generation america august 2012 newsletter
DESCRIPTION
Featuring articles on What You May Not Know About The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, finance tips, travel features on visiting the historic Klondike by train, New York City's Chelsea Riviera, and much more. Also features benefits for members.TRANSCRIPT
THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER FOR GENERATION AMERICA MEMBERSAUGUST 2012
ALSO INSIDETHE STATES
RESIST OBAMACAREONE MAN’S KEY TO
A LONG LIFE ELDER CARE
TRAVEL KLONDIKE
BY TRAIN
CHELSEA NEW YORK
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is an extremely complicated and difficult to understand law that concerns the already extremely complicated and difficult to understand issue of healthcare. Since the law first emerged I have been fortunate enough,
as have many of us, to engage in conversation with many
knowledgeable and intelligent individuals on the subject.
The political mindset of these individuals runs the
spectrum from devoted liberal to devoted conservative.
Included, are those in government, healthcare, and of
course, senior services. The overriding theme of these
conversations has been inconsistency. I don’t mean
inconsistency arising from a moral or philosophical
opinion regarding socialized medicine, or speculation on
its benefit or detriment to society; I mean that there are
widespread inconsistencies in a general understanding of
the contents and immediate effect of this law. In other
words, we don’t know what this law does.
I will attempt to decipher two key components, that I
found particularly disturbing, from the content of the law.
1. You will no longer have control over your healthcareUnder the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
your right to independently choose medical treatment is
removed. The Health and Human Services (HHS) Secre-
tary will be the sole decision maker concerning the
services you will need, as well as what plans you will
purchase. Additionally, they will decide upon the cost of
the plan and which services will be covered. Doctors that
do not follow the letter of the law, Section 1311, will be
denied the right to treat you. The Federal government will
now have absolute power over how doctors can treat all
patients for the first time in our nation’s history. There are
already similarities present in the way Medicare and
Medicaid are implemented, in the sense that only proce-
dures considered cost effective are covered. However, this
law eliminates the option of an alternate public or private
insurance program which is free from such oversight.
We all know that everyone will be required to purchase a
“qualified” healthcare plan. But did you know that you are
required to include proof of enrollment when filing your
income taxes? Consequently, the IRS is authorized to
determine compliance and have penalties leveled against
you if proof of enrollment is not provided.
President Obama promised, “If you like your doctor, you
can keep your doctor.” However, this will not hold true for
anyone, especially those that are currently insured. Every
one of us will be forced to undergo unsolicited change
and loss of personal choice whether our status is private-
ly-insured or uninsured. All aspects of one’s health
coverage will be subjected to HHS scrutiny and oversight.
This includes basic decisions such as the choice between
a cardiac by-pass versus a stent or whether there should
be an ACL repair or a procedure for an entirely new knee.
BY SETH DISARRO, GENERATION AMERICA
WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT
THE PATIENT PROTECTION & AFFORDABLE CARE ACT
Whether you are covered by Aetna,
Cigna, Blue Cross, Kaiser Permanente,
another major company, or none at all,
the government will have total control
over your healthcare, even when you are
paying the premiums.1
The American public has been denied the
opportunity for debate and discussion on
this subject. This is due to the fact that
this law fully authorizes the executive
branch to decide which medical services
will be provided as well as the ways in
which they will be distributed within
Medicare. Therefore, Medicare recipients
will forfeit their ability to make healthcare
decisions more than any other group.
Congress does not even have to give
approval for additional changes to
Medicare that the HHS department
deems necessary.
2. You will no longer have control over your privacyThe Obama healthcare plan requires
physicians to enter complete data on their
patients into a government database. This
includes all treatments provided, and
applies to each and every patient, whether
or not their insurance is privately provided.
The government then directs physicians to
undertake what it considers the correct
and most economical treatment.
This system of monitoring your healthcare
is exempted, to a very high degree, from
federal privacy laws (Chapter 35 of Title
44 U.S. Code) and from judicial review.
This government oversight ensures that
no patient will have medical privacy any
longer. Federal authorities will be kept
informed about every visit and every
treatment administered—your physician
will be required to comply with these
rules or be penalized.
This incursion into your privacy goes
even further. Under these new provisions,
your other private records (such as bank-
ing) are also accessible and may be
provided to third parties if the federal
government feels it is appropriate. This is
part of the government’s plan to help
determine your eligibility for additional
programs. Rather than offering you
information on what is available and
leaving it to your discretion to decide,
they want to create a complete profile of
all your private information and then
target you for the programs that they
match to you.1
When the government is permitted to
decide what is appropriate and cost-
effective in your medical care, and your
physician is legally forced to offer you
only these measures, your doctor will no
longer be able to make their own
recommendations for your healthcare.
You will have no choice but to trust that
government regulators know what is best
for you, and that they will not misuse the
deeply personal information that will now
be disclosed to them.
This system of monitoring your healthcare is exempted, to a very high degree, from federal privacy laws ... This government oversight ensures that no patient will have medical privacy any longer. Federal authorities will be kept informed about every visit and every treatment administered—your physician will be required to comply with these rules or be penalized.
SEE ‘ACT’ PG 8
$0.9TRILLION
PRESIDENT’S PROMISED 10-YEAR COST
Cost of President’s Health Law Rises with Each New Estimate
$1.4TRILLION
FY2010-2019ESTIMATE
ESTIMATE FY2011-2012ESTIMATE
FY2012-2021ESTIMATE
FY2013-2022ESTIMATE
FY2014-2023ESTIMATE
$1.7TRILLION
$2.0TRILLION
$2.3TRILLION
$2.6TRILLION
Estimates of the gross outlays under the President’s health care law in nominal dollars using CBO estimates of major coverage provisions, as well as Senate Budget Committee Republican projections based on CBO estimates of the remaining costs. Sources: CBO. Produced by SBC Republican staff. Ranking Member Jeff Sessions, budget.senate.gov/republican
3GENERATIONAMERICA.ORG
THE STATES RESIST OBAMACARE
One of the few bright spots in the Supreme
Court’s ruling on Obamacare was its 7–2 decision
striking down the Obama administration’s
attempt to blackmail states into going along with a
massive and costly expansion of Medicaid. Barely a day
later, Florida governor Rick Scott announced that his state
would not expand Medicaid eligibility to 133 percent of
the poverty level, which comes out to roughly $30,000
per year for a family of four, or allow single, childless men
to participate in the program. Earlier, Scott had rejected
another key component of Obamacare, refusing to
establish a state insurance exchange. He had even
returned grants and other funding that the previous
governor had received to help implement the legislation.
