Author Archives for Herb Weiss

Older Voters Must Rise Above Negative Campaign Advertising

Published on November 2, 2012, Pawtucket Times           

            With the 1st Congressional seat up for grabs, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and the Democratic Congressional Committee (DCCC) have the OceanState on their radar screen, hoping to sway voters to their chosen candidates. Political funds coming from these “Inside the Beltway” political groups come because of the tightness of the race and these committees are picking up the tabs for large blocks of local television advertising to mount concentrated negative ad campaigns.    According to WPRI 12, NRCC is buying $280,000 in advertising compared to the DCCC’s $315,000.

t’s a Close Call

                According to an exclusive WPRI 12 poll, this television station reported last Tuesday that David Cicilline, the incumbent Democratic Congressman has a “razor thin” lead of only 1-point between him (43%)  and his independent Republican Challenger, Brendan Doherty, (42%) just one week before next Tuesday’s election.  The pollsters say that independent Candidate David Vogel’s 6% following with 8% undecided make this election race just too close to call.  This poll was based on interviews with 300 registered voters in the First Congressional District.

              With polls showing the race becoming a dead heat, both Democrats and Republicans are taking their gloves off. 

            Freshman Congressman Cicilline’s 30-second ad seeks to firmly tie the GOP Congressional Candidate, Doherty to the House Republican leadership, who want to privatize Social Security, derail ObamaCare, and repackage Medicare.  

            Cicilline campaign ads have questioned his Republican challenger’s ability to represent his constituency in a Republican-controlled House, captured by a radical Tea Party who philosophically opposes political compromise.  Doherty has vehemently denied this, calling himself a “centralist,” “independent thinker,” one who can work with those across the aisle.

            Meanwhile, according to the Providence Journal, the House Majority Political Action Committee, a Democratic “super Pac,” plans to spend $75,000 on direct-mail flyers to oppose GOP’s Doherty’s efforts to go to Congress.  This follows on the heels of the Rhode Island GOP’s mailing of negative campaign materials attacking the Cicilline’s integrity, his work as a criminal defense attorney and his statements about the ffiscal health of his City as he left office. 

             An October 30, 2012 posting of “On Politics with Ian Donnis and Scott MacKay,” gives their political junkie readers insight into Doherty’s move to play “good cop, bad cop” in his advertising playbook.  Not so surprising with his law enforcement background in the waning days of his first political campaign.  

 A Tale of Two 30-Second Ads

             Highly-regarded Investigative writers Donnis and MacKay reveal that while on the same day that the NRCC savagely attacked Cicilline in a 30-second spot titled “Set Free,” for being a criminal defense attorney who “represented child predators, murders, and violent attackers”, while Doherty ran his own political ad, paid for by his Doherty for Congress, opposing Washington attack ads and mudslinging.     

              Donnis and MacKay, whose Commentaries are reported on the Rhode Island Public Radio, also noted in their blog that the Providence Journal’s PolitiFact found that Cicilline, who served in the Rhode Island General Assembly for four terms, supported a crime bill as a state representative “contrary to the message being offered in part by the NRCC.”

             In Doherty’s 30-second spot, “What is Right,” the GOP Challenger says, “Washington has gotten so bad they will say just about anything whether it is true or not.”  Doherty’s wife, Michelle responds: “People are so tired of that,” adding “We can’t begin to solve our problems until we get rid of that kind of stuff.”

             Doherty, the former Colonel of the Rhode Island State Police who is running in his first political race, replied: “I agree.  She is always right.”  He goes on to pledge to create jobs, lower the national debt and to support the Social Security and Medicare programs.

             Why approve a message that Rhode Island voters are tired of being misinformed by those in Washington when you don’t stand up and tell the NRCC to shelf their negative ad campaign?  

             Scott Davis, who lives on the East Side of Providence and is a neighbor of Cicilline, disagrees with the NRCC’s attempt to savagely attack the Democratic Congressman for choosing to defend criminals in his law practice, over a decade ago.  

