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- 2025 Leg Talking points | PSARA
PSARA Talking Points (03/13/25 Update) Lobby Day Training Page Healthcare PSARA believes that comprehensive, affordable, accessible, and culturally appropriate health care is a fundamental human right. Highest Priority: SJM 8002 (Hasagawa), Urge Congress to Level the Playing Field between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Status: Passed Senate 30-19. Hearing House Healthcare and Wellness March 21, 8:00 a.m. Sponsors: Hasagawa, Chapman, Stanford, Trudeau, Valde Medicare is a core part of our health care system, especially for seniors, but is in danger. Investors and private insurance companies are taking advantage of lax rules in the Medicare Advantage part of the program to increase profits and drive up costs – too often by limiting or denying access to needed care. Improving benefits in Original Medicare, the public part of the program, and cracking down on fraud and abuse in private Medicare Advantage programs will save billions in taxpayer money and strengthen our whole healthcare system. 1.5 million Washington residents are Medicare beneficiaries. When first enrolling, people must choose between Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage. Original Medicare has many advantages: beneficiaries can choose almost any doctor or hospital, and rarely experience delays or denials due to prior authorization requirements. However, Original Medicare has a 20% co-pay with no cap, so many purchase supplemental insurance which averages over $200 per month. · Medicare Advantage (MA) is private, usually for-profit insurance that has significantly lower monthly premiums than Original Medicare plus supplemental insurance, making it seem more attractive. But its plans have limited provider networks, often require prior authorization, and can end up being very costly for people needing extensive care. · Many seniors opt for MA plans, especially those with limited incomes, disproportionately people of color. However, when they face a complex problem like cancer or a stroke, many discover the doctor or hospital they want is out of network, and insu rance gatekeepers frequently delay or deny prescribed care, potentially causing serious harm. · Medicare Advantage insurers take significantly more money per beneficiary from the Medicare Trust Fund than Original Medicare, because they do their own risk assessment on each beneficiary and bill the Medicare Trust Fund upfront. Government and academic studies estimate that overpayments through upcoding, fraud and other abuses cost Medicare between $85 billion to $140 billion annually. SB 5291 (Conway): Strengthening WA Cares Act, by implementing the recommendations of the Long-term Services and Supports Trust Commission. Status: Passed Senate 38-31. Sponsors: Senators Conway, Saldaña, Cleveland, Frame, Nobles, Stanford, Valdez, C. Wilson; Reps.(HB 1415) Macri, Tharinger, Reed, Fey, Ormsby, Hill Washington took the lead in creating the first public long term care program in the country to address the growing crisis in elder care. As with any major program, continuing improvements are required. The substitute bill strengthens the program by adjusting provisions for workers who move out of state, providing automatic exemptions for military, and launching a pilot for supplemental insurance. The vast majority of people do not purchase private long term care insurance because it is expensive and too often cannot be relied on at the point when someone needs care. WA voters showed their support of WA Care by voting down the 2024 initiative to undermine the program (I-2124). S JM 8004 (Hasagawa): Requests that the federal government create a universal health care program or allow Washington State to implement one. Status: Passed Senate 30-19. Hearing House Healthcare and Wellness March 21, 8:00 a.m. Sponsors: Senators Hasegawa, Bateman, Lovelett, Nobles, Stanford, Trudeau, Valdez and Wellman. Despite gains in coverage, too many Washingtonians are struggling to both access and afford health care as premiums rise in the commercial health insurance market. Inadequate coverage and medical costs are the largest contributors to bankruptcies. Universal health care coverage will improve the health of our whole community. We must bring everybody in and leave nobody out of this basic right to health care. Workoers Rights PSARA supports legislation that promotes healthy families and workplaces. HB 1213 (Berry): Provides job protection for all workers using Paid Family & Medical Leave benefits. Status: Passed House 55-41. Sponsors: HB 1213 - Representatives Berry, Fosse, Reed, Obras, Fitzgibbon, Alvarado, Mena, Macri, Ryu, Farivar, Doglio, Simmons, Peterson, Street, Wylie, Pollet, Ormsby, Lekanoff, Salahuddin and Hill. SB 5539 - Senators Alvarado, Stanford, Frame, Nobles, Riccelli, Slatter, Trudeau, Valdez and C. Wilson. Washington had the best PFML program in the country when first passed. Since benefits began in 2020, hundreds of thousands of Washington workers and families have benefitted from parental leave, time to heal from surgeries or recover from cancer, and time to be with loved ones during health crises. But only about half of workers are guaranteed their jobs will be protected and health insurance will continue during their leaves. Low wage workers and workers of color are most at risk of being forced back to work too early in order to keep their jobs. Now job protection only covers those in companies with 50+ workers who have been in their jobs at least a year and worked at least 1250 hours in the previous year. This bill changes that to all workers who have been with their employer at least 90 days. Nine of the 13 other states with programs include job protections for most workers. The bill expands the small business grant program to cover health insurance premiums for employees out on PFML in companies with fewer than 50 employees. The bill also reduces the minimum claim from 8 to 4 consecutive hours and incorporates additional employer protections concerning coordination with FMLA requested by the business community. A broad coalition of labor, senior, health, and community groups support the bill. The Association of Washington Business (AWB) and other major business groups are neutral on the substitute bill, although a few business groups oppose. SB 5041 (Riccelli) Extends unemployment benefits to striking workers. Status: Passed Senate 28-21. Hearing House Labor and Workplace Standards 3-18 10:30 a.m. Sponsors: Senators Riccelli, Conway, Hasegawa, Saldaña, Salomon, Stanford, Dhingra, Nobles, Trudeau, Valdez, Bateman, Lovelett, Cleveland, Frame, Orwall, Pedersen, Slatter, Wellman and C. Wilson This bill would allow striking and locked out workers to collected unemployment insurance after 2 weeks out of work. UI provides a vital safety net for working families and their communities, allowing them to cover basic necessities. This bill will help level the balance of power between workers negotiating in good faith for fair working conditions and their better resourced employers, especially for lower wage workers. Most strikes are resolved quickly, within 2 weeks. Only 7 strikes in the past decade would have qualified, so the bill will have minimal impact on the UI trust fund. HB 1214 (Thai)/SB 5768 (Saldana): Expands eligibility for the Working Families' Tax Credit to include people 18 years of age or older. Status: SB 5768 Dead. HB 1214 Sponsors: Representatives Thai, Reed, Shavers, Farivar, Simmons, Pollet, Lekanoff and Scott. SB 5768 Sponsors: Senators Saldaña, Cleveland, Cortes, Dhingra, Frame, Krishnadasan, Nobles, Riccelli, Slatter, Stanford, Trudeau, Valdez and Wilson, C. Background: In 2021, the Legislature established the Working Families Tax Credit (WFTC) Program, based in part on the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Program. It provides a refundable credit for retail sales or use tax paid by low-to-moderate income Washington residents who meet certain eligibility requirements. Under current law, to