Scott was quickly joined by at least six other GOP
governors in rejecting the Medicaid expansion, includ-
ing governors Branstad (Iowa), Brownback (Kansas),
Haley (South Carolina), Heineman (Nebraska), Jindal
(Louisiana), and, not surprisingly, Scott Walker (Wis-
consin). At least seven other governors, including
Bentley (Alabama), Bryant (Mississippi), Daniels
(Indiana), Deal (Georgia), Fallin (Oklahoma), McDonnell
(Virginia), Perry (Texas), and Jay Nixon (Missouri), a
Democrat, had previously made statements suggesting
that they were unlikely to expand their programs.
Nevada had earlier passed regulations paving the way
to participate in the expansion, but Governor Sandoval
has since indicated he may reconsider.
In rejecting ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion, these
governors will be saving their state taxpayers billions of
dollars. Initially, the federal government would have
provided additional funding to cover the expansion, but
those additional funds would have been phased down,
starting in 2017. Eventually state taxpayers would have
had to pick up much of the extra cost. For example, over
ten years, the Medicaid expansion would have cost
taxpayers in states such as Florida, Kansas, and Texas
more than $20 billion each, while in New Jersey, for
example, the expansion could cost as much as $35 billion.
(In fairness, a few states such as California do emerge as
net winners under the expansion formula, but they are
clearly the exception, and there are plenty of other
reasons why they should resist participating.)
On the other hand, if a state does not expand its Medicaid
program, most of those who would have been eligible for
Medicaid will now become eligible for subsidies through
ObamaCare’s health-insurance exchanges. Those subsi-
dies are paid in full by the federal government. That much
should be an easy call for any fiscally responsible gover-
nor, although the reasons to forgo the exchanges and the
subsidies they entail are strong as well.
Beyond the Medicaid expansion, at least four governors
NEWS OPINION
BY MICHAEL D. TANNER, THE CATO INSTITUTE
have joined Governor Scott in explicitly refusing to set up a state-based
insurance exchange: Jindal, Perry, and Walker, as well as Democratic New
Hampshire governor John Lynch. Perhaps as many as 35 other states
have simply not taken the actions necessary to establish exchanges. That
may be less explicit a revolt, but it has the same result.
Of course, if states refuse to set up an exchange, ObamaCare gives the
federal government the authority to step in and operate an exchange itself
in those states. But there is reason to doubt that the federal government
has either the ability or the money to do so. Congress has not appropri-
ated any funding for this purpose and seems unlikely to do so.
More important, as my colleague Michael Cannon has discovered, a
little-discussed provision of ObamaCare makes federal subsidies for
insurance available only through those exchanges that the states set up
themselves. So, while the federal government does have the power to
create exchanges in states that refuse to do so, it cannot offer subsidies
through those federally run exchanges.
Moreover, it is those subsidies that actually trigger the penalty under
ObamaCare for employers who fail to provide workers with insurance.
ObamaCare requires employers with 50 or more workers to provide
health insurance or pay a tax, but only if at least one employee qualifies
for subsidies under the exchange. Therefore, if subsidies can be
provided only through a state-authorized exchange, a state could
potentially block the employer mandate altogether, simply by refusing
to establish an exchange.
The Obama administration and the IRS, unsurprisingly, have claimed
that they have the right to unilaterally rewrite the law, yet again, to
close this loophole. But, at the very least, this would be open to legal
challenge. And perhaps next time the Supreme Court will get it right.
So, by refusing to go along with ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion and
by blocking state-run exchanges, governors are not just saving state
taxpayers money. They are potentially reducing future federal spending
by as much as $1.5 trillion over the next ten years.
While congressional Republicans have been reduced to taking symbolic
repeal votes, and Mitt Romney struggles to determine whether or not
the individual mandate is a tax, governors—and state legislators—have
become the real heroes of the fight against ObamaCare.G
Michael Tanner is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and author of
Leviathan on the Right: How Big-Government Conservatism Brought
Down the Republican Revolution. SOURCE: CATO.ORG
BY LAWRENCE KUDLOW
In the hours following the Supreme
Court’s decision to ratify ObamaCare,
Romney got $4.6 million in donations
from 47,000 individuals. The tide is
with him. The Supremes are a game-changer.
But Romney has to make the case. He needs to
link the anemic jobs and economic situation to
the ObamaCare tax, spend and regulate fiscal
drag. And he has to add to that mix the dangers
to our freedoms embodied in Justice John
Roberts’ expansion of the power to tax our
personal behavior.
Scott Rasmussen says the idea of ObamaCare
repeal has held steady at around 54 percent ever
since its passage in March 2010. This reveals the
dynamic political opportunity that Romney has.
Again, it’s a three-pronged attack: the anemic
economy, the ObamaCare costs that are stifling
the economy and the John Roberts expanded
power of taxation that will bring us more man-
dates, more entitlements and less personal
freedom, all of which will further cripple the
economy.
One way of looking at Roberts’ slight-of-hand
decision to vote in favor of ObamaCare is that a tax
is a tax is a tax. As a non-lawyer, I see the Roberts
vote as a massive expansion of federal government
taxing power. Just what we don’t need.