             Davis states, “My understanding is that Cicilline focused primarily on immigration law.  In any event, to pass judgment on him for defending criminals is to question the foundation of our judicial system as mandated in our constitution,” he said.

             According to Davis, “Defending criminals protects the rights of the wrongfully accused and only the best lawyers have the fortitude to make the moral separation necessary to ensure justice.”

             “What I find far more troubling is with the NRCC attacking the Congressman because of his clients with Doherty’s apparent blessings,” says the owner of Rhode Island Antiques Mall.  “The former law officer demonstrates that apparently he either doesn’t understand or agree with the basic elements of a democracy, yet he’s asking us to allow him to represent us in the running of ours.”

              Of course, occasionally we’ve read about an innocent person who spends years in jail only to later be released because of new evidence. When this it oftentimes makes headlines in local or national publications.  Or perhaps investigative shows like CBS’s 60 Minutes or Dateline NBC, might detail particular cases.  

             According to the Death Penalty Information Center, since 1973, 141 people in 26 states were released from death row with evidence of their innocence.  I wonder how many of these “innocent” individuals were profiled in a negative 30-second spot to attack a political candidate.  

             As the WPRI 12 poll reflects in the 1st Congressional District, most of the voters have already aligned themselves to either Cicilline or Doherty with Vogel being the potential spoiler.  The election will go to the candidate who can bring home the uncommitted independent voter in the remaining final days of the campaign.

 Taking the Power Back from Political Candidates

             Historically, nationwide aging baby boomers and seniors have played a major role in electing political candidates, for they have consistently voted in larger percentages than other age groups.  This year the political fate of Cicilline and Doherty may well rest on these voters.

             By now, political candidates have mailed campaign literature to the voters of the 1st Congressional District hoping to bring home their final political message to influence their votes.  Combine this with the mudslinging and negative campaigning, the political advisors of both candidates will now look to see if the polls move.

             For older voters it’s now more important than ever to read between the lines in the campaign literature you receive or the television ads that you watch.  An educated voter who strives to understand the multitude of domestic and foreign issues that must be addressed by the next Congress will make his or her own decision as to whom they support, rather than be influenced by negative 30-second ads or campaign materials paid for by Washington, DC-based political groups.  

             It’s time for aging baby boomers and seniors to rise above negative campaigning and political innuendos being slung by the political candidates, by turning away from calculated misinformation they want to feed you. Base your vote at your polling site on the facts, yes, just the plain facts. 

             Herb Weiss, LRI ’12,  is a Pawtucket-based freelance writer who covers aging, health care and medical issues.  He can be reached at hweissri@aol.com.

Older Voters Talk Turkey to Congress

Printed October 26, 2012, Pawtucket Times 

            Even the Presidential election less than two weeks away, registered voters across the nation should exercise their Democratic right to vote.  Since the beginning of July local and state political candidates attended hundreds of public events scattered throughout the OceanState, passing out campaign literature, putting up signs throughout their legislative districts, along with distributing bumper stickers to promote their candidacy on their supporter’s vehicles. .

             During this current election cycle AARP moved to push Congress to address the major issues surrounding Social Security and Medicare, gathering opinions from millions of Americans in thousands of communities across the nation. 

            “People of all ages and across party lines believe Medicare and Social Security are critical to the health and retirement security of older Americans and yet all voters are hearing from the candidates about these programs are attack ads and 30-second sound bites,” says AARP Rhode Island State Director Kathleen S. Connell. “The next President and Congress could determine the future of Social Security and Medicare. Voters want and deserve to know where the candidates stand.”

Setting the Record Straight. 

            Last March, AARP, the nation’s largest aging advocacy group and its state groups, unrolled a new initiative to educate voters about the nation’s two largest domestic programs, Social Security and Medicare and to gather their thoughts to forward to decision makers inside the Washington Beltway.  

