REPORT

12/20/2011

National Rural Assembly issues report from this year's St. Paul gathering

Includes participant recommendations for moving Rural America forward: engaging rural youth, building broadband connectivity, growing rural economies to build community wealth, and more.
Download the report here

OP-ED

12/04/2011

So-called windfall has nothing to do with GOP budget

The Republican budget was a sham, a millionaires’ giveaway. The same is true of this so-called surplus. State officials already are projecting a $1.3 billion deficit in the next budget cycle that exceeds repayment on this year’s irresponsible borrowing by the GOP. An op-ed by Cynthia Moothart appearing in the Bemidji Pioneer.
Read full op-ed
This article also ran in the Mille Lacs Messenger, St. Croix Valley News, Moose Lake Star Gazette, Frazee Vergas Forum, Winona Daily News, Park Rapids Enterprise.

OP-ED

10/25/2011

League of Rural Voters guest editorial in the Caledonia Argus: Social Security’s impact on rural Minnesota

In tough economic times like these, deep in a major recession that wiped out trillions in household savings, cutting the program seems the least sensible thing to do. Given Social Security is the only thing standing between half of all seniors and poverty it also is the least moral.
Read full op-ed

OP-ED

10/24/2011

Social Security's impact on rural Minnesota

Three-quarters of all counties across Minnesota (66 of 87) are federally designated as “rural.” In these areas, with their older and poorer populations, Social Security accounts for nearly double the percentage of total personal income as urban counties, and lifts more than half of all seniors out of poverty. An op-ed appearing in the Mille Lacs Messenger.
Read full op-ed

OP-ED

10/22/2011

Social Security remains vital for rural seniors

In tough economic times like these, deep in a major recession that wiped out trillions in household savings, cutting the program seems the least sensible thing to do. Given Social Security is the only thing standing between half of all seniors and poverty, it also is the least moral. An op-ed appearing in the Morris Sun Tribune.
Read full op-ed

OP-ED

10/19/2011

Social Security is not an entitlement

The annual trustees' report released in May showed only a "mild deterioration" in the program's short- and long-term outlook, given falling wages and stagnant unemployment over the last several years. It should be noted that the projected 75-year shortfall described in the report virtually equals the cost of extending Bush-era tax cuts to the richest 2 percent. Given this, as researchers at the nonprofit Center on Budget and Policy Priorities conclude, it seems impossible "members of Congress simultaneously claim that tax cuts for people at the top are affordable while the Social Security shortfall constitutes a dire fiscal threat." An op-ed appearing in the Sebeka-Menahga Review Messenger.
Read full op-ed

OP-ED

10/19/2011

Social Security is vital in rural areas

Even after breaking a hip that still has her laid up, 83-year-old Barbara Lovaasen of Vergas is irrepressibly cheerful. Until her accident Barbara worked 20-plus hours a week as special-education aide in Perham; she expects to resume those duties once recovered. Barbara and her husband, Luverne, live off her pay of $10 an hour and a combined $1,503 in monthly Social Security benefits.

The Lovaasens are profiled in a new report detailing the impact of Social Security on rural Minnesotans. The report was released last week without fanfare, but its findings shouldn't go without notice. From the Albert Lea Tribune.
Read full op-ed

REPORT

10/06/2011

"Social Security Works for Minnesota"

This new report, a collaborative effort of Social Security Works, the Strengthen Social Security Campaign, and the League of Rural Voters, highlights the importance of the Social Security to America's and Minnesota's rural communities.
Download report (PDF)

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