Supply-siders like myself argue that when you tax
something, you get less of it. With Roberts
throwing in with the liberals on the court to
expand federal tax powers, we now face the
John Roberts Is a Super-taxer
5GENERATIONAMERICA.ORG
massive threat of ultra-slow economic
growth in the U.S. for years to come.
The Roberts court has served up a “tax
mandate” that is more powerful than the
still-limited Commerce Clause regulatory
mandate. Roberts has created a huge
new loophole. Instead of new purchase
mandates, we’ll have new purchase
tax mandates.
This expanded tax power could force me
to eat broccoli if the government so
chooses, or make me put solar panels on
my home. Gov. Bobby Jindal now worries
about the people who “refuse to eat tofu
or refuse to drive a Chevy Volt.” Not
because of the Commerce Clause, but
because of the new tax-mandate clause.
You’ll be taxed heavily if you don’t do
what the government wants you to do.
And don’t we have enough taxes already
in this country? And what about the tax
threats that are coming down the road?
Repealing the Bush tax cuts and adding
on the ObamaCare tax hikes will produce
outrageous marginal tax rates of roughly
45 percent for successful earners,
dividend investors and small-business
owners. In other words, European-style
taxes, which suggests anemic European-
style growth.
Americans for Tax Reform estimates that
ObamaCare contains 20 new or higher
taxes on American families and small
businesses. Investor’s Business Daily says
this comes to a $675 billion tax hike over
the next decade. Steve Moore of The Wall
Street Journal editorial board cites
Congressional Budget Office estimates
that roughly 8 million (or 76 percent of)
middle-class taxpayers earning less than
$120,000 a year will shoulder the new
ObamaCare tax mandate authorized by
Roberts.
And this whole panoply of ObamaCare
taxes is already one big drag on the
economy. Just in recent days, revised
gross domestic product came in at 1.9
percent, and real consumer spending was
essentially flat. Job growth has slowed
markedly, as have new factory orders.
Economists on Wall Street are looking for
only 2 percent growth this year. The Fed
is so worried about the economy it might
launch another counterproductive
quantitative easing.
Meanwhile, health care premiums are
going up, not down. Mandated one-size-
fits-all health services and insurance will
incentivize businesses to pay the fine and
push employees into the state exchange
systems. And this will drive up the
subsidized entitlement even more.
The CBO now estimates that ObamaCare
spending will hit $1.8 trillion over the next
10 years. That’s a number that started out
at only half as much. But that’s what
happens when you install European-style
entitlements. You threaten to bankrupt
the nation’s finances. Or you threaten to
literally tax us into perpetual subpar
growth and high unemployment.
And that’s the case Romney has to make.
But he has to hammer away, day by day.
He needs to make these points if we’re to
end the malaise.G
To find out more about Lawrence Kudlow and read
features by other Creators Syndicate writers and
cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page
at creators.com. © 2012 CREATORS.COM.
NEWS & OPINION | POLITICS
BY RICHARD W. RAHN
When President Obama
announced that he again
wanted to increase taxes on
the top 2 percent of taxpay-
ers, I would have recommended to Mitt
Romney that he reply by saying:
“President Obama has called for a tax
increase on job creators, which will only
fund the government for eight days,
while I have an economic growth
program that will fund the government
for eight years and beyond.”
Mr. Romney is being justifiably criticized
for not delivering a clear and concise
description of his economic plan. Since
he has not done it, I will give it shot.
I don’t know if Mr. Romney will turn out
to be another Ronald Reagan when it
comes to taxes, spending and regulation,
or will fall seriously short as did those
who succeeded Mr. Reagan (except for
President Clinton on spending). What I
do know is that Mr. Obama will almost
certainly increase taxes, spending and
regulations, if re-elected.
Mr. Romney needs to clearly state the
economic problem and the solution in a
few bullet points that people can
remember. (Most people cannot
remember all Ten Commandments so
any candidate who has a program with
more than a very few points has little
hope the public will remember.)
The problemThe economy is growing too slowly and
producing too few jobs because:
Obama Plans to Fund Government for Eight Days
$2.7 TRILLION
OBAMACARE SPENDING,
NEXT 10 YEARSSOURCE:
HOUSE REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE
� The government is wasting money
on programs that don’t work or
work poorly.
� Individual tax rates are too high, and
the tax code is too complex so job
creators are discouraged from fully
investing and hiring.
� The U.S. corporate tax rate is the
highest in the world, causing business-
es and entrepreneurs to flee or avoid
the United States.
� Regulations have been growing so
rapidly and are so complex that
business people are inhibited from
expanding their businesses and hiring
new workers because of the cost of
trying to understand and comply with
the vast new regulatory state.
The solution � First, my administration will bring the
level of government spending down to
what it was at the end of Clinton
administration (18.2 percent of gross
domestic product).
� Second, we will undertake tax reform
to bring down rates to a level no higher
than those after the Reagan tax reform
in 1986, a maximum rate of 28 percent
(which produced tax revenues of 18.4
percent of GDP).
� Clinton/Gingrich-era spending policies
coupled with Reagan-era tax policies
will provide a balanced budget at about
18.2 percent of GDP.
� In addition, we will cut the corporate
tax rate to a maximum of 25 percent to
make us more internationally competi-
tive, and we will have a moratorium on
all new regulations until we can make
sure that regulations’ benefits exceed
their costs.
� Finally, all federal departments will be
required to make sure that all of their
existing regulations are not unduly
complex and vague, and meet reason-
able cost-benefit standards.
The bumper stickerReagan tax rates + Clinton spending
policies = high growth and full
employment!
