Hello My name is Jeff Muckensturm. I'm a freelance writer and web developer living in Philadelphia, PA. I write about urban issues and technology. Right now, I'm working for Healthcare-NOW--trying to get a single-payer healthcare bill (HR 676) passed--and looking for freelance writing or web development work. Contact me on my About Page. |
Why a National Healthcare System Will Save Our Cities
March 20, 2009 | Filed Under Health Care | Leave a Comment
This article was published in the Baltimore Indy Reader.
The U.S. and its cities are in the midst of a healthcare crisis caused by a broken system that values profit over quality, affordable care.
Cities faced with rapidly increasing employee health insurance premiums, including Baltimore, are cutting back on much needed services to balance their budgets.
City residents aren’t better off. Increasingly, people are going without insurance, while they put off care or rely on extremely expensive emergency rooms for preventable issues.
National, single-payer healthcare is needed now, more than ever, to free cities and families from the private health insurance industry that has profited from devastating levels of inequality in care and quality of life. It would reduce healthcare costs by removing profit and reducing wasteful spending on insurance paperwork that take up 30 percent of current costs ($230 billion nationally). Read more
Philadelphia City Council Votes to Support Single-Payer Healthcare
January 29, 2009 | Filed Under Health Care | Leave a Comment
I, along with folks from PASNAP and Health Care for All–Philadelphia, organized to get this resolution passed. This is our press release.
Today, groups representing doctors, nurses, healthcare advocates and labor unions are applauding the Philadelphia City Council for passing a resolution in support of national, single payer health care (HR 676) and two state single payer bills.
The resolution, sponsored by Councilman Greenlee and Councilwoman Tasco, makes Philadelphia the 28th city and 46th local government to pass a resolution in favor of HR 676, the National Health Insurance Act, sponsored by John Conyers (D-Mich.). The resolution also calls for the enactment of the two single-payer state bills, SB 300 and HB 1660. Read more
Passing on Single-Payer Health Care
November 4, 2008 | Filed Under Health Care | 1 Comment
Union leadership is out of touch with the rank and file—and the public—on health care.
A coalition of major labor unions and liberal organizations has recently created what it calls “a national grassroots campaign organizing millions of Americans to win a guarantee of quality, affordable health care for all.”
Health Care for America Now (HCAN) is a project of three major unions, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), along with MoveOn and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). Elizabeth Edwards is a spokesperson for the new coalition. Read more
Published in Dollars and Sense
October 14, 2008 | Filed Under Health Care | Leave a Comment
An article I wrote, titled “Passing On Single-Payer,” was published in the latest issue of Dollars and Sense magazine. It’s about how the leadership of unions like AFSCME and SEIU have ignored the popularity of single-payer healthcare in order to pursue a public-private health insurance system in the US.
Both AFSCME and SEIU were instrumental in creating Health Care for America Now (HCAN), a lobbying group whose chief objective is to support Barak Obama’s healthcare plan. HCAN is critical of private health insurance companies for their desire to put profit over the lives of their customers. But they won’t go as far as removing private insurance, as single-payer would, from the system completely.
Richard Kirsch, HCAN’s National Campaign Director writes, “One point of this approach [giving people the choice of private insurance or Medicare] was not to scare people away from reform or to make it easier for the opponents of reform to panic the public,” in his blog post “Why Not Single-Payer?“ Read more
New Healthcare-NOW! Website
October 14, 2008 | Filed Under Blogs, Health Care | Leave a Comment
After about two months of work, I finally finished the new Healthcare-NOW! website. It’s a vast improvement over the old site, which had me incredibly frustrated and scared off potential single-payer healthcare supporters.
Once again, I used WordPress to develop the site and redesigned, with my friend Brian, a theme by Brian Gardner. WordPress has been a joy to work with, and I plan on using it for future projects.
Let me know what you think of the new site.
Kucinich on the Bailout
September 29, 2008 | Filed Under economics | Leave a Comment
HUD Claims Reduction in US Homeless
August 7, 2008 | Filed Under homelessness | 1 Comment
Many homeless advocates dispute HUD’s recent announcement that the number of homeless people in the US decreased by 12 percent between 2005 and 2007.
It seems that “the declines occurred because HUD changed guidelines in late 2006 for counting the homeless, requiring an interview with each person counted. In 2005, counters could use their judgment to determine if a person was homeless.”
It’s easy for the the government to reduce the amount of homeless people by changing the definition to include less people. Some cities include people who are living with relatives, because they don’t have a permanent home. The Federal government, however, decided not to include them anymore. Problem solved.
Claiming that there’s less homeless people is dangerous because Bush will now claim that cities don’t need as much help or funding. HUD, and the right, shouldn’t be so quick to tout easily disputed “accomplishments.”
Dark Days
July 21, 2008 | Filed Under homelessness | Leave a Comment
A friend of mine recently told me about Dark Days, a documentary about the homeless living in New York City’s subway tunnels. I highly recommend seeing this movie–as it’s both beautifully shot and emotionally stirring.
Below is the film in its entirety. However, I suggest renting or buying a copy to support the filmmakers.
DNC to Homeless: Don’t show your face around here
July 18, 2008 | Filed Under homelessness | Leave a Comment
Apparently, the Democrats are trying to hide the homeless during their convention in Colorado. A group that’s helping organize the convention says it’s going to distribute 500 tickets to the movies, the zoo, and museums to the homeless to get them away from the Democratic convention. Food Not Bombs organizers also claim that Denver officials will start strictly enforcing “Come On In,” an effort to force charities that serve outdoor meals to the homeless to move indoors.
This tactic only serves two purposes. First, it lends to the right-wing’s highly pushed notion that Obama is an elitist. What could be more elitist than forcing the poorest of the poor away from, rather than invite them into, your surroundings? Even the Republicans say–at least for now–they’re not moving a local homeless shelter from their convention’s surroundings. Read more
America’s Homeless Suit up for Homeless US Cup Soccer Tournament
July 17, 2008 | Filed Under homelessness | Leave a Comment
Note: I wrote this about three weeks ago, before the Homeless US Cup took place.
Homeless athletes from all over the US will converge on Washington, DC from June 27 though June 29 to participate in the Homeless US Cup soccer tournament. The tournament, which includes about 10 teams and 55 athletes playing short-field street soccer, will determine which players move on the Homeless World Cup this year in Melbourne, Australia. Read more
