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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 2011)
opinion Alzheimer’s Disease: It’s Time “challenging people to Shape a better Future now” b ernie F oSter Founder/Publisher b obbie D ore F oSter executive editor t eD b ankS advertising Manager J erry F oSter account executive l iSa l oving news editor h elen S ilviS Multimedia editor D aviD k iDD graphic Designer m onica J. F oSter Seattle office Coordinator J ulie k eeFe S uSan F rieD Photographers The Skanner Newspaper, established in October 1975, is a weekly publica- tion, published each Wednesday by IMM Publications Inc., 415 N. Killingsworth St., P.O. Box 5455, Portland, OR 97228. Telephone (503) 285-5555. E-mail: info@theskanner.com World Wide Web site: http://www.theskanner.com Fax: (503) 285-2900 the Skanner is a member of the National Newspaper Pub lishers Association and West Coast Black Pub - lishers Association. All photos submitted become the property of the Skanner. We are not re - spon sible for lost or damaged photos either solicited or unsolicited. © 2011 the Skanner. ALL RIGHTS RE SERVED. REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART WITHOUT PERMISSION PROHIBITED. knowing what’s important can change your life! Subscribe to The Skanner – don’t miss an issue! please sign me up for: q 1 year $74 q 2 year $140 q New Subscription q Renewal ________________________ name _________________ address _________________ city _________________ State ______ Zip ________ phone Mail with check or money order to: The Skanner P.O. Box 5455 Portland, OR 97228 E very 69 seconds, someone in America develops Alzheimer’s disease. Currently there are an estimated 5.4 million Americans with Alzheimer’s, which could grow to 16 million by 2050. In Oregon, about 76,000 people have Alzheimer’s, as well as over 162,000 unpaid family caregivers. For these caregivers, increased stress leads to more health prob- lems, time providing care leads to less time for work, family or their own interests, and many are finan- cially devastated. As the boomers turn 65 and we continue to see the rate of Alzheimer’s increasing, we will be facing a crisis. We need to take action now to avert this crisis. We need to set a goal for where we want to be and then determine how best to get there. If we don’t do this, we will see insurance rates skyrocket, Medicare and Medicaid drained, and millions more families suffer- ing needlessly. There is some good news. Plans are being created to address the Alzheimer’s crisis at both the national and Oregon levels. Congress unanimously passed the National Alzheimer’s Project Act last year, which requires the cre- ation of a national plan for Alzheimer’s. This effort is up and running, and people can provide input and follow the progress by p ublic h ealth Jon Bartholomew going to napa.alz.org. Here in Oregon, the Alzheimer’s Association is partnering with state legislators, non-profit organi- care and services to people living with Alzheimer’s and their fami- lies. In short, this plan is to make Oregon “dementia ready”. November is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, but I’d ask you to be more than aware – be active and engaged. There will be a town hall meeting November is National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, but I’d ask you to be more than aware – be active and engaged zations, government agencies, sci- entific and academic researchers, memory care providers, individual via telephone on November 10th to gather public input on what should be in the Oregon plan for We know we can solve major puzzles when we devote resources to them... Now is the time for us to turn our attention to Alzheimer’s caregivers, and others to craft a “State Plan for Alzheimer’s Disease in Oregon”. This plan will help ensure effective and efficient Alzheimer’s. If you RSVP on the Alzheimer’s Association website (www.alz.org/oregon) or by call- ing 503-416-0202, you can be connected to this town hall call to provide your input on what you think needs to be done to fight Alzheimer’s and ensure quality care and services for people impacted by it. In these tough times, we know that government budgets and fam- ily budgets are stretched thin. We believe that together we can meet the needs of people impacted by Alzheimer’s while saving money. More funding for research now can save billions of dollars in costs in the future. Effective training programs for caregivers can lead to fewer doctor visits for them. Better coordination of services will save taxpayers money. These are all things that can and should be part of the national and state plans for Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is the next big pub- lic health issue to tackle. As a soci- ety, we need to come together, dis- cuss the issues openly, and make sure we’re prepared to deal with it. We know we can solve major puz- zles when we devote resources to them, like sending a man to the moon or finding effective treat- ments for AIDS. Now is the time for us to