be eligible one must be over 24 years old, but under 65 years of age, or have a qualifying child. How does eligibility change under the proposed legislation? Expands eligibility for the Working Families' Tax Credit to include people 18 years of age or older without regard to filing with a qualifying child. For seniors still working, this is a critically significant benefit. Housing and Homelessness PSARA supports keeping people housed, building more low-income housing, and preventing homelessness in the firs place. HB 1217 (Macri)/ SB 5222 (Trudeau): provides renters and manufactured homeowners with predictability over their housing costs by limiting annual rent increases to no more than 7% a year. Status: HB 1217 Passed House 53-42 Senate Hearing Housing 3-19 1:30 p.m. HB 1217 (Macri) Sponsors: Representatives Macri, Ramel, Peterson, Berry, Mena, Thai, Reed, Obras, Farivar, Parshley, Ortiz-Self, Cortes, Duerr, Street, Berg, Taylor, Fitzgibbon, Doglio, Timmons, Tharinger, Fosse, Gregerson, Simmons, Wylie, Pollet, Kloba, Nance, Davis, Ormsby, Lekanoff, Berquist, Scott, Stonier, Hill SB 5222 (Trudeau) Sponsors: Senators Trudeau, Chapman, Bateman, Conway, Frame, Hasegawa, Lovelett, Nobles, Orwell, Pedersen, Riccelli, Robinson, Saldana, Slatter, Stanford, Valdez, Wilson, C. Why is rent stabilization needed? Washington is already one of the most expensive rental markets in the country, and many tenants receive excessive rent increases even while landlords are not performing basic repairs. Black, Indigenous, and other people of color households in Washington are disproportionately renters. In addition, data from the Census Bureau Pulse Survey in 2024 showed that Black renters in Washington receive higher rent increases than other demographic groups. Advancing tenant protections like rent stabilization is critical to address the housing needs of BIPOC households. Evictions continue to rise on a year-over-year basis, with several parts of our state seeing higher eviction rates than before the pandemic. Rent increases are a key driver of evictions and homelessness. HB 1491 (Reed) promotes transit-oriented housing development. Status: Passed House 58-39. Senate Hearing Housing 3-14 1:30 p.m. Sponsors: Representatives Reed, Richards, Berry, Duerr, Cortes, Doglio, Ryu, Fitzgibbon, Alvarado, Davis, Ramel, Parshley, Mena, Peterson, Nance, Macri, Fosse, Kloba, Ormsby, Scott. HB 1491 Requires cities planning under the Growth Management Act to allow new residential and mixed-use development within a station area at certain transit-oriented development densities. Establishes affordability requirements and authorizes a 20-year property tax exemption for residential and mixed-use buildings constructed within a station area. Why is HB 1491 needed? This bill addresses the urgent need for housing by making it possible to build new and denser housing around the most used transit assets. Transit oriented development will help the state add significantly more homes while reducing sprawl, cutting pollution, and making communities more affordable to a range of incomes. Climate and Environmental Justice PSARA supports the right of all people to live and work in a clean and healthy environment. HB 1150 (Berry) /SB 5284 (Lovelett) improves Washington’s solid waste management program. Status: SB 5284 Passed Senate 27-22. House Hearing Energy 3-17 1:30 p.m. HB 1150 Sponsors: Representatives Berry, Donaghy, Ryu, Ramel, Farivar, Mena, Alvarado, Duerr, Reed, Fitzgibbon, Callan, Macri, Doglio, Fosse, Simmons, Street, Pollet, Kloba, Nance, Davis, Ormsby, Salahuddin and Hill. SB 5284 Sponsors: Senators Lovelett, Shewmake, Nobles, Bateman, Salomon, Saldaña, Stanford, Wilson, C., Frame, Pedersen, Hasegawa, Liias, Orwall, Slatter and Valdez. Background: In 2021, the Legislature established minimum recycled content requirements applicable to three categories of plastic products or products in plastic containers: trash bags, household and personal care product containers, and plastic beverage containers. Producers subject to minimum postconsumer recycling content (PCRC) requirements were required to register with Ecology and pay fees to cover Ecology's administrative costs related to minimum recycled content standards beginning in 2022. What improvements do the bills make? Establishes an extended producer responsibility program for covered packaging and paper products. Requires producers of covered packaging and paper products to join a producer responsibility organization. Specifies requirements related to planning, funding, enforcement, and outcomes for the program. Budget and Fiscal Reform PSARA supports a state budget that is transparent, pays a living wage to state workers, and provides services that help our people, economy, and environment thrive. New progressive sources of revenue are essential to prevent devastating cuts to programs that keep people across Washington housed, fed, and healthy. Please don’t pass a budget that further harms the very people already struggling and undermines our children’s future. We can make our tax system and state stronger now and in the long run by finally asking the very wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes. The legislature must pass a new 2-year for the biennium that starts July 1, 2025, but the state faces a multi-billion dollar shortfall due to inflation, increased caseloads, and slower tax revenue growth. Possible cuts include sharp reductions in health care affordability and access, fewer kids in childcare and preschool, furloughs for state employees, less support for foodbanks and housing, and cuts to almost all state programs, including senior services. The all-cuts budget of 2009 harmed the health and well-being of Washingtonians for years, and made our families and communities less prepared and resilient for the devastation of the COVID pandemic. The influx of federal funds and the strong, forward-looking budgets passed by our legislature during the early stages of the pandemic helped get our people and state through that crisis. Washington’s tax system is highly regressive, with low- and moderate- income Washingtonians paying at far higher rates than the wealthy. Small businesses also pay higher rates than large profitable corporations. Continued growth in economic inequality helps feed the state budget crisis. Possible new revenue sources include: HB 1319 Wealth Tax (Street) Creates a 1% tax on financial assets (stocks and bonds) over $100 million. Sponsors: Reps. Street, Macri, Ormsby (Office of Fiscal Management request legislation, requested by Gov. Inslee) Wealth inequality is skyrocketing, while our state struggles to fund educational opportunity, health care, and basic services. Middle class Washingtonians pay annual property taxes on their most significant asset – their home – while the main financial assets of billionaires and mega-millionaires go untaxed. A modest 1% tax on financial assets such as stocks and bonds would allow for ample funding of public education, childcare and early learning, higher education, and provide the services that will allow all our people to thrive. In previous sessions, the Dept. of Revenue estimated that a similar wealth tax proposed by Sen. Frame and Rep. Thai would raise up to $4.5 billion annually. This new tax would make Washington’s highly regressive tax system more fair. HB 1839 (Reed) Creating equity in high tech tax by removing the cap. Sponsors: Reps Reed, Pollet, Berg, Parshley, Scott, Ormsby and Hill. This bill will help stave off devastating cuts to education and vital public services, and make Washington’s tax system less regressive by asking our biggest and most wealthy corporations to pay a little more. The bill eliminates an arbitrary cap of $9 million for high tech companies with worldwide gross revenues over $25 billion in the advanced computing surcharge. The Dept. of Revenue estimates the bill will add $231 million in the 2025-27 biennium, and $404 million in 2027-29. Revenue from the advanced computing surcharge is dedicated to the Workforce Education Investment Account.
