September General Meeting

September 27th
7PM
Camp Friendship, 339 8th street

Agenda:

CBID September 2018 General Meeting Notes:

Asher’s opening notes:

• Thanking everyone for the NY State primary – good job everyone!
• County Committee is having a meeting tonight
• Zellnor won by less than $3k votes and in the 36^th he won 3,900 to 3,6000 – boots on the ground did the job!
  • Zellnor was going to come – stuck at County – which is true for many electeds
• Acknowledging the people down in DC supporting Dr. Ford testimony to stop Kavanaugh

Agenda Notes:

1. Katy – Director of the Campaign for NY Health is discussing the bill, the New York Health Act, for single payer so we can understand it better
   1. Universal guaranteed healthcare / = single-payer
   2. Predicting 50% increases on private healthcare + huge deductibles
   3. All the candidates who running against IDC are supporting this plan
   4. Kevin Parker is here – and he supports the bill as do others
   5. We need this more than ever now – and we will need waivers from DC – this is a concern – we need waivers etc.
   6. They have a back-up plan to make healthcare more affordable even without help from DC
   7. The Republicans and opponents are scared, we have evidence – they have formed an anti-single payer group – go to Realities of Single Payer.com – spreading misinformation
   8. City Council has set up an information campaign, and – you can ask your city councilmember

Questions:

How are we going to pay for it?

• The current system costs more – with Medicare and Medicaid
• Streamlining it will make it less expensive, savings is enough to extend coverage, and make coverage better

Compared with Australia

• Population that smokes, is overweight, has mental health issues – and they can do it!

What happens when DC does not support us?

• Apply for waivers for Medicare and Medicaid – and the system HAS TO provide them through ACA if they applicant (NY State) still meets those requirements
  • Because of the ACA and savings – it would still work
• If we don’t get waivers: wrap-around programs like Medicare and Medicaid would have to be expanded to meet requirements of ACA – sounds v expensive

Structure of Government Control:

• The states in other countries that have single-payer
• Socializing the financing but not the delivery – private nature of hospitals and doctors would remain the same: public finance, privately delivered (for better and for worse)

If you have fancy insurance – do you get to keep it?

• Short answer, yes – but sounds like you will still have to contribute somewhat to the system
• Regulations and Lowering cost would help

Other points:

• Dental, Vision, Hearing is included – dentists have operated outside of the insurance structure – but we will have 20 million customers
• Drug costs will go down – drug companies are

How are Unions are feeling about this?

• Even with good plans – the costs are skyrocketing and the employer is paying more and more – everyone will suffer… mostly in your paycheck! Union members are getting lower pay or not making certain decisions just to have healthcare – it will free people up and increase wages

2. Senator Kevin Parker – updates
   1. Thankful for all the new voters and voter turnout
   2. He is so happy there might be a real Democratic majority soon!!
      1. They are at 32, SLIM – nobody can miss a vote
      2. 38 or 42 even if things go well – at 38 we would not need Republicans to pass the budget

• We have to keep getting the vote out!

1. We need to support Andrew Gournades – he can win! Other voters in upstate NY and here in NYC – keep the energy going
2. Long Island Races and places like Syracuse
   1. Women’s Reproductive health
   2. Voting Rights Act
      1. Tackling polling issues
      2. Voting reform – early voting / online voting
   3. Criminal Justice and no cash bail
   4. Single Payer Healthcare
      1. NY is better than most states, we need to do better – and 2 million who opt out are small business owners or self-employed
   5. We need to tackle new bills and issue like free college
3. We need to be a check on the federal government
4. Oct 2^nd 2pm-6.30 Rick Auditorium at the Public Library: Forum for people with questions on utilities bills and amenities
   1. Serious foreclosure problem – less about mortgages and more about bills and utilities
5. Medgers Evers College Expo – another event – visit his site or call his office
6. Question: Excelsior Program ?? Cuomo promised free tuition – and it is NOT
   1. Only 12k-20K people are getting it – too complicated and burdensome
   2. Almost 70% of people who go to CUNY and SUNY go for free

• Excelsior Program was for lower-middle class people to expand free tuition to people who make some money
  1. Targeted for Cuomo to be able to target middle class voters in LI

1. He proposes making all 2-year colleges free and getting rid of Excelsior Program
   1. Tuition is only one cost – we need transportation, housing, childcare, food pantries ETC
   2. Help for part-time students

• We need to make CUNY and SUNY free again!

1. Lower costs of graduate school
2. 2 Letters of Appreciation Asher is reading
   1. Rachel May – thanks us – and she may need our help in the General … her opponent might run against her again, so let’s keep the energy up
   2. Alessandra Biaggi – thanks us – yay!
   3. Zellnor coming in November
   4. Andrew Gournardes was going to send someone – but Asher said no because he is hosting an appreciation day Saturday and we need to keep helping him to flip Golden’s seat

4. Mathylde Frontus Race: Update on another race in Coney Island, Dyker Hights, Brighton, Bay Ridge – another good race to flip Senate – Peter is asking for volunteer
   1. Open seat
   2. Nobody expected her to win – she won by narrow margin of 55 votes
   3. Overlaps with Andrew’s area
   4. She is facing another opponent – she will need more help
   5. Excomm will discuss endorsing

5. Other races we did not endorse in:
   1. John Fasso vs Delgado seat upstate
   2. LI races – as Kevin Parker
   3. Jen Metzger and Pat Strong in Hudson

6. 2 other pieces of business
   1. T-Shirts – we have them and they are $20 – as part of a donation to the club
   2. Go to Allison Mingus and thanks to Allison and Erica and Melissa (mostly Erica and Allison
   3. One more open seat on excomm – if anyone wants to join
7. Lucy – Human Scale NYC Rally for our Neighborhood – Saturday Oct 13^th
   1. Fighting over-development in the city
   2. Fighting re-zoning
8. Mayoral Charter and Ballot Issues
   1. On the ballot: 3 things to vote on in November to be discussed in October meeting
      1. Campaign finance reform
      2. Office of civic engagement – participatory budgeting

• Community board reform
  1. Term limits, getting younger new members

1. No land use reform and no voting reform

9. City Council Charter Commission
   1. Now being formed – having meetings now and some upcoming – more time for public input
   2. It is convoluted and confusing but we can talk about them more – Asher is up for talking about them
   3. This is new – not voting until next year