            Following its national headquarters’ lead, AARP Rhode Island geared up its final phase of its “You’ve Earned a Say,” initiative, an effort to gather grassroots feedback from “Outside the Beltway” to bring to Congressional lawmakers as they continue their heated debates as to how to bolster the solvency of the nation’s Social Security and Medicare programs.  The educational initiative was created to fuel conversations at the state and national levels to ensure that workers in every state, who have faithfully contributed into Medicare and Social Security Programs, had a direct say in the future reforms of these programs.

            AARP Rhode Island reached out to 130,000 Rhode Island members and its Washington, DC headquarters, to nearly 40 million members to raise awareness of the “You’ve Earned a Say” initiative.  It’s website, www.earnedasay.org, provided both factual and straightforward information as to policies that are being considered and enabled a person to share their ideas with Congress and those running against Congressional incumbents, as how to strengthen these programs. 

            So far, AARP’s educational initiative brought over 3 million people into this conversation on Medicare and Social Security and held over 3,000 events.  At the local level, AARP Rhode Island staff met over 4,000 aging baby boomers and seniors who shared their concerns about the future of these programs. 

            According to Connell, AARP’s “You’ve Earned a Say” initiative was created to bring balanced information to voters — both the pros and the cons — about the policy options being debated during the upcoming Presidential and Congressional elections for both programs. 

            Earlier in this summer, AARP released a series of national surveys on the opinions of voters ages 50 and over, which found that these voters overwhelmingly think the candidates have not done a good job of explaining their plans on Social Security (67%) and Medicare (63%). Voters 50-plus – across party lines – say that getting more information on the candidates’ plans on Social Security (72%) and Medicare (70%) will help them determine their vote on Election Day on Tuesday, November 6, 2012.

            Through the reports and ongoing You’ve Earned a Say events, AARP worked hard to elevate the voices of Rhode Island voters and provide them with nonpartisan information about candidates’ positions on issues important to aging baby boomers and seniors.  In August, AARP launched the “You’ve Earned a Say: Vote for Retirement Security” 2012 Voters’ Guides featuring information from presidential, senatorial and congressional candidates – in their own words – on their own specific plans to strengthen Social Security, Medicare and financial security.

            This week, AARP Rhode Island volunteers delivered a 10 page report entitled “Rhode Islanders Have Their Say about Medicare and Social Security” to Rhode Island Members of Congress and congressional candidates.  The state-specific report conveys the opinions of over 2,100 Rhode Islanders who have participated in the AARP initiative.  National and state-specific versions of the report were also delivered to both presidential and congressional candidates in every state, as well as sitting lawmakers, so they could hear directly from their constituents about their views of how to strengthen these vital domestic programs. 

A Rhode Island Snap Shot

            Out of  2,182 respondents, 32 percent believe Social Security is “okay as is,” followed by 26 percent who only saw a need for minor fixes.    Twenty three percent of those responding believed that Congress must make major changes to the program with 19 percent seeing this domestic program in “a state of crisis.”

            As to Medicare, 26 percent of the respondents say that Medicare “is ok as is” followed by 28 believing that only minor policy fixes are need to keep it solvent.  However, a whopping 31 percent believes major changes are needed to fix Medicare, followed by 15 percent saying Medicare is in “a state of crisis.”

            Twenty eight percent say that they expect the benefits from participating in Social Security and Medicare will equal the contributions they paid while 28 percent will get less benefits.  Forty four percent believe that they might get more back from these two programs the same that they contributed.

            Thirty six percent of the respondents say that more funding is needed to maintain the same benefits while 13 percent fear that benefits will be slashed.  Forty percent expect more funding is needed to shore up the program, but expecting a cut in benefits.  Twelve percent have no opinion.

            Finally, ninety one percent of the respondents want their voice heard by Washington policy makers but 47 percent do not expect it will make a difference.  Nine percent are not interested in getting involved.