- PSARA Letter to the Washington State Congressional Delegation | PSARA Retiree Advocate
PSARA Letter to the Washington State Congressional Delegation RE: The US National Climate Assessment Report Hold Hearings to shine a light on the Trump Administration's attempt to block the report. In the Advocate August 2025: PSARA Letter to the Washington State Congressional Delegation July 12, 2025 TO: Washington US Representatives and Washington Senators in the US Congress RE: The US National Climate Assessment Report The National Climate Assessment (NCA) is the US government’s preeminent report on climate change in the United States. It was set into law by the US Congress in 1990 and there have been five reports since then, released every four years. Although the National Climate Assessment is required by Congress, in April, the Trump administration announced it was canceling funding for the US Global Change Research Program, which coordinates the report. All the authors working on the upcoming Sixth National Climate Assessment, set for release in 2028, were also dismissed. The US Global Change Research Program's website was taken offline, along with all five editions of the National Climate Assessment and a wide range of information detailing how human- amplified climate change is impacting the United States. The most recent assessment, NCA5, was released in 2023. The report lays out the basic science of climate change, examines how climate change will affect 17 national-level topics, and includes 10 regional chapters covering the entire United States. The national reports are not only peer reviewed by other scientists, but examined for accuracy by the National Academy of Sciences, federal agencies, the staff and the public. The NCA gives close attention to current and future risks, how those risks can be reduced, and implications for society under different future scenarios. The most recent report, issued in 2023, included an interactive atlas that zoomed down to the county level. This lets Americans explore the impacts of climate change in their own back yards. Counties, cities, and states find it useful in planning future needs and in devel- oping budgets. Local officials say the report has helped them decide about upcoming needs - whether to raise roads, build seawalls and even move hospital generators from basements to roofs. Climate change is affecting people’s security, health and livelihoods in every corner of the country in different ways, with minority and Native American communities often disproportionately at risk. All of these reports have been taken offline by the Trump administration as of July 1. This is part of the cutback and cancellation of any work on climate change. The effect of this foolish ac- tion was brutally clear when over 100 people were swept away in the flash flood on Guadalupe River in Central Texas on July 4. Climate change will continue to make storms stronger and fires larger and faster moving. Thousands more will die from these catastrophic events. We need more resources focused on prevention and mitigation and we need them now! What specific actions are you taking to protect people and infra- structure from extreme weather events caused by climate change? We want to see public meetings and congressional hearings on this subject. It impacts the entire country. The hearings should include scientists and experts who provided the analysis for past NCA reports and those who used this critical data for planning and public health and safety at the state level. We are calling on you, our Washington State Representatives and Senators to the US Congress, to restore the National Climate Assessment as directed by congress in 1990. BACK TO THE ADVOCATE
- 2026 Leg Session | PSARA
Bills PSARA Supported During 2026 Legislative Session (Final outcome for Bills supported by PSARA) PSARA is a multi-generational grass roots organization advocating for all people, and seniors in particular, being able to live their lives with economic security, dignity, and respect. Listed Below are the Bills supported by PSARA and their 2026 Legislative outcome. Thank you to all who support PSARA’s work. Healthcare PSARA believes that comprehensive, affordable, accessible, and culturally appropriate health care is a fundamental human right. Promote Leveling the Playing Field in Medicare, SJM 8002 : Passed Protect against healthcare program cuts and advance immigrant health equity and food security (budget) Creating an apple health employer assessment.SB 6173 : Dead Making improvements to transparency and accountability in the prior authorization determination process (Regulate the use of Prior Authorization in healthcare decisions,) SB 5395 /HB 1566: 5395 Passed Climate and Environmental Justice PSARA supports the right of all people to live and work in a clean and healthy environment. Divest Washington State Investment Board funds from fossil fuels, No Coal Act SB 5439 : Dead Increase environmental justice by improving government decisions, Curb Act HB 1303 / [NS1] SB 5380 : Dead Removing a tax exemption for the replacement of equipment for data centers.. SB 6231 / HB 2708 : 6231 Passed PSARA opposes the following four bills: Integrating Advanced Nuclear Energy into the State Energy Strategy HB 2090 / SB 5821 : Dead Authorizing certain public entities to contract for the capability of renewable or non emitting electric generation projects HB 2103 / SB6004 : Dead Fiscal Reform and Revenue PSARA supports a state budget that is transparent, pays a living wage to state workers, and provides services that help our people, economy, and environment thrive. Millionaire Tax SB 6346 : Passed Well Washington Fund. HB 2100 / SB 6093 : Dead Housing and Homelessness PSARA supports keeping people housed, building more low-income housing, and preventing homelessness in the first place. Workers’ Rights and Economic Justice PSARA supports legislation that promotes healthy families and workplaces. Creating a wage replacement program for certain Washington workers excluded from unemployment insurance. SB 5626 /HB 1773 : Dead Expand Working Families Tax Credit, Expanding eligibility for the working families' tax credit to everyone age 18 and older.HB 1214 /SB 5768 : Incorporated in Millionaires tax bill Concerning the Washington future fund pilot project.(Baby Bonds) HB 1661 /SB 5541 : Dead Provide greater security to Washington workers against ICE practices on the job (Concerning immigrant worker protections.Act) SB5852 /HB 2105 : 2105 Passed Placing agricultural employees under the jurisdiction of the public employment relations commission for the purpose of collective bargaining.SB 6045 /HB 2409 : Dead Community Safety and Justice PSARA supports legislation that promotes community safety and justice for all of our community members. Concerning the use of face coverings by law enforcement officers. (Ensure proper identification of law enforcement -No Secret Police Act) SB5855 /HB 2173 : 5855 Passed Concerning driver privacy protections. HB2332 /SB6002 : 2322 Passed
- 07251 Wheeler Reading | PSARA
