Did you miss today's townhall with President Obama?
We recorded the event so you could watch it again, or you can read the transcript of the event here.
ShAARP Session: Observations from AARP
Results tagged “President Obama” from ShAARP Session
Jul '09 28
Jul '09 28
Got Questions?
Got some questions about health care reform? Want some clarity on where AARP stands? Or maybe you're curious about how health care reform will impact you. No matter your question or curiosity get your info straight from the President.
Tune in today at 1:30 p.m. EST for a telephone townhall with President Obama and AARP CEO Barry Rand for a Q&A session with AARP members and volunteers.
You can watch it on the internet here. And share the link to the live video (www.aarp.org/townhall) on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace pages so everyone can learn more.
Jul '09 23
Obama Pressing Hard for Health Care Reform at Presser
Here's the press conference from last night. 90% of the focus was on the debate for health care reform
Our friends at AARP Bulletin have put together a very useful document that spells out the details of the current debate in easily digestible prose. This is a great resource for anyone wanting to get a handle on the current state of play of the health care debate.
Apr '09 8
News To Know: From White Castle To White House
Just yesterday, actor Kal Penn announced he would be leaving Hollywood for a job in President Obama's White House. You may recognize Penn from his role as Kumar in the Harold and Kumar franchise:
(Kal Penn, Right)
He also played the role of Dr. Kutner on Fox's House:
Penn will take on the roll of Associate Director of the White House's Public Liason Office. Lest you think the actor received special treatment in gaining this appointment, he says he filled out an online application just like thousands of other people.
This isn't the first time Penn has gone to bat for the Obama administration, he has backed the President since early in his Presidential Campaign:
Mar '09 3
Nearly Half of Older Californians Struggling to Make Ends Meet
Looks like sunny California isn't as sunny as it seems. New research conducted by UCLA Center for Health Policy Research found that 47% of California residents aged 65 and older are unable to pay for basic needs. The Mercury News reports:
The new data reveal far deeper poverty rates among seniors than was previously known. According to the decades-old standard of measuring poverty, only 9 to 10 percent of California seniors were considered poor, that is, earning less than $10,000 a year. Researchers note that amount is peanuts in high-cost California, failing to reflect the true cost of survival."For us, what's striking is that these numbers are not even taking into account the latest economic crisis," said co-author Susie Smith, a program director at the nonprofit Insight Center for Community Economic Development. She noted the report used 2007 census data. "We can only imagine when we update this information next year, what the numbers are going to look like."
While Obama's stimulus will provide temporary relief to SSI recipients who are blind, elderly or disabled, stronger initiatives needs to be taken in-state to track poverty rates among older people so appropriate local action can be taken. Assemblyman Jim Beall, D-San Jose, has introduced a new bill, the Elder Economic Dignity Act of 2009, which calls for California to track seniors in poverty, but by using new measurements. Believe it or not, officials currently use a 50-year old federal measure to decide who is above or below poverty.
"There are a lot of hungry seniors, a lot of seniors who have suffered economically over the last decade," said Beall, "So to use a measurement that goes back to the 1950s is clearly not appropriate."
Can't get much clearer than that! Sheesh. Let's cross our fingers that this bill gets picked up.
Feb '09 24
News To Know: Writing To The President
When you were a kid in school, you probably had a teacher who extolled the value of writing your elected officials to let them know how you feel about important issues. I can remember writing a letter to the President when I was in elementary school. Getting that form letter in the mail was pretty exciting, even if the President never even saw the letter.
Mailing your thoughts to the President continues to be a popular choice for Americans facing serious issues and the White House gets thousands of letters everyday. What you might not have known is that President Obama reads ten letters from normal Americans each and every day. Moreover, he says that these letters help him see the real problems facing people in this country and have an impact on his policy decisions. The odds might not be good, but knowing there is a shot the President could read your letter is pretty cool.
Feb '09 23
AARP CEO Bill Novelli and President Obama Discuss Entitlements
AARP's CEO Bill Novelli reports to President Obama at the Fiscal Responsibility Summit on the road to sustainability through health care reform. See the clip below and tell us what you think...do you agree? Or disagree?