The advantage of this approach is that it
has been proved in the recent past—Rea-
gan-like tax rates and Clinton-like
spending policies can result in taxes and
spending being at about 18.2 percent of
GDP—a balanced budget. Republicans
love Reagan, and the more sensible
Democrats and many independents
understand that the spending policies in
effect at the end of the Clinton adminis-
tration did provide an adequate “safety
net” even by their definition. The econo-
my was growing rapidly, with near full
employment in both the last Reagan and
Clinton administrations. Saying that his
administration is going to duplicate the
best of both Reagan and Clinton adminis-
trations would be a political winner,
provided
Mr. Romney and his surrogates say it over
and over again. People can understand
that program, and it would make Mr.
Romney sound less partisan and more
statesman-like, which is important in
winning over independents and disaf-
fected Democrats.
Mr. Romney would need to detail his
proposals for the policy wonks but not
necessarily for the general public. His
current proposals are very near what I am
suggesting, so only a relatively little
tweaking would be necessary (my
personal preference is for substantially
less government).
It could be easily and creditably argued
that such policies should result in growth
rates of more than 4 percent, based on
past performance. These policies would
almost certainly result in the good side of
what economists refer to as Mitchell’s
Golden Rule of Fiscal Policy: “Good fiscal
policy exists when the private sector
grows faster than the public sector, while
fiscal ruin is inevitable if government
spending grows faster than the produc-
tive part of the economy.”G
Richard W. Rahn is a senior fellow at the Cato
Institute and chairman of the Institute for Global
Economic Growth. © 2012 XYZ
These policies would almost certainly result in the good side of what economists refer to as Mitchell’s Golden Rule of Fiscal Policy: “Good fiscal policy exists when the private sector grows faster than the public sector, while fiscal ruin is inevitable if government spending grows faster than the productive part of the economy.”
7GENERATIONAMERICA.ORG
Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act, P.L. 111-148; Health Care & Education Reconciliation Act, P.L. 111-152 Prepared by: Joint Economic Committee, Republican Staff Congressman Kevin Brady, Senior House Republican Senator Sam Brownback, Ranking Member.
If you disagree with the treatments
prescribed by the federal government—
and not by your own doctor—you will have
no choice but to accept them anyway. The
lack of judicial review mentioned above
means that you cannot bring these
matters to court because the federal
government is exempted from legal action
on your part.
The law is a tangled mess of autocracy and
short-sighted decision making. It is a
daunting task to even partially grasp the
implications to us and the future of
healthcare in not only this country, but, in
this world. Amidst all of the confusion, it
seems that two things are clear; the right
of the people to be secure in their persons
and in their papers, has been violated.G
ACTCONTINUED FROM PG 3
1 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Section 1311 (h) (1). Beginning on January 1, 2015, a qualified health plan may contract with- (B) a health care provider only if such provider implements such mechanisms to improve health care quality as the Secretary may by regulation require. 2. SEC. 1561. HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOL-OGY ENROLLMENT STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS. ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— ‘‘(1) STANDARDS AND PROTOCOLS.—Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this title, the Secretary, in consultation with the HIT Policy Committee and the HIT Standards Committee, shall develop interoperable and secure standards and protocols that facilitate enrollment of individuals in Federal and State health and human services programs, as determined by the Secretary. ‘‘(2) METHODS.—The Secretary shall facilitate enrollment in such programs through methods determined appropriate by the Secretary, which shall include providing individuals and third parties authorized by such individuals and their designees notification of eligibility and verification of eligibility required under such programs. ‘‘(b) CONTENT.—The standards and protocols for electronic enrollment in the Federal and State programs described in subsection (a) shall allow for the following: ‘‘(1) Electronic matching against existing Federal and State data, including vital records, employment history, enrollment systems, tax records, and other data determined appropriate by the Secretary to serve as evidence of eligibility and in lieu of paper-based documentation.
NEWS & OPINION | POLITICS
Dear Reader: Turning 62 seems to be one
of those magic milestones—and more and
more people seem to be celebrating by
filing for Social Security benefits the first
chance they get. According to the
Stanford Center on Longevity, the
majority of retirees choose to begin
receiving Social Security payouts within a
few months after age 62 or immediately
after they stop working, regardless of
economic or educational status.
The reasons for taking benefits early
appears to be primarily emotional—fear
that Social Security will disappear or just
because it’s possible to do it—rather than
considering if it makes long-term financial
sense. In fact, a new study by economists
John B. Shoven and Sita Nataraj Slavov
indicates that rather than putting extra
money in your pocket, taking Social
Security benefits early may likely leave a
fair amount of money on the table.
But studies aside, deciding the best time
to take your benefits is a personal
decision, based on your individual
situation. So before you join your friends
at the benefits table, I’d check your own
financial reality.
Do you need the money?The ongoing recession has made this a
serious question for a lot of people. For
those who have lost their jobs and are
having trouble finding other employment,
taking Social Security benefits early may
be essential to stay afloat.
On the other hand, if you’re still working
and you file at 62, not only will your
benefits be permanently reduced by
about 25 percent, $1 will be deducted for
every $2 you make above the annual limit,
which is currently $14,640. While you will
get the money back in the form of a
recalculated benefit when you turn 66,
the temporary reduction minimizes the
economic value of filing early. Plus, if you
make over a certain amount each year
(between $25,000 and $34,000 for
single filers; between $32,000 and
$44,000 for married filing jointly), you
will likely have to pay income taxes on a
percentage of your benefits.
Do the mathThere’s also another way to look at the
numbers. The study I mentioned earlier
makes a strong economic case for
delaying benefits, especially in a low-
interest environment like the one we’re in
now. First, if you delay taking your Social
Security benefits from age 62 to your full
retirement age (66 for those born
between 1943 and 1954), you’ll increase
your payout by 25 percent. And if you
continue to delay taking your benefits
until age 70, your payout increases by 8
percent each year. That’s equivalent to an
8 percent raise! The study suggests that
when interest rates are 3.5 percent or
below, the gains from delaying are
especially significant. In a close to
zero-interest world like ours, the numbers
speak for themselves.