In the Advocate July 2025: Tim Wheeler Tim Wheeler Reads From His Latest Book No Power Greater: The Life & Times of George A. Meyers Saturday, July 26, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. WSLC Offices, 321 16th Avenue S, Seattle Please join PSARA and our own Tim Wheeler for the Washington state debut of Tim’s latest book, No Power Greater: The Life &Times of George A. Meyers. Tim will read from the book, take questions and comments, and also lead us in song with his trusty autoharp. Copies of No Power Greater will be available for purchase. Tim has generously offered to donate all proceeds from book sales at this event to PSARA. The Retiree Advocate published a review of the book in our May issue. To read the review, go to PSARA.org, click “Newsletter,” then “Advocate Archives,” and search for “202505 May Advocate.” The remainder of this article is an excerpt from this fascinating book: A couple of days before Christmas, 1941, the Maryland Council of the CIO met at a convention in Baltimore. The nation was reeling from the December 7 sneak attack on Pearl Harbor two weeks earlier by Imperial Japan; the US was suddenly plunged into war. Yet even so, sharp partisan politics intruded when the industrial union leaders met in Baltimore. John T. Jones, a leader of the United Mine Workers, had quit as President of the Maryland- DC branch of the CIO. He was following the lead of UMW President, John L. Lewis… John L. Lewis was furious at FDR for rejecting his appeal that he supports the steelworkers in the 1937 “Little Steel” strike marked by the infamous massacre by Chicago police of steel union strikers. Lewis was so angry at FDR that one week before the November 1940 presidential election, Lewis urged union workers to vote for Republican Wendell Wilkie. Lewis vowed that he would resign as CIO President if Roosevelt was reelected. The overwhelming majority of union workers rejected Lewis’ appeal and Roosevelt won in a landslide. Lewis followed through, announcing his resignation as President of the CIO, pulling the UMW out of the CIO. All UMW leaders who held leadership posts in the CIO, including Jones, also resigned. George was chosen unanimously to replace Jones. George Meyers said of his election to lead the Maryland-DC CIO: To my great surprise, at the Council convention…I was unanimously proposed to succeed him. Need- less to say, I was both surprised and honored but only agreed to run if the convention elected an African American as one of our vice presidents. It did, and Joe Neal, a leader of the Steel Local at Sparrows Point near Baltimore, became the first black officer of the Maryland-DC Council. George A. Meyers gave unstinting leadership to the Maryland-DC CIO during his two-year tenure as President. His highest priority was to build labor support for the war effort. For him defeating fascism and organizing unorganized workers were two sides of the same coin... Equally high on the CIO agenda was fighting Jim Crow exclusion of African American workers at plants like Glen L. Martin, Fairchild Aircraft, Beth Steel, the shipyards, and all other jobs in Maryland. Along with fighting racist hiring practices, the CIO demanded equal hiring and equal pay for women workers BACK TO THE ADVOCATE
- Hospital Medicare Advantage | PSARA
Medicare Advantage takes advantage of Seniors by limiting care and drains our Medicare Fund for private company profit. Hospitals dropping Medicare Advantage because of concerns with patient care Many of you who have followed the challenges faced by Medicare in the last few years are familiar with the reporting of Diane Archer and her Just Care website . Diane brings us this report on how hospital networks are refusing to admit patients who are in Medicare Advantage. These hospitals have concerns with the quality of care the Medicare Advantage insurance companies are willing to provide. Diane has suggested a helpful action would be to contact Senator Wyden’s office (202-224-5244), as chair of Senate Finance Committee, which oversees Medicare, as well as your representatives. Ask them to intervene to ensure that insurers offering Medicare Advantage do not endanger access to hospital care. Karen Richter Co President PSARA Diane Archer Just Care August 16, 2023 St. Charles Health System, a large hospital system in central Oregon likely will not continue to participate in Medicare Advantage, reports KTVZ.com. The hospital system’s leaders are concerned about patient care in Medicare Advantage. People with Medicare who want to know they have access to the best hospitals, including access to cancer centers of excellence, should switch to traditional Medicare. St. Charles is not alone; many hospital systems are not taking Medicare Advantage enrollees. St. Charles’ CEO says that the hospital system has considered dropping Medicare Advantage plans for some time because of mounting concerns. He reports that his hospital system is not alone. Hospital systems throughout the country are concerned about patient care in Medicare Advantage. The Mayo Clinic stopped taking Medicare Advantage enrollees at some sites last year. In the CEO’s words: “The reality of Medicare Advantage in Central Oregon is that it just hasn’t lived up to the promise. A program intended to promote seamless and higher-quality care has instead become a fragmented patchwork of administrative delays, denials, and frustrations. The sicker you are, the more hurdles you and your care teams face. Our insurance partners need to do better, especially when nurses, physicians and other caregivers are reporting high levels of burnout and job dissatisfaction.” The American Hospital Association (AHA), the trade association for most hospitals reports that it “is increasingly concerned about certain (Medicare Advantage) plan policies that restrict or delay patient access to care, which also add cost and burden to the health care system.” To make matters worse, it appears that some Medicare Advantage plans are engaged in fraud as well as inappropriate delays and denials of care and coverage. St. Charles hospital executives see higher rates of denials of care in Medicare Advantage and long arduous processes for getting Medicare Advantage plans to approve medically necessary care. St. Charles health system is considering whether it will renew Medicare Advantage contracts with PacificSource, Humana, HealthNet and WellCare. The bottom line: With traditional Medicare, your treating physicians call the shots, deciding what care is medically reasonable and necessary, and Medicare covers that care, without second-guessing and coming between you and your doctors. With Medicare Advantage, many insurance companies second guess treating physicians and deny care or delay care, endangering patient health. The Office of the Inspector General has reported widespread and persistent inappropriate delays and denials of care and coverage in Medicare Advantage. But, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has so far refused to identify the bad actors or sanction them appropriately, putting older adults and people with disabilities at serious risk. Healthy patients in Medicare Advantage should be fine. But, even if you are healthy today, you could need complex care tomorrow and your insurance should cover that care. That’s why we have health insurance. In some Medicare Advantage plans, you might not get needed care in a timely manner, if at all, regardless of whether you need it.
