Carl,
It's all very depressing. There are so many individual needs in the older blind
population and there's no way that the needs can be fully met by a society that
sees older folks as a useless burden, whom it would be most efficient to
segregate somewhere and then arrange for minimal care by the marginal members
of our society. When that is the model for the elderly, how much thought and
money will be allocated to the needs of blind people, who, after all, are
undervalued by our society when they are young and healthy.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2019 12:48 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
Miriam,
For the past 25 plus years Cathy and I have operated as private contractors
under the name, Peninsula Rehabilitation Services. The state-wide program is
called, The Independent Living Older Blind Program.
Initially,around 1988, the US Department of Education put up money for states
to write Grants to be included. Washington State Department of Services for
the Blind(DSB)was successful in obtaining grant money every year until the
Grant was turned into funding for all 50 states.
At first the field rehab teachers were in-house. DSB had 8 field rehab
teachers already in place, serving the VRC's with initial skills training for
the Vocational Rehab Program. So they were now being given the additional task
of serving the Non VR clients. But one by one these field positions were
filled by O&M Specialists who also were expected to double as rehab teachers
for all clients. The requirements for O&M's in Washington requires "normal"
vision. Plus the fact that there was no money for drivers for any blind RT's,
and the territories were huge.
In 1995 DSB was faced with a problem. They had the Federal dollars, but no
longer had Full Time Equivalents(FTE's)and the state legislature rejected the
request for additional positions. So DSB offered the money to private
contractors. The ILOB Program developed over several years, growing in more
and more paperwork, as government programs are wont to do. At some point
around 2005, the state's IL manager took a position with the University of
Washington, leaving a position which could not be filled due to a freeze on
hiring. DSB decided to simply allow the ILOB Program to follow the program
manager to the U of W, and so a financial arrangement was arrived at. But
regardless of who administers this program, it is woefully under funded and
poorly managed. And yet, we, PRS, are a contact point for newly blinded
Seniors. We do group training when possible, and we do provide some basic
tools such as handheld magnifiers, talking watches, etc. We also do outreach,
and put out packets of information regarding the large number of hidden
services which do exist.
From the beginning Cathy and I agreed that our mission was to serve the needs
of clients, and not to build an institution. We could either meet with clients
or meet with potential funders, write grants or provide folks with one on one
training. We stayed small, but probably more effective than if we'd gone the
route of three contractors that developed agencies. The biggest and oldest of
these, located in Seattle, just closed their doors after 50 years. The Lilac
Blind Foundation, which I co founded in Spokane, back in 1971, served the
Inland Empire with as many as 15 employees. They are now struggling to support
3 or 4 staff. When we began back in 1995, we were serving the entire four
counties that made up the Olympic Peninsula, as well as Kitsap county, a very
large county lying between Hood Canal and Puget Sound. We would schedule four
or five clients each day, doing our reports in the evenings. Saturdays were
often days we met with support groups, or did presentations.
Today I wonder how we ever did it! We serve only two counties and see clients
only three days in the week. We do our ever increasing paperwork on Mondays
and Fridays, along with our scheduling and ordering.
The area we serve is still a vast one, but the population is only around 150
thousand. But even so, Sequim is the state's favorite retirement town, and
Port Angeles is not far behind. Lots of older folks.
Carl Jarvis
On 11/12/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
So you're individual private contractors?
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Frank Ventura
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 5:57 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
Oh forgot to answer your question as to if my union has put pressure
on the state government. As my managers like to say on a regular
basis, if anyone goes to the union or the union goes to anyone, we'll
outsource every goddamn one of you; and they most certainly would too.
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 5:34 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
Is that all you get now? Is that true of all state employees in your state?
Did they make any efforts to organize and put pressure on the state
government to change that? It sounds terrible.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Frank Ventura
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 5:11 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
Miriam, that is true and it would have worked if the states did not
eliminate the state pensions for some employees. To break it down to a
very simple notion the law was meant to allow public employees to get
either a pension or social security of both. Once the law went into
being and public employees lost their social security some states took
away the pensions and left employees with neither SS or a pension. Now
if you think deferred compensation is any substitute you really need
to do some more research, you only get back about 70 percent of what you put
in.
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 3:12 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
I looked further on the web and from what I can tell, the law is
supposed to protect people who worked for a system which did not do
the usual tax withholding from their pay checks for social security.
It is supposed to ensure that they receive income approximately
equivalent to what they would have gotten from social security.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Frank Ventura
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 1:29 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
Hi Miriam, in the days after 9-11, the Bush administration amended the
social security law by inserting what is known as the "windfall
elimination provision", which allows states to take the amount of a
social security benefit out of a retirees pension or deferred
compensation effectively preventing them from collecting social
security. For example if an employee retires and gets $2000 from their
deferred comensation and $1000 from social security their deferred
compensation will be reduced to $1000. See the link below my
signature. To the best of my knowledge only 6 sates do this to their
employees with Massachusetts being one. Sadly, my senator, Ms. Warren refuses
to take a stand against this provision.
As far as Obama, I found many youtube clips of his debates but I found
noting where he said that he will eliminate or reduce social security.
Can you provide a link? If he did say that it certainly will be
everywhere on the internet.