Look at the personal sideOf course numbers are only one side of
the story. You also need to consider your
health and your family history of longev-
ity. The average life expectancy for
American women turning 62 this year is
85 1/2, for men it is 83. If you have a
serious illness or there are other factors
affecting your life expectancy, you might
be wise to take your benefits early.
However, if you are healthy and come
from a family of centenarians, you should
definitely consider waiting until 70 to
collect to give yourself a financial boost in
your later years.
Coordinate with your spouseIf you are married, it also makes sense to
coordinate the timing of your Social
Security benefits with your spouse. Even if
one spouse has never worked, he or she is
often still eligible to collect a benefit based
on their spouse’s work record. If either
spouse begins to collect early, their benefit
will be reduced. However, for two-earner
couples, and especially if there is a large
discrepancy in incomes, it may make sense
for the lower earner to take a spousal
benefit at age 66, while the higher earner
waits until age 70. The lower earner can
either continue receiving spousal benefits
or switch to their own benefit when they
FINANCE
Dear Carrie: I’ll be 62 next month. All my friends seem to be taking Social Security on their birthday. I’ve heard this may not be the wisest choice. What do you think? —A Reader
Why Is Everyone Filing for Social Security Early?BY CARRIE SCHWAB-POMERANTZ
9GENERATIONAMERICA.ORG
OPINION
BY TERRY SAVAGE
Q. Pardon me if this is a dumb question, but just how low can interest rates go? I’m barely earning anything on my CDs. And how long can this situation last?
A. That is not a “dumb”
question. In fact, it’s on the
minds of traders around the
globe. The very simple
answer is that interest rates could go
negative! As unlikely as that sounds,
there is precedent for negative interest
rates.
And I can anticipate your next question.
Yes, that means you would actually be
paying the bank to hold your money
That has happened before, primarily
when those who have investment capital
are fearful that it will not be returned if
they leave it in their own currency. The
owners of that money are willing to pay
for a “safe haven” for their money.
It happened in Switzerland in the 1970s—
when global fears of inflation sent money
running to the presumed safety of Swiss
banks and the Swiss franc. At one point,
deposits in Swiss banks were paying a
negative 0.4 percent! (That, of course,
was before the Euro.) And still, money
came flooding into Swiss banks.
Zero interest rates happened briefly in
Japan in the late 1990s, when savers there
were so afraid of the stock market, which
had collapsed, that they insisted on
putting their money in the bank, even at a
negative interest rate. In Sweden, in 2009,
in the midst of the financial crisis, their
central bank actually cut the deposit rate
to a negative 0.25 percent.
In the past few weeks, central banks of
Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium
have actually sold government securities
with slightly negative interest rates. There
was demand for these securities despite
the rates because of the perceived
security compared to the euro.
And with foreign money rushing to the
perceived safety of the U.S. dollar, some
recent U.S. Treasury auctions of TIPS—
zero coupon Treasury notes that protect
against inflation—have already been sold
with slightly negative yields.
So, yes, zero interest rates are a possibility
in the United States—and may even
become a policy tool of the Fed. You
might be interested to know that some
economists are discussing the possibility
of negative interest rates—a “tax on
money”—as a way of pushing money out
of the banks and into investments that
might otherwise benefit the economy.
The Fed’s current low-rate policy hasn’t
worked yet, and some think negative
rates may do the job.
So, where does that leave you—the saver
who planned to live on interest income?
This is where self-discipline comes in. The
search for higher yields absolutely means
you incur more risk. For example, you
could buy dividend-paying stocks that
yield far more than the 0.1 percent on
3-month Treasury bills. But stock prices
can fall—especially in a slowing economy.
You could buy insurance products that
offer higher yields—but also have
penalties to access your money if you
need it. You could buy bonds with higher
yields—but find yourself locked in to low
rates if inflation returns.
It’s tough, but leaving your money in
insured deposits that pay nearly no
interest may be the only answer for those
who need financial security. This is no
time to chicken out on your “chicken
money.” That’s The Savage Truth.G
Terry Savage is a registered investment adviser
and is on the board of the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange. She appears weekly on WMAQ-Channel
5’s 4:30 p.m. newscast, and can be reached at
terrysavage.com. © 2012 TERRY SAVAGE PRODUCTIONS.
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
Negative Interest Rates Are Possible
turn 70. As you can see, this type of
calculation can get extremely complex. I
strongly advise couples to get some help
from a qualified financial advisor or Social
Security expert before filing.
Make social security part of a bigger planWhile it is often wise to delay taking Social
Security benefits, your decision should
always be part of a larger retirement plan. I
would start by estimating what your yearly
expenses will be in retirement. Calculate
how much you can realistically draw from
your portfolio and how significant Social
Security will be to your overall financial
picture. And then coordinate with your
spouse. Just because the government
allows you to draw your benefits at 62—or
even at 66—doesn’t mean you should.
Your retirement plan is unique. What
someone else considers a wise decision
may not be the best move for you.G
Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, Certified Financial
Planner™, is president of Charles Schwab
Foundation and author of “It Pays to Talk.” You
can e-mail Carrie at [email protected]. This
column is no substitute for an individualized
recommendation, tax, legal or personalized
investment advice. © 2012 CHARLES SCHWAB & CO., INC.
MEMBER SIPC. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
11GENERATIONAMERICA.ORG
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Diet Exercise
Love One Man’s Key to Long Life
BY DR. DAVID LIPSCHITZ
In nine months, I turn 70. I often ask myself, why am I so healthy? I feel so full of energy and able to do as much as or more than I did at age 40. My secret, I believe, is that I mostly eat right. I am overweight but not obese—no matter how hard I try, this is the best I am going to do—and I walk my dog briskly seven days a week for about 30 minutes.
I am very hopeful about the future and the plenty of opportuni-
ties available to make work and days interesting and exciting,
with the sense that I can continue to make a difference. I will
never retire.