- Rural Protestors Urge Senate to Kill Trump Medicaid Cuts | PSARA
The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents July 2025 Rural Protestors Urge Senate to Kill Trump Medicaid Cuts Tim Wheeler Senior citizens stood near Clallam County’s only full service public hospital, June 7, holding signs proclaiming “85% of OMC Patients on Medicaid, Medicare” and chanting “No Cuts to Medicaid or Medicare.” The vigil, initiated by PSARA, attracted 18 participants who lined First Street a couple of blocks south of the Olympic Medical Center (OMC), a public hospital that serves 111,000 on the isolated, rural Olympic Peninsula. The protesters held up their signs and waved as passing motorists honked and gave thumbs-up salutes. In the crowd were two candidates for the OMC Board of Commissioners constantly struggling with millions of dollars in debt due to the low reimbursement rates for Medicare and Medicaid. The vigil was in protest against President Trump’s “Big Beautiful” budget bill passed by the House and now pending in the US Senate. The bill would inflict $715 billion in cuts to Medicaid and $300 billion in cuts to the SNAP nutrition programs to defray the trillion dollar tax cut for billionaires and millionaires. Laurie Force, a retired nurse and a candidate in the August primary for the OMC Board, was holding a sign as was her husband, Larry, whose hand-lettered message was “Stop the Steal.” Her campaign slogan is “A Force For OMC.” The other candidate for the OMC Board, Dr. Gerry Stephanz, Medical Director of the Olympic Peninsula Community Clinic, pointed out that Trump’s budget bill is a grave risk to rural hospitals across the nation, including the OMC, that are totally dependent on Medicare and Medicaid payments to stay afloat financially. OMC, he said, should file to be designated a “Rural Health” provider, like the hospital in Port Townsend. If recognized as a rural hospital that provides life and death services to more than 100,000 people, OMC would enjoy far higher reimbursement rates for the 85% of its patients now covered by Medicaid and Medicare. The vigil took place one week after a “town hall” meeting, also organized by PSARA at the senior Shipley Center in nearby Sequim. Speaking at the Shipley Center in Sequim on May 24, PSARA leaders Robby Stern and Anne Watanabe urged fightback against President Trump’s so-called budget “reconciliation” bill that will inflict hundreds of billions in cutbacks to Medicaid, the SNAP food stamp program and other human needs benefits while handing trillions in tax cuts to themselves and their billionaire cronies. Said Watanabe, “The GOP ‘big, beautiful bill’ means that by 2034, 8.6 million lose health insurance because of cuts. Another 5.1 million lose health insurance through loss of tax credits….13.7 million total will lose healthcare insurance.” She cited the disastrous impact the cuts would inflict in Clallam County where 20,866 children, 38 percent of youngsters, are protected by Medicaid and 21 percent of those 55 years or older. In neighboring Jefferson County 7,641 people, over 29 percent of children and 27 percent of those 55 years are older are enrolled in Medicaid. Rural hospitals, she said, like the Olympic Medical Center (OMC) in Port Angeles that serves 111,000 people, are at grave risk of closing or losing their public status, being privatized through merger with private for-profit hospitals like Providence, a Catholic hospital chain that bans abortions and other reproductive health care. These hospitals, she charged, are being forced into bankruptcy due to ruinously low reimbursement rates for their Medicaid and Medicare patients. In the past twenty years, 200 rural hospitals across the nation have been forced to close due to this crisis in rural America. OMC is the only full service hospital in an isolated region two hours drive from Silverdale or Tacoma and a long ferry ride from Seattle. Treatment for a heart attack or delivery of a baby is care needed instantly not after a two hour drive. Enactment of the Trump-MAGA budget bill will be a death sentence for tens of thousands of low income people, children, immigrant and native-born alike. Already approved by the House, Stern and Watanabe urged the crowd to bombard the U.S. Senate with mes- sages demanding the Senators vote down the budget scam, the most sweeping attack on federal human needs programs ever. Both Stern and Watanabe addressed the issue of defending traditional Medi- care from privatization by so-called “Medicare Advantage.” Stern described in detail the life-threatening struggles by PSARA member Richard Timmins, of Whidbey Island, who was forced to undergo intense treatment for skin cancer because his so-called Medicare Advantage (MA) provider refused to approve in time treatment by a dermatologist despite his physician’s recommendation. By the time the MA provider reversed course and approved examination, the tumor had metastasized into cancer. Stern told of his own family forced to file multiple appeals against a Medicare Advantage provider to win skilled nursing coverage for a parent/ grandparent in a nursing home. Medicare Advantage was authorized in 1982 said Watanabe. “The intention was to lower the cost of Medicare and improve outcomes for patients. So what happened?” Corporate insurers paid a per patient capitation fee, seek to inflate their profits through massive overcharges, false claims, "upcoding" in which patients are over-diagnosed to allow MA providers to receive higher capitated payments from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The total overcharges by MA is estimated to be $80 billion to $140 billion annually. Much of this corrupt profiteering has been exposed by the MEDPAC, a commission that oversees Medicare and Medicaid. PSARA is part of a nationwide coalition seeking to preserve Medicare against privatization by “leveling the playing field,” enacting reforms that allow traditional Medicare to offer the same extra benefits offered by MA like dental, vision, and hearing, and capping out-of-pocket costs for traditional Medicare enrollees. PSARA also supports “Medicare For All” or universal publicly paid healthcare for every person in the U.S. native born and immigrant, said Watanabe. Ellen Menshew, a member of PSARA and also Chair of the Clallam County Democratic Party (CCD), and Lisa Dekker, an Outreach Vice President of PSARA from Clallam County, introduced the guest speakers from Seattle. Dekker told the crowd that PSARA members and other volunteers are standing in front of the Federal Building in Port Angeles every Friday at 1 p.m. to protest the Trump-Musk attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid focused now on demanding that the U.S. Senate reject the MAGA-Trump budget bill. It was Memorial Day weekend and many in the crowd came directly from a “Hands Off Our Veterans” protest by hundreds at the main intersection in Sequim denouncing cuts by Trump and unelected Elon Musk to the Veterans Administration, and sharp reductions in healthcare and other benefits for war veterans and their families. In the audience were members of PSARA from Sequim, Port Angeles, Port Townsend, Gig Harbor, and Tacoma. US Army vets, and active union members were present. Tim Wheeler is a veteran activist, journalist, and a leader of PSARA's Clal- lam County organizing committee. < Back to Table of Contents
- Big Data, Administrative Subpoenas, and Free Speech | PSARA
