the box, regardless of whether we think others will approve or not. Our point of view no longer needs to be validated solely by the crashing of the system we still quasi operate within and depend upon. The urgency to hurry fades as we are no longer on an endless treadmill to beat the coming ( fill in the blank ). This is the result of heading *here *and not away from *there*. Since there is no waiting, there is no collapse fatigue.
If we can perceive our awakening as the gift it truly is, then begin the self work needed to achieve some degree of inner peace, this new state of mind, body and soul enables each of us to get back to the business of living life rather than just gaming ways to survive it. For some of us, it feels as if we are living life for the very first time. Free to question everything without being required to accept anything, we can begin to create a new reality regardless of our geographic location.
After experiencing the initial blossoming of true inner peace, it becomes contagious and feeds upon itself. We give ourselves permission to reject stories and narratives we are told without the pressing need for an alternative 'truth' to fill the resulting vacuum. Suddenly the carnival barkers who permeate the alternative media lose much of their luster and credibility.
We no longer posses a critical need to know exactly what happened, or is presently happening, only that what we were and are told is not truthful. This point of view holds true for much of what we learned in history class, about 'our' government, modern medicine and even spirituality. We can free ourselves, bit by bit, to accept we may never know the 'truth' about many important things. By doing so, we now travel the previously unseen path of genuine awareness and discovery. This in turn opens up sweeping panoramas and a greater understanding of a world once again new to us.
Perhaps the ancients are correct. It never really was about the destination, but rather the journey to live, learn and grow.
08-12-2016
Mr. and Mrs. Cognitive Dissonance
www.TwoIceFloes.com
The way forward. No unicorns, just glorious reality in all its splendor. Reported by Zero Hedge 13 hours ago.
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Study: Health-insurance premiums to rise 5% next year
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Reported by SmartBrief 12 hours ago.
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Emails be damned; Hillary Clinton will be a Great President
The constant drip, drip, drip of Hillary's and her staff's emails being released by hackers is simply a distraction from the real issues of the campaign. It appears Russian hackers are responsible and conspiring with the criminal who founded WikiLeaks to help Republicans distract voters from the deranged, sexist, misogynist, bully who is their candidate. Unfortunately and apparently to hype ratings and sell newspapers the media is buying into the distraction hook, line and sinker.
Inaccurate or hyped reporting of what turns out to be nothing, make it impossible for people to fully comprehend the reality Hillary Clinton's complex network of extensive contacts, both here in the United States and around the world, is really a good thing for America. Those contacts built up over decades of public service have led to her proven ability to work successfully across the aisle and pass legislation in Congress; and to successfully develop broad coalitions on a myriad of issues at home and abroad.
Hillary has been in the public eye since giving the student graduation speech at Wellesley in 1969. Close to fifty years ago. Her resume and experiences are extensive as is her list of activities and accomplishments. Her email contact list naturally includes everyday people, constituents, community leaders and activists, society figures, politicians, Hollywood celebrities, campaign donors and world leaders; and those world leaders are also on her speed dial. All the people she has worked with over the years. So yes people will send her and her staff emails with ideas and suggestions on everything from vacation spots and restaurants, to how to handle the world's problems. They will want favors ranging from jobs for themselves and friends to invites to the White House to having a birthday card from Hillary sent to their 100 year old mother.
Hillary's use of a private email server was a mistake and she has apologized over and over and said she wouldn't do it again and she has learned from her mistake. What is clear when looking at Hillary's accomplishments is that her wide range of contacts have made her more effective in every role she has had.
She talked with poor parents wanting a better education for their children when she successfully led the task force to improve education in Arkansas while at the same time having access to leaders in the education field; teachers, education strategists and union presidents. She could reach out to an Israeli educator, Avima Lombard, she first heard of and contacted in 1985, about a successful reading program which Hillary eventually introduced to educators and parents in the United States.
When Hillary took on the healthcare issue nationally and wasn't successful she changed her focus to providing healthcare for poor children. She was able to talk to the mothers of children in need of healthcare as well as presidents of pharmaceutical companies and hospitals. She used all information she gleaned from those conversations to help design the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). A program that today still serves about eight million children.
People having access to and contacting Hillary for help, to give her ideas, or just pass on their thoughts, shouldn't bother anyone. If we are honest each of us uses the people we know when needing help with something. Hillary just has more friends and a much wider contact list than most of us.
Every time the news media tries to implicate Hillary for doing something wrong when they get their hands on a hacked email either she or her staff sent or received from one of her contacts my first thought is to ask them 'did you ever call a friend to get your child an internship, or an interview'? Did your contacts ever ask you for something? Which contacts do you use to get a story and how do those contacts try to use you? Why is that different? The real issue isn't the request; it's how the request is handled.
It has never been shown that when Hillary has helped someone get a job, helped them get health insurance, put someone in contact with another person, or simply passed on suggestions she received that it has hurt our country or someone else in any way.
