As the debate about healthcare is underway, we hear from the far left that a single-payer, government mandated program is the way to go. We hear from the far right that less government intervention and hands-off-my healthcare is the better approach. As both of the ideological arguments persist, the larger concern that is being heavily ignored is the lack of healthcare staff. read more...

~~

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law by President Obama on Feb.17, 2009 textbook and other course material expenses incurred in 2009 and 2010 that are not covered by scholarship or grant aid may be counted toward the newly created tax credit called the American Opportunity Tax Credit on that year’s tax return.

So, save your course material receipts — you may be eligible for a tax credit up to $2,500.

Originally posted February 12, 2010 at Wicked Local Cambridge.

Originally published in HuffingtonPost: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aquila-rivers/why-i-a-democrat-voted-fo_b_...

Born and raised in MA, I’ve typically voted Democrat in every election except for city council because Cambridge has proportional representation and the municipal elections are not based on party. The Massachusetts Special Election was the first time I voted Republican for a state-wide campaign. I did it for two reasons: protest and to send a message to President Obama and his White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel.

We want a change, but we want the change that we voted for in 2008. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on December 18, 2009, Emanuel told Jonathan Weisman that he was not worried about appeasing the base. My message to Mr. Emanuel is: don’t ignore your base or they will not turn out to vote — or, quite frankly, they will vote the other way out of protest. read more...

This is in response to the Cambridge Chronicle’s piece, “Capuano reverses course, would vote against health bill with abortion ban,” Nov. 11.

First of all, to my liberal friends, I don’t think the government should be responsible for paying for the decision, or lack thereof, regarding a woman’s choice to abort her child. As long as there are abortion clinics, she is exercising that right. However, it takes two to tango and the responsibility should financially lie upon the mother and the father.

Secondly, the national debate coming from the Democrats is only being half-told. Abortion will be covered under the public option for a woman who is impregnated by incest, rape, or if the life of the mother is in danger. There are already private health insurers who don’t cover abortion, so why such the outrage? read more...

ABC’s Good Morning America features Kathy Spencer on October 29, 2009, a Massachusetts mother, family of six, on her quest to share tons of info regarding money-saving grocery tips.

Spencer: “When I go to the store, I only buy what works out free or close to free, and that’s how I do it for as little as I can.”

What stood out to me: When I frequent the deli, even with a coupon, I feel obligated sometimes to get 1 pound of the item that has $1 off. However, with Kathy’s idea, when she has $1 off coupon at the deli, she gets a 1/25 pound, and the item is either free or dirt cheap. On my next grocery shopping trip, I’m going to use some of these tips.

http://www.unspokenideas.com/2009/10/30/family-of-6-lives-off-4wk-for-food/

We need City Councilors who aren’t afraid to stand up to the status quo. It seems that the current Council has let City Manager Bob Healy take their power away from them. This isn’t an accusation – go back to the first candidate forum where the majority of the incumbents defended his high salary and questionable tactics, including the discrimination case filed against him. Are they too afraid to challenge him or are they receiving favors of their own? If not, please explain to me why this occurs? read more...

I like to either start with a question or end with a question. Do you think its right that white collar crimes and failed financial institutions are rewarded while homeowners are branded as irresponsible? Let’s take embattled Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis as an example. He will receive $125 million dollars for failing the shareholders. Merryl-Lynch was bailed out. Bank of America, CitiGroup, and a host of other financial institutions, as well as AIG, the insurance giant. On that note, when it comes to people losing their homes, there are a variety of misperceptions, as I will note in this blog post.

Although much has been written about the current mortgage lending/foreclosure crisis, I’m going to add to the consensus. read more...