The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents April 2026 Big Data, Administrative Subpoenas, and Free Speech Anne Watanabe Twenty-eight Congressional Democrats, led by US Representatives Pramila Jayapal and Robin Kelly, sent a letter on March 2 to 10 major tech companies – including Meta, Google, Apple, Microsoft, X, and Tik Tok – requesting “detailed information regarding your company’s receipt of, response to, and compliance with administrative subpoenas issued by the Department of Homeland Security[.]” The letter referenced Homeland Security’s use of administrative subpoenas to identify persons “based on protest, political advocacy, or criticism of federal immigration policy.” Administrative subpoenas are issued directly by the agency seeking the information, rather than by a judge. According to sources reported by the New York Times , Homeland Security has issued hundreds of subpoenas in recent months to Google, Reddit, Meta, and Discord. The subpoenas seek names, email addresses, telephone numbers, and other identifiers to learn who is tracking or criticizing the agency. (Homeland Security’s subpoena authority is found in 8 USC Sec. 1225(d)(4)). Administrative subpoena power has long been a part of criminal investigations. But it has recently drawn attention and concern as a tool used by Homeland Security to identify individuals who participate in protests or criticize the agency, including ICE and Border Patrol. The tech companies receiving these subpoenas also have varying and opaque policies or guidelines about how they respond to subpoenas, or how/whether they will notify customers that their records have been subpoenaed. A troubling account was reported in February by the Washington Post . Last fall, a retired insurance agent (who is a US citizen) saw a news report about an Afghan immigrant who faced deportation. The citizen sent an email to the federal prosecutor named in the news report, asking for “common sense and decency” for the immigrant. Several hours later, the citizen received a notice from Google telling him that an enforcement process had begun, compelling the release of information related to his account. Within two weeks, Homeland Security agents appeared at his home to question him. His efforts to get information from Google and from Homeland Security about the subpoena were truly dystopian. The ACLU ultimately stepped in, moving to quash the subpoena. The agency withdrew it before a ruling. But the experience left him anxious about expressing his political opinions or traveling outside the country. A chilling of free speech, indeed. Surveillance of activists by the government is not new (e.g., the infamous FBI surveillance of Black civil rights leaders during the 60s). But the scale and omnipresence of the current data ecosystem are new. Automatic license plate readers on public streets, private Ring cameras, facial recognition technology, our phones, our computers – all capture so much data continuously, which, in turn, can be used to identify who we are, where we go, and whom we communicate with. Because the information is collected (and typically owned) by private companies, the companies can disclose it in response to an administrative subpoena. And when the subpoenas are used to identify and possibly intimidate people who criticize the federal government, their use constitutes a dangerous threat to our First Amendment rights. Homeland Security is not the only federal agency that wants the ability to surveil citizens. The recent court battle between technology company Anthropic and the Department of Defense (DoD) hinges on the company’s refusal to allow its AI technology to surveil people in the US, or to run fully autonomous weapons systems. DoD apparently finds that an unacceptable limitation. DoD responded by designating the company a “supply chain risk,” which, Anthropic claims, will cause it to lose billions in revenue. As of this writing, the dispute was still in court. It is disquieting to know that heightened surveillance of citizens, not to mention fully automated weapons systems, are apparently DoD contracting must-haves. The March 2 Congressional letter asked for a response from the companies no later than March 26. Don’t hold your breath. No Republicans signed onto the letter, although free speech is a bipartisan matter. Nevertheless, the letter represents an important starting point to impose guardrails on administrative subpoena power so that we can protect our democracy. More information about protecting your privacy is available from the Electronic Frontier Foundation at www.eff.org , or the ACLU at aclu.org . Anne Watanabe is Chair of PSARA's Race and Gender Equity (RaGE) Commit- tee and a member of PSARA's Executive Board. < Back to Table of Contents
- Oral History Project | PSARA
PSARA Oral Histories Project PSARA members have a wealth of experience in their respective professions and communities including their roles in labor, social justice, racial justice and environmental movements. Angela Bartels has been collecting the oral histories of PSARA members and documenting those interviews in PSARA’s monthly publication the Retiree Advocate. Those interviews are now recapped in the Oral Histories section of our website. The written summaries of the interviews are provided here and in some cases video of the interview are included. Bob Barnes Swimming Against the Current: making hard choices during the Vietnam War. Bob Barns talks about facing life changing challenges during the Vietnam war. View Story Frankie Manning "Before we integrated hospitals, the majority of Black people who died in the hospital died because the Black hospitals and wards were not well equipped..." View Story Lou Truskoff Lou Truskoff talks about his early years, his love of Music and integrating music into the labor movement. View Story Larry Gossett A Story of the Great Migration North, Housing discrimination in Seattle and how Black Power Captured Larry Gossett’s Soul While in VISTA . View Story Frieda Takamura Frieda Takamura has been and activist on a range of issues most importantly fighting for social Justice Listen to Frieda's Story Frank Irrigon Mud on their hands: Frank Irigon talks about his time in the military and working with Seattle's Asian Student Coalition protesting the construction of the King Dome. View Story Thursten Muskelly Thursten Muskelly discusses his work in the labor movement and particularly with the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1170 organizing in Seattle. View Story Tony Lee Friends of Tony Lee, Peter Costantini and Tom Berry, recount their work creating the Team Tony Lee during the 2022 election helping to flip the third WA State Congressional District View Story Gary Owens Gary Owens recounts his time with the labor movemet and the Black Panthers. View Story
- Protecting Our Assets, Protecting Our Asses – Part 3 | PSARA
The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents June 2025 Protecting Our Assets, Protecting Our Asses – Part 3 Jeff Johnson "If all mankind were to disappear, the world would regenerate back to the rich state of equilibrium that existed 10 thousand years ago. If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos.” E.O. Wilson Naturalist Edward Wilson recognizes a fundamental truth. Humankind’s pen- chant for hubris, our seemingly eternal quest to one up the natural world, has created the conditions for our own demise. As we continue to spew carbon into the atmosphere, we create climate chaos and species decline. To put a point on it, this is not good. And of course, while all of us will be impacted, not all of us will be impacted equally. Those countries, communities, and individuals that did the least to cause climate disaster will be disproportionately impacted by the climate chaos as well as by the inability to recover from its effects. I remember listening to a college lecture in 1971 from an analyst from either the Pentagon or the Department of State. She laid out a scenario of future climatic shifts that would reduce the amount of arable land and potable water, causing massive human migration, species decline, and geo-political unrest. It is no longer hyperbole to recognize that we