Frank
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/05/new-bill-would-change-social-security-
rule-on-public-workers-benefits.html
P
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 9:38 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
Well Frank,
It depends on what you mean by far left. I don't understand about your
state, how it could prevent you from receiving social security. I'll
have to google that. But I do remember hearing Obama, in a
presidential debate with Romney, talk about how it would be a good
idea to privatize social security or lower its benefits or some such
thing. And now that I'm reading the book, We've Got People by Ryan
Grinn, which is a detailed history of the Democratic Party since Jesse
Jackson's run, my memory of Obama being willing to reduce our social
security has been verified. So if you think that the Democratic
leadership is left wing, you've been fooled like a lot of us were. The
Clinton wing of the Democratic party is corporatist and cares only to
stay in power. There's an industry of consultants who stay in business
because the party insists that moninees raise a certain amount of money in
order to be supported in elections by the party.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Frank Ventura
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2019 2:29 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
Miriam, yours is just one of the many experiences that make me think
we have already lost the battle. I used to have a stack of my late
mother's medical bills on my desk at home. I have since put them in a
file box and hid them under my desk as I can't stand to see them.
About half of my take home pay goes to those bills and will most
likely do so until I die. Thankfully I don't have children so the
cycle of inherited debt will stop. Carl spoke about how he fears that his
pension and social security will be protected.
That is a generational thing as my generation is already living in a
world where those things don't exist. Even here in my allegedly
progressive state, my union has lost access to the state pension
system. Instead we have it replaced by (nudge, wink) "deferred
compensation" which is nothing more than a zero interest savings
account where I am forced to contribute 15 percent of my paycheck to
every pay period and then when I retire I get to cash it in minus the
almost 30 percent of cumulative back end charges and fees. Now about
that social security? As a state employee I am not allowed to collect
social security when I retire. Sure we pay into it but remember that
piece of paper we signed when we took the job? Yes sir that "windfall
elimination plan" law really sticks it to me as it does in the other 5
states in the country that require state employees to sign away their
social security. I feel defeated and don't have any positive view of
the future despite how many far left podcasts I listen to as they too are
part of the corporate demigods that got us where we are.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Monday, November 11, 2019 9:25 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
Amy was trying to ask, what she thought was a provocative and
meaningful question, and Warren was trying to dodge it. But really, I
don't see the point of the question. I've noticed that she often does
something similar, asks public figures to comment on outrageous things
that other people have said. Trying to get someone to say something in
an unguarded moment is not, as far as I'm concerned, doing useful journalism.
As for your personal concern, I surely do understand that. As I've
explained, my income slowly decreases as municipal bonds are called
and replaced with bonds that pay a lower rate of interest. My expenses
rise, supplemental medical insurance, Medicare Prescription insurance,
and other expenses. As my physical capacities decline, and I'm not
sure how long I'll be able to walk, I'm going to have to have a
different level of care. And that's another issue. I can be empathetic
toward people on the margins of society, but it's quite a different
situation when you find yourself dependent on people who don't
understand your needs, have little education and poor training, don't speak
English well, and may steal your belongings.
Now that Yaneek is leaving to join our military, I may very soon be
back in that situation again. What is most ironic is if I had the
$400,000 annually to pay for what is considered a quality nursing home
here and if I wanted to be in such a place, I'd be cared for by
employees at the same level of education, and they wouldn't be working
for me, but for an impersonal bureaucracy. When my mother was dying of
cancer, she was in a well known Catholic hospital that serves dying
cancer patients. It had a modern clean physical plant. They had her on
medication which kept her free from pain.
But all her personal belongings were stolen. I also remember visiting
one Friday night. The rooms were all laid out in a circle, opening
onto a corridor, and in the center of the circle, there was a glass
enclosed nursing station. As we walked along the corridor, I could
hear a woman crying out, asking for help or something. She must have
been feeling frightened and alone. No one went to her. Those nurses
acted like she didn't exist. That was back in the late 80's. Oh, and
by the way, because she didn't die within a year of being admitted,
they threw her out. She died in the best nursing home I could get her
into, with a much poorer level of care, a few months later.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Monday, November 11, 2019 7:17 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Elizabeth Warren, 1 more thing
I heard it, both during the "debate" and on Democracy Now. I have no
idea why Amy played that up. It sounded to me as if it were simply
another side step in order to avoid saying anything provocative.
Frankly, I run hot and cold. We have a bunch of brain damaged
candidates eager to be the last president of the American Empire.
The billionaires are so greed driven that they no longer understand
that they need to working class in order to continue enriching themselves.
My current concern is wondering how long our pensions and social
security will continue. That is the source of the majority of our monthly
income.
If we continue headed down the road the way we are, it won't be long
before Cathy and I will be attempting to live on half of what we need
to stay afloat.
Carl Jarvis
On 11/11/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Democracy Now thought that Warren's response to Amy's last question
was so significant, that they have it as a separate thing on the
website and it downloaded as a separate episode. Amy asked her to
comment on the first 2 primaries being in majority white states where
candidates would have to spend a lot of time wooing voters and then
the third in a state with a large black population. Warren said, "Are
you going to ask me to comment on that?"
and then she said, "I'm just a player in the game." I suppose that
Amy thinks this is significant, Warren refusing to comment on race?
Miriam
