Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for our pets, so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water, and sunshine. Anonymous
Arkansas was in the news last month as the first state to take people off Medicaid. A Boston NPR interview with Gov. Hutchinson, “Arkansas wants Medicaid to offer a Bridge to a Better Life,” asks why would Hutchinson choose to punish unemployed poor people on Medicaid? Our governor said he does not want to punish anyone, he wants to help the people.
Arkansas Works
The purpose of the Arkansas bridge is to lower the cost of healthcare by imposing work requirements on 69,000 people. “We need more people in the workforce, more people trained, and this gives them an opportunity to do more in life. So, this is a very good thing,” Hutchinson said. He added, “These are people that are not accessing worker training programs now, and so there has to be a consequence for not fulfilling your responsibility. And so, as you’re going to have a requirement to work or be in work or training, there has to be a consequence if you don’t do that. This is that you’re locked out for Medicaid benefits through the end of the year.”
Poor people without a wide range of job skills have a very hard time finding permanent jobs. When they get sick their life becomes a daily challenge. Arkansas Works, the name of the scam, is life threatening for a small number of people. The savings for Arkansas would be negligible. Without the state paying for training, transportation, childcare, and other expenses, Hutchinson’s attempt to get Trump’s attention is inhumane and absurd. Arkansas Works kills.
Compassionate care
Public health and education for all people are fundamental to the future of Arkansas. “Being kind and compassionate are core skills that shape relationships between people, and help to create caring communities,” says the Dalai Lama. Arkansas Work is inhumane.
Trump’s con
Arkansas is leading Trump’s eCONomy. The 2017 Tax Scam decreased the funds to run the government requiring cost cutting and trade tariffs.
Last week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe traveled to discuss trade and tariffs; all he got was a round of golf at Mar-a-Lago. Trump was not prepared to deal with Japan and bluffed his way out. At the conclusion of the two-day meeting Trump said, “The US is committed to free, fair and reciprocal – very important word – trade. And we’re committed to pursuing a bilateral trade agreement that benefits both of our great countries.” Abe said, “I am aware of US interest in a bilateral deal. But we want to approach the discussions from the point of view that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is best for both of the countries.”
By definition, bilateral agreements are reciprocal: “An exchange between two nations that gives each party favored trade status pertaining to certain goods. The agreement sets purchase guarantees, removes tariffs and other trade barriers.”
Trump said he prefers bilateral agreements, but he would consider the TPP if they made him an offer he could not refuse! Trump said, “the US has bilateral agreements with six of the eleven TPP countries.” Trump understands neither the benefits of TPP nor the costs of being left out, giving away trade leadership to China.
Trump wasted a unique opportunity to learn from an experienced trade professional and understand how Prime Minister Abe views the US in the context of the Asia-Pacific trade. Abe needed a signed agreement, not golf balls.
Trump said, “the US has a $70 billion trade deficit with Japan, and that is not fair.” Hello! American consumers purchase some of the best automobiles in the world from Japan, and Trump wants to increase the price of Japanese cars? The US sells Japan corn, pork, beef, and soybeans. There is only so much pork Japanese can eat. If Trump increases the price of pork Japan will buy less and Arkansans will be out of work.
Dr. Luis Contreras
If you don’t have an email account, you will be taken off Arkansas Works!
“Email to soon be mandatory in health plan; compliance effort affects many in Arkansas Works.”
Many Arkansas Works enrollees will soon have to have email accounts and access to computers if they want to keep their health coverage.
Using their accounts, they will have to log in to a state website, or portal, and report whether they met a requirement to spend 80 hours a month working or on other approved activities or that they qualified for exemptions.
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/apr/26/email-to-soon-be-mandatory-in-health-pl-1/
Trump likes bilateral agreements to squeeze the last penny, going against smaller economies.
This is what bullies do. His comment “make me an offer I can’t resist” is irresponsible.
Trump opposes the export deficits, as unfair. Bilateral agreements get out of whack over time, this is called trade imbalance.
Free zone trade agreements, like TPP, allow countries to export to several countries in the trade zone. As long as the total amount of exports equals the total amount of imports, in terms of dollars, the balance is maintained.
After the meeting, IMF endorsed Japan’s approach:
“IMF endorses Japan’s preference of TPP over a two-way trade deal”
A multilateral framework like the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact works better in fixing trade imbalances than a bilateral deal, IMF Deputy Managing Director Mitsuhiro Furusawa said in an endorsement of Japan’s calls for Washington to rejoin TPP.
“Bilateral talks alone can’t solve imbalances. It’s therefore more efficient to solve them with a bigger framework,” Furusawa told Reuters on Saturday on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings.
“In general, a multilateral framework is more efficient for the global economy,” said Furusawa, a former top Japanese currency diplomat.
Japan wants Trump to reconsider his decision to pull the United States out of TPP, and is reluctant to meet Washington’s calls to open talks for a two-way trade deal for fear of coming under pressure to open up markets like agriculture.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-imf-g20-trade/imf-endorses-japans-preference-of-tpp-over-two-way-trade-deal-idUSKBN1HS0RR
Arkansas Advocacy for Children and Families opposes the new version, “Arkansas Works 2.0.”
Here is what they say,
March 5, 2018 — “Instead of creating costly and punitive new requirements designed to kick people who need health care off the program, our leaders should continue to promote the purpose of the Medicaid program to provide health coverage for low-income Arkansans without unnecessary barriers.”
http://www.aradvocates.org/aacf-statement-on-work-requirements-in-arkansas-works-program/