have crossed over the climate chaos threshold. While the ignorance of climate deniers and their disastrous policies make those pushing for carbon neutrality by 2050 seem reasonable, our hubris prevents us from recognizing the urgency of the moment, even as insects and birds vanish exponentially. We can’t wait for 2050 to act. We need to dramatically reduce carbon pollution and rapidly increase renew- able clean energy now. Our planet is seriously out of balance, egregiously out of equilibrium. I was struck by something I read from the Dalai Lama, that while humans “have the capacity to destroy the earth, so, too, do we have the capacity to protect it.” I believe that we can help the earth rebalance itself. But to do so we must act thoughtfully, equitably, and with a great sense of urgency and purpose. Financial Rebalancing There is an analogous concept of rebalancing in the financial world. Diversified financial portfolios are made up of a variety of assets in different risk classes, i.e., equities, bonds, real estate, hedge funds, government securities, etc. The overall goal for the long-term health of your portfolio is to establish a range of asset allocations that provide the best return for the least risk. You develop a target asset allocation range for different asset classifications and then track how your portfolio values match up to your asset allocations. If you can keep your portfolio in this preferred range over time, your portfolio will be in balance, providing the best returns for the least risk. Of course, as economic activity goes up and down and investment decisions change, asset values rise and fall on a daily, weekly, and quarterly basis. As a consequence, the values of your asset classes change from the targeted allocation you chose. Some will have grown higher than the target range and others fallen below the preferred range. So now what do you do? Well, it’s not rocket science. To rebalance your port- folio, to bring it back into equilibrium, you make strategic decisions to sell off certain assets from one classification and buy assets from another classification. [Note: It doesn’t work quite the same way for private-equity type investments. Often it is more prudent to hold the private-equity type investments until their normal wind-down, but importantly to not invest more]. Financial rebalancing of portfolios is a usual and customary practice. It hap- pens all the time. Washington State Investment and Pension Funds The Washington State Investment Board (WSIB) manages nearly $200 billion of state funds and public employee pension dollars. The WSIB has been a good care-taker of these funds for decades and has earned a positive national reputation as one of the best- managed state funds. The WSIB has approximately $5.5 billion invested in fossil fuel assets. This represents about 2.5 percent of its total portfolio. Given that fossil fuel assets have been significantly underperforming the broad stock market for quite some time; that the concept of financial prudence defined narrowly or more broadly, as laid out in article two of this series, war- rants selling off fossil fuel assets; that financial rebalancing is standard practice in the financial industry; and given the continued decline in the value of fossil fuel assets, there is no good reason not to rebalance our state’s Investment portfolio by selling off fossil fuel assets over the next several years and replacing them with assets that provide a better return for a lower risk. So Now Where Are We? In the first three articles of this series, “Protecting Our Assets, Protecting Our Asses,” we laid out the moral, economic, fiscal, employment, and social needs bases for rebalancing our state funds out of fossil fuels. We made the argument that it is important for our state and our public employee unions to lead the way in countering the financial industry’s $7 trillion investment in fossil fuels since the signing of the Paris Climate Accords. Rebalancing of fossil fuel assets will send a strong message to institutional investors to do likewise. We have also shown that by any measure of financial prudence our state funds and pension funds are not being well served by fossil fuel investments. Finally, we have shown that financial rebalancing is done as a matter of course in the financial industry. And that rebalancing our Washington State funds out of fossil fuels is not only a smart and financially prudent thing to do, it is a step towards rebalancing our earth – protecting both our assets and our asses. Jeff Johnson is a former President of the Washington State Labor Council and Co-President of PSARA. < Back to Table of Contents
- We Want to Hear From You! Tell Us About your Experiences with Social Security | PSARA
The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents May 2025 We Want to Hear From You! Tell Us About your Experiences with Social Security Have you experienced unacceptably bad results when contacting (or trying to contact) the Social SecurityAdministration (SSA)? Years of underfunding by Congress has left the Agency with 57,000 employees, the lowest staffing in 50 years. At least7,000 more are being cut right now. Offices are being closed. Hold times on the toll-free number are way too long, andthe MySSA website has been crashing. One million disability claims and appeals await decisions, processing times have tripled, and 30,000 applicants die each year while waiting for a final decision. PSARA wants to share powerful personalstories about degraded services and harm to workers and their families with our elected repre- sentatives and/or the press. At the same time, we want to hear from you about what SSA programs and services mean to you and to your family, andwhat would happen if they were lost or further eroded. Retirees, disabled individuals, their spouses and dependent chil- dren, and surviving spouses and children in the event of a worker’s death, all rely on timely and compassionateservice delivery. The same is true for clients who apply for Medicare and Supplemental Security Income. Incomeverifications needed to qualify for other programs, and referrals to these providers, are also vitally impor- tant. Help us save Social Security and restore service delivery. Please share your personal stories with organizer@psara.org . < Back to Table of Contents
- Aaron Leonard's Menace of Our Time: The Long War Against American Communism | PSARA
The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents November 2025 Aaron Leonard's Menace of Our Time: The Long War Against American Communism Mike Andrew Aaron Leonard has made a career documenting the US government’s war against domestic radicals. His first two books – Heavy Radicals: The FBI’s Secret War on America’s Maoists and A Threat of the First Magnitude, FBI Counterintelligence & Infiltration – focus on the Maoist Revolutionary Communist Party (RCPUSA), of which Leonard was a member. His next two – The Folk Singers and the Bureau and Whole World in an Uproar: Music, Rebellion & Repression – tell the story of FBI surveillance of American musicians and cultural figures. Leonard’s latest book – Menace of Our Time: The Long War Against American Communism – documents US government attacks on the oldest US communist organization, CPUSA. Although no American communist organization today has anywhere near the numbers or influence that CPUSA gained in the 1940s, while the US was aligned with the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany, recent political developments suggest that we could learn some lessons about the danger of government surveillance from the past. Leonard’s books, then, should be required reading for members of any progressive organization that seeks to challenge the Trump regime. Basing his revelations on public information requests from the US government, Leonard