Most importantly, I give love and respect to and receive it from
the many individuals I work with daily and for whom I have
great affection. I strive to be successful as a physician by
genuinely and truly loving my patients. I work particularly hard
on those who are the most difficult to love—the ones who
never get better, question your every suggestion, are often rude
and usually frustrated. These are the patients who are doctor
shoppers and more than anyone else need someone who will
never give up on them.
No question, love is the key to happiness, health and longev-
ity. It exists in many forms: in our faith, the love we have for
our patients, students, workers and friends. Love is a powerful
health tonic. And an important new study shows if you want
to live long and live well, do not be a curmudgeon.
HEALTH WELLNESS 17GENERATIONAMERICA.ORG
BY TERRY SAVAGE
When is it elder abuse—and
when is it an adult child trying
to make arrangements for a
parent who is losing the ability
to cope with the daily activities of living?
Every day, police and social workers and
others face these decisions, and last week,
it was my turn. It was pure coincidence
that a friend was checking into a small
hotel and ran into an elderly woman
sitting in the lobby and crying. After she
calmed down, she explained—and her
story was backed up by the desk clerk—
that her daughter had come with a power
of attorney and the police, and had
moved her husband of 62 years to a
nursing facility. She said they wouldn’t let
her come to visit.
She was staying alone in the hotel, with a
little money and their small dog. When
she revealed that she and her husband
had a substantial sum of money in the
bank as a result of selling their home, I
grew more concerned. Financial elder
abuse is a growing crime. Sadly, the
statistics reveal that elder abuse is almost
always a family crime.
The most recent reliable study of elder
abuse was done by the National Center
on Elder Abuse in 2005. But according to
that report, between 1 million and 2
million Americans age 65 or older have
People who are kind, loving, considerate, laugh a lot and are
friendly to everyone are twice as likely to make it to the ripe old
age of 100. Do not bottle up your feelings and if possible, do not
speak ill of others.
These personality traits may well be genetic—the most powerful
predictor of living to 100 is the ages at which your parents died.
Being sweet, kind, good and living long may all be gifts inherited
from your parents. But if you are difficult to get along with, seek
help and try to change. Your life will be better and may be longer.
Love people, love life, love your work, be a kind and good person
and longevity is all but assured. But people with all these wonderful
attributes can lose much and become lonely. And new research in
the Archives of Internal Medicine documents the powerful negative
effects of loneliness.
For example, in a study of 45,000 people who had a heart
attack, patients who lived alone were 24 percent more likely to
die during a four-year follow-up period than those who lived
with a spouse or a roommate.
But living alone does not mean that you are lonely. Many people
are perfectly content to be by themselves, love their own company
and cope well. However, those individuals who reported that they
were lonely were 46 percent more likely to die than those who did
not say they were lonely. Lonely people are far more likely to be
depressed, be sedentary, eat poorly and have poor health habits
such as smoking or drinking. It is not
surprising, therefore, that life expec-
tancy is reduced.
Any man in a long-standing, loving
and intimate relationship has a 50
percent chance of living 10 years
longer than a man living alone.
Women benefit from such a relation-
ship as well, but only by three years. Married men are more likely
to have medical checkups, wear a seat belt, drink in moderation,
be compliant with medications, eat right and exercise. And if the
woman dies before her husband, he has a 30 percent chance of
death within a year.
Studies also indicate that the happier the marriage, the more
quickly the widower remarries. By contrast, many women state
that they were married to the best partner and no other man
could ever match up.
My advice, however, is to remember that as we grow older,
loneliness becomes a threat and companionship, or sometimes
more, is definitely a tonic for a longer and better life.G
Dr. David Lipschitz is the author of the book Breaking the Rules of Aging; more
information is available at: drdavidhealth.com. To find out more about Dr. David
Lipschitz and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers, visit creators.
com. © 2012 CREATORS.COM
Elderly Suffer When Decisions About Their Care Are Unclear
Any man in a long-standing, loving and intimate relationship has a 50 percent chance of living 10 years longer than a man living alone.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
been injured, exploited or otherwise
mistreated by someone on whom they
depended for care or protection.
It’s as difficult to imagine a family taking
advantage of an elderly parent as it is to
imagine parents who would abuse their
children. But it happens with even more
frequency in these tough economic times.
How could anyone who suspects this
kind of treatment stand by and not get
involved? That certainly wasn’t some-
thing I could forget. So I called the local
suburban police department, and police
and a social worker came right over to
interview the woman. She was distraught
but able to answer all their questions.
Because of the woman’s allegations that
the daughter now controlled her bank
account, an investigation was opened,
and I left satisfied that her complaints
would be heard.
The next day, I went back to the hotel,
drove her to the nursing home and
witnessed a very tender reunion with her
husband. I also met her daughter, an aide
at the facility, and heard the other side of
the story. She said she had no choice, as
her father is suffering from Alzheimer’s
and her mother could not take care of
him. She gave me a long list of their
dangerous experiences and her multiple
interventions in their living conditions.
She was hoping to move her mother into
the assisted-living section of the nursing
home, keeping them at least in the same
building. And she would use their money
to pay for it, saying she didn’t want a
penny for herself.
So what was the final word, you might
be wondering? I cannot really tell you
yet how it will work out, or whom I
believed most. The police are still
investigating the financial aspects, social
services will stay on top of the situation—
and I promised to visit again to make
sure her move in to the assisted-living
facility goes smoothly. I left them
holding hands, agreeing that being near
each other was most important.
You can’t have participated in this
experience without thinking about
yourself and your family. What plans
have you made? What documents have
you executed? What relative or friend do
you trust to make these decisions for
you—when you are least able to be heard,
and most likely to be confused and
resentful of changes forced on you?
