Alliance for Retired Americans: Trans Pacific Partnership Threatens Medicare

Headlines: Trans Pacific Partnership Threatens Medicare; Executive Pay Watch: CEO Pay Continues to Skyrocket; Executive Director Rich Fiesta Discusses Retirement Security in Chicago and Iowa; North Carolina Alliance’s fourth Annual Golf Fundraiser; Medicare Turns 50: American Labor Leads the Way;   Here is your May 22nd Friday Alert, Trans Pacific Partnership Threatens Medicare                         On Thursday, the Senate voted to end debate on giving President Obama “Fast Track” Trade Promotion Authority, which would allow the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) to be implemented without amendments. The House of Representatives Has not yet voted on the measure, which the Alliance opposes. Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans President Doug Hart outlined his concerns in this Arizona Republic Op-Ed. He highlights that pending House legislation would take $700 million from Medicare to pay for trade adjustment assistance, which would be needed to address the adverse conditions that workers face as a result of TPP. “Ten thousand people turn 65 every day. We should be expanding Medicare, not stealing from it,” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), said during a conference call with journalists and Alliance Executive Director Richard Fiesta on Thursday. “Medicare is not the ATM for everything that we want to provide.” Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) was on the call. Click here to tell your Representative that a “yes” vote on “fast-track” is unacceptable. Executive Pay Watch: CEO Pay Continues to Skyrocket According to the AFL-CIO’s Executive Pay Watch, CEOs of the nation’s largest corporations received a 16% pay increase in 2014, widening the CEO-to-worker pay gap to 373-1. On average, the CEOs of S&P’s Index 500 companies earned $13.5 million while the average worker brought home $36,000 in 2014. “The retirement income inequality gap doesn’t start in retirement, it starts when Americans enter the workforce,” said Barbara J. Easterling, President of the Alliance. “While workers fight for a livable wage and a secure retirement, many executives fight them at every step.” Fiesta Discusses Retirement Security in Chicago and Iowa Fiesta called for expanding Social Security and warned against the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) at the Iowa Federation of Labor and Iowa Alliance for Working Families Summit in Ames, Iowa on Saturday. On Wednesday Fiesta was in Chicago to address the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists retiree members meeting.   Chapter News: NCARA’s Fourth Annual Golf Fundraiser                         The North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans fourth annual golf outing raised over $2000 for advocacy and education programs on Monday. “I want to, on behalf of the board of directors, acknowledge the volunteer committee led by Vice President Ann Young and the NCARA fund raising committee chaired by Jim Moore,” said Bill Dworkin, President of the North Carolina Alliance. Medicare Turns 50: Protection Against Sickness “Millions of our citizens do not now have a full measure of opportunity to achieve and to enjoy good health. Millions do not now have protection or security against the economic effects of sickness. And the time has now arrived for action to help them attain that opportunity and to help them get that protection.” – President Harry Truman For a printable or two-page pdf version of this document, click here.For the Alliance's Spanish language page, which includes last week's Friday Alert in Spanish, go to www.alianzadejubilados.org Alliance for Retired Americans | 815 16th Street, NW | Washington, DC 20006 | www.retiredamericans.org