            The majority of respondents (51 percent)  called for some changes to be made now, but suggested that Congress should wait before making major changes.  They (35 percent) also believed that higher paid workers aren’t paying enough into the Social Security program and that the program should become solvent before bettered benefit are paid out (68 percent).

            Additionally, the majority (70 percent) also called for a balanced approach when making revenue and benefit changes to ensure there is retirement benefits to future retirees. Fifty five percent also supported upper income workers get higher benefits because they contributed more into the system.

            Most of the respondents (48 percent) also suggested that Congress move slow in making major changes to Medicare, only making small fixes now.   Thirty six percent  believe that the biggest challenge facing Medicare is rising health care costs.  Seventy five percent agreed that all future retirees continue to get guaranteed coverage and care as those get now.  As with Social Security, a majority (62 percent) also called for a balanced approach when making revenue and benefit changes to ensure Medicare is available to future retirees.  Forty four percent say that premiums and funding from the genera federal revenues should not be used to cover increased health care costs.

            Voting may be more difficult in this heated partisan political campaign where voters must learn to separate political rhetoric and negative innuendoes from the substance of issues.  AARP’s “You’ve Earned a Say” initiative is a successful attempt to give back power to voters, helping them become more knowledgeable about Social Security and Medicare in order to rise above negative campaigning.  Your vote must be made by understanding the facts and not be influenced by the fiction of negative attack ads.

            Herb Weiss is a Pawtucket-based freelance writer who covers aging, health care and medical issues.  He can be reached at hweissri@aol.com.

Benefits of Preplanning and Prepaying Your Funeral

 Published October 19, 2012, Pawtucket Times          

            For the past six months, City registrar Kenneth McGill juggled his increased work load preparing for the September primary and upcoming Presidential elections while taking on the role of caregiver to his elder parents.  Dividing his time between his ailing father who was afflicted with lung cancer and a blood clot in his heart, and his frail mother who has COPD, this new role added up to countless hours per day,  taking care of both parents who were recently placed in nursing facilities.   

             With the passing of his 76-year-old father just a little over a week ago, McGill, age 51, who had never planned a funeral, was now forced into an uncomfortable role of making final arrangements.  “Dad had been seriously ill for the past 6 months, and we knew what he wanted but it was never put down in writing,” noted the aging baby boomer, who acknowledged the stress of attempting to balance the cost of the funeral while ensuring that his father’s wishes were being carried out.

             Like many, McGill and his 48-year-old wife Kristen, an employee of Memorial Hospital of Pawtucket, had never made pre-paid funeral plans for their parents.  While he had heard about pre-need funeral agreements, he just never thought about doing it “probably because of denial,” he said.  “You just never think your parents are going to die.”  

             As a result of his father’s recent death, McGill will go next week to Cheetham Funeral Home to now preplan his mother’s funeral.  “This makes a lot of sense because it will ultimately take the stress off my family,” he says.

 Preplanning a Parent’s Funeral

             While my background is in the field of aging, I will admit that I also found it stressful attempting to get my elderly parents to enter pre-need funeral arrangements.  After all, my three siblings and I were only trying to give our parents the opportunity to have a say in the minute details of their final arrangements.

             For years my elderly father took care of my mother with dementia – and after numerous conversations with him about the “what if’s…”, more importantly what if mother outlives him… the day finally came that my father was willing to visit the local Dallas funeral home.   With my confused mother at his side, my father, chose their caskets like he was purchasing a new car. He checked under the lid, thoroughly examined the lining and the wood, trying to make the best decision.    Ultimately, he would not buy the cheaper model, but chose the ‘nicer one’, a littler higher up on the price list.

            Of course, my father instructed the funeral director where their services should be held and who should be presiding over the ceremony. But what type of music, vocal, or instrumental did they want played?  Or would they like a visitation service or would they like to name their pallbearers?  All good questions asked by the director that all needed answers.   These decisions might have been made right then and there on the spot, without the added stress of a loved ones’ death setting the tone, but rather ‘pre-planned’ with careful thought.  But in the end, and unfortunately for us, my father backed out. 