Now is the time to make a revocable
living trust, naming a successor trustee to
handle your financial affairs if you are in
an accident or unable to make decisions
for yourself. And now is the time to create
a health care power of attorney and a
living will. And if you need help finding
resources to do this, I recommend going
to naela.org—the National Association of
Elder Law Attorneys. There you can find
links to a list of elder law specialists in
your community.
And if you suspect elder abuse, contact
the National Center on Elder Abuse, a
part of the U.S. Administration on Aging,
at ncea.aoa.gov, or contact them at
855-500-3537 (ELDR).
Their website home page has quick links
to both statistics and resources in every
state, including telephone hotlines to
report abuse. And for eldercare resources
in your community available to those
who have elderly parents or neighbors,
go directly to eldercare.gov.
The 7th Annual World Elder Abuse
Awareness Day was just a few weeks ago,
on June 15, 2012. I missed that day, never
noticing the media promotion. But I
didn’t miss a chance to step in a few days
ago. And I know that if everyone who
reads this column would just speak up
and report suspected elder abuse, we
could all make a big difference for the
generation that made it possible for us to
be here. And that’s The Savage Truth.G
Terry Savage is a registered investment adviser
and is on the board of the Chicago Mercantile
Exchange. She appears weekly on WMAQ-Channel
5’s 4:30 p.m. newscast, and can be reached at
terrysavage.com. © 2012 TERRY SAVAGE PRODUCTIONS.
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
“...between 1 million and 2 million Americans age 65 or older have been injured, exploited or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for care or protection.”
19GENERATIONAMERICA.ORG
TRAVEL
BY JIM FARBER
On July 17, 1897, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer ran a banner
headline proclaiming “Gold! Gold! Gold!” and reporting
that 68 men fresh from Alaska had arrived in town loaded down
with “stacks of yellow metal.” The rush was on!
They called themselves “stampeders”—those hearty men and
women who found themselves in Skagway, Alaska, bound for the
gold fields of the Klondike. But before they could reach the Yukon
River that would take them to Dawson City and the gold fields,
they faced the arduous challenge of climbing either the Chilkoot
or White Pass trail. And to make the task even harder, the Cana-
dian government required that every stampeder haul 1 ton of
supplies with them to ensure they at least had a shot at surviving.
Three years after the rush began, on July 29, 1900, a pair of
railroad gangs, one working from the north, the other from the
south, met in the Canadian village of Carcross. There they drove
the final spike of the 110-mile-long White Pass and Yukon Route
railroad. It was a miraculous feat of railroad construction that
had required climbing mountains thousands of feet high, blast-
ing tunnels through solid rock and building sky-high trestles
over cascading creeks at temperatures sometimes as low as 60
KLONDIKEKLONDIKEyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazNEXT STOP THE
ALL ABOARD!
WHEN YOU GO:
WHITE PASS AND YUKON ROUTE907- 983-2217
wpyr.com
SKAGWAY SIGHTS AND ACCOMMODATIONS 888-762-1989
skagway.com
A vintage train between Skagway, Alaska, and White Pass, Alaska. PHOTO: DONALD FINK / 123RF STOCKPHOTO
More than 35,000 men worked to complete the White Pass and Yukon Route,
which in 1994 was designated an International Historic Engineering Landmark,
taking its place alongside the Statue of Liberty, the Panama Canal and the Eiffel Tower.
21GENERATIONAMERICA.ORG
below zero. More than 35,000 men worked to complete
the White Pass and Yukon Route, which in 1994 was
designated an International Historic Engineering Land-
mark, taking its place alongside the Statue of Liberty, the
Panama Canal and the Eiffel Tower.
Today the narrow-gauge railroad transports tourists
instead of gold-seekers, as well as weary hikers off
the Chilkoot Trail happy for a comfortable ride back to
Skagway. Whether they choose to ride in one of the
classic coach cars behind a gaily painted green and
yellow diesel or be pulled by a historic steam locomotive,
Engine No. 73, a trip on the White Pass and Yukon Route
is unforgettable.
Located conveniently adjacent to Skagway’s bustling
cruise ship wharf, the White Pass and Yukon Route is a
popular day trip as well an ideal point of departure for
visitors planning to continue by motor coach (from
Carcross) into the heart of the Klondike. U.S. citizens
who choose a trip that crosses the border into Canada
will need a passport.
In the early days of the gold rush new arrivals had two
choices for getting over the mountains: the steeper but
more direct Chilkoot Trail out of Dyea or the longer but
somewhat more gradual White Pass Trail out of Skag-
way. Both trails were arduous, and both had drawbacks.
The Chilkoot and its infamous “golden stairs” could only
be ascended by foot. The White Pass could be navigat-
ed with pack animals; however, an estimated 3,000
horses died trying to make the climb to the summit in
the dead of winter. The Chilkoot was also deemed safer
because bandits commonly set upon travelers on the
White Pass Trail.
Today’s passengers can look down into Cutoff Canyon
where the remains of the original White Pass Trail are
clearly visible, along with the bleached bones of the
horses that died making the climb.
Why would the stampeders choose to make such a
hazardous climb in winter? Greed. Their goal was to reach
Lake Bennett at the top of the pass, where they could
make camp and spend the winter building boats in
anticipation of the spring thaw. At the peak of the gold
rush Lake Bennett was home to 30,000 fortune hunters.
When the ice broke on May 29, 1898, it was reported that
more than 7,000 crafts set sail. Some would strike it rich.
Most would not, while others would drown in the rapids
of the Yukon River before they ever saw Dawson City or
panned a nugget of gold.
The trains of the White Pass and Yukon Route that go
on to Carcross also stop at Lake Bennett. The lunch stop
allows time for passengers to walk the rocky shoreline
where the gold-seekers camped and built their boats.
Surprisingly there are still remnants of their encamp-
ments: rotting pilings, long rusty nails and the beautiful
log church where they prayed for success.