offers an inside look at the tactics used by the government to attack – not just the CPUSA – but many anti-fascist and anti-war organizations. In his newest book, Leonard outlines the practical means used to attack communists and progressives: Federal laws – the Hatch Act, the Smith Act, the McCarran Act – that defined “anti-American” actions in very broad terms that gave the government free rein to prosecute anyone they wanted; Use of federal agents to infiltrate the CPUSA and other organizations. Entrapment of US civilians so as to force them into becoming informers; Incitement of mob violence against communists and their progressive allies. The spies and informers employed by the US government often reported only the vaguest charges against the subjects of their investigations. And without revealing their own identities so their reports could never be questioned. For example, Leonard reproduces this section from an FBI document: “Edward G. Robinson has been identified as a Communist by Informant REDACTED. Charles Chaplin, according to REDACTED, may or may not be a member of the Communist Party. However REDACTED has stated that Chaplin has financed the West Coast Communist newspaper People’s World…John Garfield, according to the informant REDACTED has been affiliated with the Actors Laboratory, the Young Communist League, the Hollywood Anti-Nazi League, the Hollywood Democratic Committee, and the Hollywood Independent Citizens Committee for the Arts, Sciences and Professions.” Sound familiar? Is Antifa a terrorist organization? Is Zohran Mamdani a communist? On the basis of allegations like these, public figures were pressured to renounce their affiliations with communist or communist-adjacent groups, and to inform on their former colleagues. Hollywood director Elia Kazan is perhaps the most notorious example, but there were many others. Leonard shows how the FBI also manipulated ordinary people into becoming informers. Take for example the case of John Lautner, a Hungarian-born American communist who was suspected by Hungarian communists of being a US spy. The FBI threatened to deport him to Hungary – where he assumed he’d be shot – unless he gave them the names of all the communists he knew. “Among those he identified were the writers Lillian Hellman, Dashiell Hammett, Mark Blitzstein, and Howard Fast,” Leonard writes. “He also named the folk singer Woody Guthrie as well as actors James Cagney, John Garfield, Will Geer, and Jose Ferrer; and the scholar W.E.B. DuBois.” Leonard also reveals that Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were fingered by Ethel’s brother, David Greenglass. Greenglass’ wife, Ruth, recruited him to steal information from his job at the Los Alamos nuclear lab, and give it to the USSR. To protect his wife from federal prosecution, Greenglass offered the FBI his sister and brother-in-law, the Rosenbergs. Leonard continues his narrative through the collapse of the USSR in 1991, carefully documenting the COINTELPRO offensive against radical and anti-war groups in the 1960s. Leonard's book stands as a timely warning of the lengths the govern- ment will go to to maintain "the social order." Anyone who organizes for social change should read it. Mike Andrew is the Editor of the Advocate and Executive Director of PSARA < Back to Table of Contents
- Nuclear Power for AI? | PSARA
The Retire Advocate < Back to Table of Contents May 2026 Nuclear Power for AI? Peter Harris Demand for new nuclear power is increasing, as shown in this year’s Washington state legislative session. House Bill 2090, which failed, would have “[integrated] advanced nuclear energy into the state energy strategy,” and would have let private parties – that is, industries desiring nuclear power – fund cost-benefit analysis and make recommendations. House Bill 1210, which passed, gave nuclear energy more opportunity for local tax exemptions. This was good news and bad. There are two main motives behind the push for nuclear power. One is the desire to reduce global warming. The other is the interest in making money with data centers and AI. Reducing global warming is needed. Some leaders believe increasing solar, wind and geothermal power to replace fossil fuels will not be enough. This may be. But before taking the leap to nuclear now, we need a thorough and independent study of the costs, benefits and risks of all the alternatives to coal and oil. Nuclear power has been dangerous in the past, and there is no reason to assume it will not be dangerous in the future. We still struggle to manage the waste – “dispose” is not the word. And new nuclear is experimental, expensive, and will return no benefits for a long time. Meanwhile, many states are discovering the value of wind and solar power. The leader is Texas, where wind and solar now account for 30% of its large energy production. In addition to reducing global warming by replacing fossil fuel, we do so by reducing demand for energy. An evaluation of the costs and benefits of alternatives to coal and oil should include this as well. Reducing demand, of course, is the complete opposite of the desire of data centers. Their demand for energy is increasing so fast that some states have reversed plans to reduce fossil fuel burning to meet their needs. Data centers’ demands for rapid increases in power are straining electrical grids. The complexity and cost of this are leading to heavy debates on who should pay. Data centers and the AI tech behind them complain that they are being mistreated by this close attention. They are offering to build small nuclear reactors next to data centers as a friendly solution. Let’s take a look. First, the idea that data centers need any public support is absurd. Tech is putting hundreds of billions of dollars into data centers, and promising more. They brag about it. This year the governor discovered that data centers are creating few permanent jobs, so he proposed eliminating the tax exemption for their computer replacements. The legislature agreed and found $60 million in ordinary taxes, a big help in a tough budget year. But if data centers don’t create permanent jobs, why are they still exempt from ordinary taxes on construction? Tech apparently prevailed. The economic arguments presented to the legislature by data center advocates mainly described nice things they built for neighboring small towns. More and more, across the nation, small towns don’t like data centers. Voters in Festus, Missouri recently bounced all city council incumbents for approving a data center. What is AI worth to us? It has many amazing abilities. Credibility is not one of them. Don’t ask AI to help with your tax return. Don’t believe a legal precedent claim made by AI. AI depends on plausibility, not validity, and increasingly is in its own spiral of following its own language. AI needs good management. How is it being managed today? Follow the money. AI does what it is told to do. Currently it is told to seduce us into social media, maximize our time in it, and place ads customized to us. Big tech has begun to pay for the damage of this to young people, but they can afford it. Alongside this, tech employees who fear losing their jobs are competing by starting as many AI programs as they can. Performance and the massive load on data centers and energy consumption are irrelevant. We might need limited and tightly controlled nuclear power in the near future to prevent more global warming. This needs careful and complete analysis, not driven by the Trump administration. In the meantime, do data centers need nuclear? Do we need data centers? Regulating data centers and the AI they serve is complicated. Giving nuclear power to big tech is not the answer. Peter Harris is a member of PSARA's Climate and Environmental Justice Committee. < Back to Table of Contents