            My father’s experience was not the norm because most aging baby boomers make it through the stressful process of pre-planning and prepaying in advance.

Transient Society Creates Need for Preplanning Funerals

            Ted Wynne, whose family has owned the Pawtucket-based Manning Heffern Funeral Home since 1868, sees a transient society where children are living in different states, fueling the demand for preplanning and prepayment.  “Parents want to take the pressure off their children who live thousands of miles away from making the burial arrangement,” Wynne says.  “Thus, they pay up front or set aside money for future funeral and burial payments”.

            With an aging population, one or both spouses will end up in a nursing or assisted living facility, noted Wynne, a fifth generation funeral director.  Initially, the social worker will educate the prospective residents to the importance of getting an “irrevocable trust contract”, to pay for the funeral in advance.  .

            “It is pretty black and white,” adds Wynne.  “You figure out what you want, the cost, and then determine what you want to put in the contract.” For others, it may take sitting down with the funeral director to help crystallize their funeral plans, he adds. 

Prepaying a Funeral at Today’s Prices

           Bradford Bellows, Funeral director of Bellows Chapel in Lincoln, agrees with Wynne that seniors in nursing facilities are also good candidates for prepaying a funeral.

         “The family watches their parents’ funds dwindle to a point where they are forced to go on Medicaid.”  Prior to being eligible for Medicaid, the older parent or their children should prepay the funeral costs.  Assets given to the funeral home are allowed to be given under Medicaid eligibility guidelines prior to going on Medicaid.

            “Consumers must understand that prearranging a funeral is not the same as prepaying for one,” Bellows adds, whose family has been in the funeral business in the BlackstoneValley for 191 years.

            “By pre-paying a funeral you are actually paying for a funeral at today’s prices, not tomorrow’s”, Bellow says.  “If the funeral occurs in the future, the funds will earn interest which will be used to pay for the cost of the funeral at the time of death.”

            Bellows, a funeral director for 40 years, offers these tips when pre-paying your funeral:

            First, make sure that your Social Security number is indicated on our savings account or insurance policy where the monies are placed to prepay your funeral.  If the funeral home ever goes out of business or goes bankrupt, the funds are still yours and are safe, and can easily be transferred to another funeral home.

            Second, when you enroll in the Medicaid program, all the funds in your prepayment account must be used. Any excess funds will be returned by the funeral home the State of Rhode Island, to defray health costs incurred by the OceanState’s Medicaid program.

            Finally, once the funeral home opens the account or insurance policy, don’t forget to get a copy of the Irrevocable Funeral Trust Agreement, showing the bank or credit union account number or the original insurance policy that was issued.  This will give you proof that your advance payment has been set up for your funeral needs..

Make an Educated Decision

            Life Insurance agent Christine Miller, a preplanning funding specialist at Pawtucket-based Lachapelle Funeral Home and a grief counselor at Beacon Hospice, notes that preplanning and prepayment for a funeral can reduce family stress. “Knowing your loved ones final wishes and not having the financial burden of a funeral can provide relief during a very difficult time, she added.

            According to Miller, it is not uncommon to have individuals to call weekly to preplan their funerals. “Many people are surprised that at Lachapelle Funeral Home they can make small monthly payments rather than one lump sum and still have their funeral guaranteed,” she noted.

            Miller stresses the importance of doing your home work in determining which prepayment option is best for you. “There use to be a loyalty to funeral homes but in these times people should shop around, talk to people with the goal of making an educated decision.”

            For consumer tips on planning and prepaying a funeral, go to http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/products/pro19.shtm.

            Herb Weiss is a Pawtucket-based freelance writer who covers aging, health care and medical issues.  He can be reached at hweissri@aol.com.