The railroad offers a variety of itineraries beginning in
May and running through mid-September. The shortest is
the White Pass Summit Excursion ($112), a popular
3½-hour round trip that takes visitors to the summit but
does not cross into Canada. The Yukon Adventure can
be made as a one-way or round trip from Skagway to
Carcross with a return by motor coach. Another option
for true rail buffs is the Fraser Meadows Steam trip ($155)
that runs Mondays and Fridays only pulled by Engine 73.
Special fares for children 12 and under are also available.G© 2012 CREATORS.COM.
TRAVEL
PHOTOS ABOVE, L TO R: GNOHZ / 123RF STOCK PHOTO, PHOTO COURTESY JIM FARBER, IMAGEX / 123RF STOCK PHOTO.
Left to right: A historical train used during the Klondike Gold Rush; gold-seekers wintered on Bennett Lake and built boats for the long trip to Dawson, Alaska; Chilkoot Trail, from the gold-mining era, Skagway, Alaska.
NEW YORK CITY’S
CHELSEA RIVIERA
BY DIVINA INFUSINO
Neighborhood by neighborhood, New York City
continues its transformation. Formerly gritty areas,
like the Meatpacking District, have undergone
makeovers in the last decade, becoming enclaves of urban
reinvention and relatively safe tourist destinations.
The latest locale to have its Cinderella moment is the West
Chelsea district, sometimes called the Chelsea Riviera due to its
proximity to the Hudson River. The large and loud warehouse-
style clubs and the city-owned housing projects that once
defined the vicinity still stand in this community located roughly
between West 17th Street and West 30th Street and bordered
by 10th Avenue. But all the landmarks of urban renewal are
moving in or already have—art galleries, trendy restaurants,
edgy designer shops, a boutique hotel, renovated or glistening
new condos, and street beautification paid for by public or
private money.
In West Chelsea, however, that beautification process has
occurred 30 feet above street level in the form of the High Line.
A public parklike walkway, the High Line was created from a
The Falcone Flyover rises above the High Line in the West Chelsea area of New York City between West 25th and West 27th streets. PHOTO COURTESY OF IWAN BAAN.
A TRANSFORMED CULTURAL DESTINATION FOR
ART, SHOPPING, FOOD, AND OPEN SPACE
23GENERATIONAMERICA.ORG
historic elevated freight rail line that runs
the length of the neighborhood as well as
beyond to the adjacent Meatpacking
District. Fully opened about one year ago,
the High Line is functioning as the Prince
Charming in this city fairy tale, already
attracting 3,000,000 visitors in the
past year.
With modern design touches in its railings
and benches and its sustainable foliage of
plants and grasses that grew up around the
tracks over the 25 years that the rail line was
out of use, the High Line is primarily a prom-
enade where visitors can get a low-flying
bird’s-eye view of the city. On temperate
days and even in the winter months,
throngs of people stroll the mostly concrete
plank pathways, pausing sometimes to soak
in views of the newer high-rises currently
under construction, the older buildings that
tell of the area’s industrial past and at some
points the Statue of Liberty and the Empire
State Building.
Yet although the High Line is no doubt the
highlight of the area, in many ways it is
late to the Chelsea Riviera party. Like so
many urban-renewal movements, the first
settlers to upgrade this territory were the
art galleries, especially those priced out of
Soho, New York’s former art-scene hub.
Now many of those establishments
populate West Chelsea streets in such
close proximity that visitors can wander
from door to door and linger in some of
the most prestigious art showcases in the
world, including the Gagosian Gallery on
West 24th, the Maryanne Boesky Gallery
on West 22nd and the Pace Gallery on
West 25th Street. In these places and in
many of the other 30 or more galleries
lining the streets, the shows can rival
museum-quality exhibits in other cities—
and with no entry fee.
Of course the chic shops have followed, like
the Comme des Garçons store, which feels
more like an art-installation space than a
shopping destination. The clothing racks
are worth perusing even if they are outside
the budget or fashion aesthetic.
Artisan pizza places such as Ovest
Pizzoteca; great breakfast, lunch and
dinner spots such as Boutique Eat Shop
(try the cornflake encrusted French toast);
and finer dining like Trestle on Tenth,
which serves Swiss-Italo-inspired cuisine
(scallops with flageolets beans, butternut
squash and house-made sausage) also are
gathering a following.
The district came of age, so to speak,
when the Hotel Americano opened. True
to its surrounding environment, this
boutique hotel wears its minimalism like a
badge of honor. The rooms are small but
efficient. They come equipped with a
platform bed on the floor, a black leather
bean-bag-style chair for seating, gleaming
glass and stainless-steel bathrooms with
almost miniature fixtures and an iPad
resting on a wide glass shelf that substi-
tutes as a desktop computer. The vibe is
stylish, the food is good, and the service is
surprising friendly and accommodating.
The financiers and celebrities are claiming
penthouses and apartments in the new
residential buildings. And the people who
lived in West Chelsea before it became the
belle of the New York hipster ball are
already complaining about the increase in
traffic around the area. But for the visitor,
West Chelsea provides a pastiche of old
and modern New York and a city in
transition.G
To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers
visit creators.com. © 2012 CREATORS.COM
TRAVEL
TRUSTWORTHY INFORMATION | POWERFUL BENEFITS | TRADITIONAL VALUES
GenerationAmerica.org
Access to the High Line is off
10th Avenue at the following
intersections: Gansevoort
Street, 14th Street (elevator
access), West 16th Street
(elevator access) , West 18th
Street, West 20th Street ,
23rd Street (elevator access),
West 26th Street, West 28th
Street, West 30th Street
(elevator access). For more
information, visit
thehighline.org.
HOTEL AMERICANO518 W. 27th St.
New York, NY 10001
212-525-0000
hotel-americano.com
WHEN YOU GO:
Fully opened about one year ago, the High Line is functioning as the Prince Charming in this city fairy tale, already attracting 3,000,000 visitors in the past year.
24GENERATIONAMERICA.ORG