In fact the ability she has to access her incredible network gives her the chance to hear the widest possible opinions before she makes a decision. One can criticize her final decision, but it is insane to attack her ability to reach out or have people reach out to her with their thoughts.
Maybe it's time we asked the news media to publicly release their emails. Who knows the sleazy and questionable sources for their stories? We could even see which pompous commentator a TV host gave a leg-up to by having them appear on their show.
Maybe it's time the media asked every politician they interview who wants to talk about Hillary's emails to first release their own. We could find out which people Governors and Members of Congress communicate with; see who they listen to and who they grant favors too or ask favors from. If that happened and the public saw who other politicians deal with they may well recognize Hillary's contacts are so much more valuable and far reaching and would begin looking not just at the email that was sent or received; but rather what Hillary did with the request or suggestion.
I trust Hillary's breadth of experience and intelligence give her the ability to handle email requests and suggestions, from any source, in the appropriate way.
One thing is becoming increasingly clear; emails be damned; people across the country including Democrats, Republicans and Independents are recognizing our nation's future and that of the world will be in much better hands if Hillary Clinton is President.
They all understand the alternative is much too scary to even contemplate.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 12 hours ago.
Inaccurate or hyped reporting of what turns out to be nothing, make it impossible for people to fully comprehend the reality Hillary Clinton's complex network of extensive contacts, both here in the United States and around the world, is really a good thing for America. Those contacts built up over decades of public service have led to her proven ability to work successfully across the aisle and pass legislation in Congress; and to successfully develop broad coalitions on a myriad of issues at home and abroad.
Hillary has been in the public eye since giving the student graduation speech at Wellesley in 1969. Close to fifty years ago. Her resume and experiences are extensive as is her list of activities and accomplishments. Her email contact list naturally includes everyday people, constituents, community leaders and activists, society figures, politicians, Hollywood celebrities, campaign donors and world leaders; and those world leaders are also on her speed dial. All the people she has worked with over the years. So yes people will send her and her staff emails with ideas and suggestions on everything from vacation spots and restaurants, to how to handle the world's problems. They will want favors ranging from jobs for themselves and friends to invites to the White House to having a birthday card from Hillary sent to their 100 year old mother.
Hillary's use of a private email server was a mistake and she has apologized over and over and said she wouldn't do it again and she has learned from her mistake. What is clear when looking at Hillary's accomplishments is that her wide range of contacts have made her more effective in every role she has had.
She talked with poor parents wanting a better education for their children when she successfully led the task force to improve education in Arkansas while at the same time having access to leaders in the education field; teachers, education strategists and union presidents. She could reach out to an Israeli educator, Avima Lombard, she first heard of and contacted in 1985, about a successful reading program which Hillary eventually introduced to educators and parents in the United States.
When Hillary took on the healthcare issue nationally and wasn't successful she changed her focus to providing healthcare for poor children. She was able to talk to the mothers of children in need of healthcare as well as presidents of pharmaceutical companies and hospitals. She used all information she gleaned from those conversations to help design the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). A program that today still serves about eight million children.
People having access to and contacting Hillary for help, to give her ideas, or just pass on their thoughts, shouldn't bother anyone. If we are honest each of us uses the people we know when needing help with something. Hillary just has more friends and a much wider contact list than most of us.
Every time the news media tries to implicate Hillary for doing something wrong when they get their hands on a hacked email either she or her staff sent or received from one of her contacts my first thought is to ask them 'did you ever call a friend to get your child an internship, or an interview'? Did your contacts ever ask you for something? Which contacts do you use to get a story and how do those contacts try to use you? Why is that different? The real issue isn't the request; it's how the request is handled.
It has never been shown that when Hillary has helped someone get a job, helped them get health insurance, put someone in contact with another person, or simply passed on suggestions she received that it has hurt our country or someone else in any way.
In fact the ability she has to access her incredible network gives her the chance to hear the widest possible opinions before she makes a decision. One can criticize her final decision, but it is insane to attack her ability to reach out or have people reach out to her with their thoughts.
Maybe it's time we asked the news media to publicly release their emails. Who knows the sleazy and questionable sources for their stories? We could even see which pompous commentator a TV host gave a leg-up to by having them appear on their show.
Maybe it's time the media asked every politician they interview who wants to talk about Hillary's emails to first release their own. We could find out which people Governors and Members of Congress communicate with; see who they listen to and who they grant favors too or ask favors from. If that happened and the public saw who other politicians deal with they may well recognize Hillary's contacts are so much more valuable and far reaching and would begin looking not just at the email that was sent or received; but rather what Hillary did with the request or suggestion.
I trust Hillary's breadth of experience and intelligence give her the ability to handle email requests and suggestions, from any source, in the appropriate way.
One thing is becoming increasingly clear; emails be damned; people across the country including Democrats, Republicans and Independents are recognizing our nation's future and that of the world will be in much better hands if Hillary Clinton is President.
They all understand the alternative is much too scary to even contemplate.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 12 hours ago.
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