Blog
November 02, 2016
November 2016 Newsletter: Special Election Edition
Fellow NCARA members, I hope this message finds you well and ready for the election. We’ve been working hard to advocate for the candidates that will best represent our interests. Generally speaking, we stand with those that stand with us. I’ve had the opportunity to meet and speak with Roy Cooper and Deborah Ross. These folks understand our issues.
If we elect Roy Cooper, he will move to accept Medicaid expansion and bring our federal tax dollars home so that lower income folks can have health coverage. Also, jobs in the health care field will be created. Rural hospitals won’t be forced to close their doors, as the influx of patients to the emergency room will be minimized.
If we elect Deborah Ross, she will support Social Security improvements by raising the cap on SS payroll taxes. Right now SS payroll taxes do not increase when one makes more than $118,500 for a year. This cap should be eliminated or raised significantly. She will work to insure that Social Security is strengthened or expanded. There is just no way to compare Deborah with her opponent. Senator Burr has voted against our interests frequently enough to earn a 3% lifetime rating from the ARA.
Candidate for Lieutenant Governor Linda Coleman will help Roy Cooper implement his progressive agenda and will steer discussion in the committees she will sit on to our issues. All in all, we have a real chance to reverse the negative trend of the last few years.
Elsewhere in the newsletter there are photos which demonstrate just how busy your board, officers and our organizer Heather Mc Laughlin have been over the summer. We also signed up 4 new affiliates. We are continuing to improve our fundraising efforts. If you would like to contribute, go to the “Donate now” button on our website. Let’s activate and celebrate on November 9th!
For Immediate Release
October 12, 2016
Contact: David Blank, (202) 637-5275 or dblank@retiredamericans.org
Seniors Group Endorses Deborah Ross for U.S. Senate
Members of the Alliance for Retired Americans proudly announced their endorsement of Deborah Ross for election to the U.S. Senate from North Carolina on a tele-town hall conference call with the candidate Tuesday.
“Deborah Ross has been a leader on retiree issues from Social Security to Medicare,” said Bill Dworkin, President of the North Carolina Alliance for Retired Americans. “As a senator, she can be trusted to work to ensure that we expand our earned Social Security benefits.”
The activist organization cited former state Rep. Ross’s strong commitment to improve the quality of life for older Americans as a state legislator and her leadership in the fight to protect and expand Social Security and Medicare for current and future generations.
In contrast, her opponent Sen. Richard Burr has supported measures that would force cuts to Social Security and privatize Medicare, shift health care costs to seniors, and raise the age for Medicare eligibility. He has earned a lifetime pro-retiree score of just 4% on the Alliance for Retired Americans Congressional Voting Record.
“Senator Burr pushed to replace guaranteed, earned Social Security benefits with private, risk-based accounts. Deborah Ross knows that Social Security needs to be strengthened and expanded, not cut or privatized. The typical benefit received by a retired worker in North Carolina was $15,731 in 2015. That’s even less than minimum wage. We must fight any efforts to cut our earned benefit by electing the right leaders,” added Dworkin.
The Alliance for Retired Americans represents over 4.4 million retirees and community activists, including more than 47,000 members in North Carolina.
