GOP Congress to Target Spending
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Republican majority set to take over the House this week is planning to slash government spending by tens of billions of dollars in the next few months, starting with a motion to repeal Obama’s health care law, which is not expected to pass the Democrat-majority Senate. Republicans will also introduce a measure to cut $25 million from the cost of operating the House itself, as well as a “recissions” package that will eliminate previously approved domestic spending of federal funds. Incoming GOP Congress members have consistently stated that their one priority this session is to cut spending.
Florida Governor Reassessing Public Hospitals
Florida’s Governor-elect, Rick Scott, has recommended creating a panel to study whether government-owned hospitals are necessary, The Miami Herald reports. Because the state did not fulfill its promised Medicaid reforms, Florida could lose $350 million in Lower Income Pool funds from the government, which are critical to public hospitals like Miami-Dade’s Jackson Health System. But Jackson’s history of financial and administrative issues shows that the government cannot be trusted to spend taxpayers’ money, according to business lobbyist Barney Bishop. Health Care Committee Chairman Alan Levine said that reassessing the role of government hospitals is important as large “safety net” hospitals around the country are converting from federal ownership to nonprofit status.
Barbara Mikulski Longest-Serving Female Senator in History
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) this week is set to become the longest serving female senator in US history, according to The Hill. She was first elected to the upper chamber in 1986. Mikulski, who has long been an advocate for women’s health and reproductive rights issues, will surpass Margaret Chase Smith (R-Maine), who served for 24 years. Should she remain in office through March 2012, Mikulski will become the longest-serving female member in the history of Congress.
Andrew Cuomo Plans One-Year Freeze for State Workers
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will seek a one-year salary freeze for union workers as part of an emergency financial plan, The New York Times reports. The freeze will follow the New Year’s Eve layoffs of more than 900 state workers and will give Cuomo a chance to negotiate with government employees as the public continues to grow wary of them. Budget savings from a freeze are projected to be between $200 million and $400 million, which Citizens Budget Commission Vice President Elizabeth Lynam said would serve as a “beginning” to target public employee and organized labor benefits.
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.