turn our attention to Alzheimer’s. Jon Bartholomew is Public Policy Director of the alzheimer’s association oregon Chapter Who’s Watching the Supercommittee? W hen President Obama signed the Budget Control Act of 2011, he committed our nation to a budget- cutting process that may well be cumbersome. The “Super commit - tee”, or the Joint Select Committee on Budget Reduction, has a hard timeline of Nov. 23 to propose some $1.5 trillion in cuts. If Congress does not pass the Supercommittee proposals, then an automatic trigger will cut the budget across the board by about nine percent. I suppose the thinking behind creating the Supercommittee, composed of six Democrats and six Republicans, is that 12 minds are better than 535. The size of the committee may also make it easier for lobbyists: According to Politico, more than 200 lobbyists are pressuring Supercommittee members to protect their interests. Who will protect the interests of young people, especially those who attend HBCUs? Already, stu- dents have been hard hit by budg- et machinations. Beginning July 1, 2012, students will no longer receive an interest subsidy on their undergraduate and graduate stu- dent loans. Before now, while studying, student loans were inter- est-free, with interest kicking in only when they began repayment. No more. That will save about $18 billion in the next decade, but at what cost? It is ironic that on one hand, President Obama wants our nation to again lead the world in the percentage of people who are college graduates, and at the same time, yet another hurdle is being imposed on those who want to go to college. page 4 The Portland Skanner october 26, 2011 b ennett c ollege Julianne Malveaux For now, it appears that the Pell Grant of $5,500 for low-income students remains intact. However, the Supercommittee is looking for places to cut, and they are looking everywhere. Absent lobbyists, we will all have to lobby to protect the Democrats on the Supercommit tee. However, will they be able to withstand both the Republican zeal to reduce the size of government or the automatic triggers that will take place if the Super committee can’t find com- promise? It is also likely that Title III funding, which is specifically tar- geted to HBCUs, will be on the chopping block. Earlier this month several UNCF presidents met with members of the Congressional Black Caucus to talk about ways that Title III money can be protected. Those It is ironic that on one hand, President Obama wants our nation to again lead the world in the percentage of people who are college graduates, and at the same time, yet another hurdle is being imposed on those who want to go to college students who do not have the resources of the health care indus- try, legal associations, and those other 200 crowding Capital Hill. To be sure, many of the Supercommittee members are committed to education. Congressman James Clyburn (D- SC), for example, is the only Congressional Black Caucus member on the Supercommittee. He has long been a friend of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). He is like- ly to find allies among other who care about HBCUs must lobby not only CBC members and Congressional Representatives in areas where HBCUs are located, but also any and every voter, espe- cially those on the Supercommittee. The Committee is co-chaired by Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Congressman Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), and includes Senators Max Baucus (D- MT), John Kerry (D-MA), John Kyle (R-AZ), Rob Portman (R- OH), and Pat Toomey (R-PA). Congressional representatives include Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Jim Clyburn (D-SC) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Fred Upton (R-MI) and David Camp (R-MI). When you scour the headlines, you won’t find much written about the Supercommittee, even though they are in the throes of meetings and negotiations. We can expect Democrats to protect entitlements and Republicans to resist tax increases, and these are sure ingre- dients for an impasse. When the Supercommittee was formed crit- ics from both the left and the right talked about the possibility of it deadlocking, as in order to attain a simple majority, somebody will have to cross party lines. The last time we faced a budget impasse, we ended up with a reduction in our Standard and Poor’s rating from AAA to AA+. When it cut our nation’s rating, S&P said their prognosis for the long-term fiscal health of the United States was “poor”. The Supercommittee may well be out of the news, but it should not be off our radar screen. The dozen members are making deci- sions that will have long-term con- sequences. They may well decide to tackle aspects of our tax struc- ture, and they will certainly decide to cut some, if not all, federal pro- grams. We must all ensure that the Supercommittee will not reduce the deficit on the backs of the poor and the powerless, especially our students. Julianne Malveaux is President of Bennett College for women in greensboro, nC.
