[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Two New Reports Document the Problem

By Hanh Kim Quach
Health Care Policy Coordinator
Health Access California

An article in this month's Health Affairs (subscription required) breaks down why the U.S. Census Bureau's statistic pointing out that one-third of "higher income'' Americans is uninsured is misleading. The Census statistics are an important source for health coverage data and is also used by the federal government to allocate funds.

In 2006, according to Census statistics, more than one in every three Americans (37.8%) lived in a household with income higher than $50,000.

But, the Health Affairs article points out"...many of the uninsured who live in higher income households do not fit a profile of "financially able but unwilling."

Moments when income is "high" could be a temporary, as with self-employed or transient workers. So are moments of uninsurance, when a person is between jobs.

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Loni Hancock
Member of the California State Assembly

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

This has been on to do list for California for a while. Back in 2002, California passed a law to regulate greenhouse gas emissions coming out of car tail pipes. It would force the car industry to make more environmentally friendly vehicles. The goal is obviously to reduce global warming. Unfortunately, the state does not currently have the power to enforce the regulations. To do that we need a waiver from the U.S. EPA. The Bush administration has been purposely dragging its feet. So, today California sued the federal government. LAT:

The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way last summer for the EPA to approve state regulations to limit emissions of greenhouse gas from automobile tailpipes. But no action has been forthcoming.

The EPA has said it will act on the state's request by year's end, but today's move was a major assault on the federal government's perceived lack of action on what many national and world leaders consider the No. 1 threat to the planet.

"There's no legal basis for Washington to stand in our way," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who announced the filing of the lawsuit on the state Capitol steps along with California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown.

read more »

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

I'm in the middle of the latest House roundup, but I just wanted to highlight this great opinion piece in the Washington Post, of all places, about the crisis of California's housing market, and in a larger sense, the crisis of governmental neglect.  The most important paragraph is the last:

Half a century ago, Californians understood what it took to create a great state. Taxpayers funded the nation's best highway network, water system and public universities. The state's population exploded in the greatest home-construction boom in history, under a system of mortgages that the federal government tightly regulated. A sustainable California will require a return to the policies of public investment and financial regulation that built the postwar paradise between the Sierras and the sea.

This is quite right.  The far-sighted work of Pat Brown and others made California a destination for those who wanted to live the American dream.  Now, with mortgage meltdowns and insufficient infrastructure, those dreams are being deferred.

It's a great read, I recommend it.

by David Dayen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

by Lucas O'Connor [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

The San Diego Board of Supervisors voted yesterday to attempt to bill the federal government for the supposed cost of undocumented immigrants.  In an exceptionally pathetic (even by normal standards) attempt to steal money and headlines without any underlying logic, the Board commissioned a report to examine only the negative economic impact of undocumented workers and ignore the economic benefits of taxes paid and goods and services purchased.  The kicker?  They want the bill to be paid with money that the undocumented immigrants paid into the Social Security system via taxes. Taxes of course were not included in the study.