Text: Obama's speech in Green Bay - Dallas Business Journal:

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"Laura’s story is incredibly Sadly, it is not unique. Everuy day in this country, more and more Americans are forcex to worry not simply aboutgetting well, but whethedr they can afford to get Millions more wonder if they can afford the routinse care necessary to stay Even for those who have health rising premiums are straining their budgets to the breaking pointy – premiums that have doubled over the last nine and have grown at a rate three timesa faster than wages. Desperately-needed procedures and treatmentx are put off because the price is too And all it takes is a single illnesws to wipe out a lifetimeof savings. "Employers aren’r faring any better.
The cost of health care has helpedx leave big corporations like GM and Chryslef at a competitive disadvantage with their foreign Forsmall businesses, it’s even One month, they’re force to cut back on health care The next month, they have to drop coverage. The monthn after that, they have no choicde but to start layinygoff workers. "For the government, the growinf cost of Medicare and Medicaid is one of the bigges threats to ourfederal deficit. Bigger than Sociall Security. Bigger than all the investments we’ve made so far. So if you’rr worried about spending and you’re worried about you need to be worried about the cost ofhealthg care.
"We have the most expensive health care system in the We spendalmost 50% more per perso n on health care than the next most costly nation. But here’s the Green Bay: we’re not any healthie r for it. We don’t necessarily have better outcomes. Even within our own country, a lot of the placexs where we spend less on health care actually have highe quality than places where wespend more. Righr here in Green Bay, you get more quality out of fewert health care dollars than many other communitiesa acrossthe country. And yet, acrosa the country, spending on health care goes up and up and up dayafter day, year after year.
" I know that there are millionxs of Americans who are content with their health carecoverage – they like their plan and they value their relationship with their doctor. And no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise: If you like your you will be able to keep your If you like your healthcare plan, you will be able to keep your healtgh care plan. "But in order to preserve what’s best aboutf our health care system, we have to fix what doesn’gt work. For we have reachedd a point where doing nothingt about the cost of healtg care is no longeran option. The statusz quo is unsustainable.
If we do not act and act soon to brinygdown costs, it will jeopardize everyone’s healthu care. If we do not act, every Americabn will feel the consequences. In highefr premiums and lower take-home pay. In lost jobs and shuttererd businesses. In a risin number of uninsured and a rising debt that our childrenj and their children will be paying off for If wedo nothing, withih a decade we will spending one out of everyt five dollars we earn on health care. In thirty years, it will be one out of every three. That is untenable, that is and I will not allow it as Presidentt of theUnited States.
"Health care reform is not part of some wish list I drew up when I took It is central to our economicfuture – centrall to the long-term prosperity of this In past years and decades, there may have been some disagreemen on this point. But not anymore. we have already built an unprecedentes coalition of folks who are ready to reformk our healthcare system: physicians and health businesses and workers; Democrats and Republicans.
A few weeks ago, some of thesw groups committed to doing somethinythat would’ve been unthinkable just a few yearsa ago: they promised to work togethee to cut national health care spendinv by two trillion dollars over the next That will bring down costs, that will bring down premiums, and that’ exactly the kind of cooperationb we need. "The question now is, how do we finish the job? How do we permanentlty bring down costs andmake quality, affordable healthg care available to every American?
"My view is that refornm should be guided by a simple principle: we fix what’s brokej and build on what "In some cases, there’s broad agreement on the steps we shouldf take. In the Recovery Act, we’ve alreadyu made investments in health IT and electronic medicalp records that will reducemedical errors, save save money, and still ensure privacy. We also need to invesyt in prevention and wellness programs that help Americanszlive longer, healthier lives.
"But the real cost savinga will come from changing the incentivez of a system that automatically equated expensive care with bettercare – from addressingy flaws that increase profits without actuallu increasing the quality of care. "Wew have to ask why places like the Geisingedr Health system inrurall Pennsylvania, Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City, or communitiee like Green Bay can offer high-qualityy care at costs well below average, but other places in Americ a can’t. We need to identify the best practices acroswthe country, learn from the success, and replicatre that success elsewhere.
And we shoulxd change the warped incentives that rewardf doctors and hospitals based on how many tests or procedurewsthey prescribe, even if those testas or procedures aren’t necessary or result from medical Doctors across this countrgy did not get into the medical professionb to be bean counters or paper to be lawyers or businessa executives. They became doctors to heal people. And that’zs what we must free them to do. "Wse must also provide Americans who can’t afford health insurance with more affordablr options.
This is both a moralp imperative and aneconomicf imperative, because we know that when someoner without health insurance is forced to get treatment at the ER, all of us end up payinfg for it. "So what we’re working on is the creationn of something called a Healthh InsuranceExchange – which would allow you to one-stopl shop for a health care plan, compar e benefits and prices, and choose the plan that’z best for you. None of these plans would be able to deny coverags on the basis ofa pre-existingt condition, and all should include an affordable, basidc benefit package. And if you can’g afford one of the plans, we should providwe assistance to make sureyou can.
I also stronglhy believe that one of the options in the Exchangse should be a public insuranceoptio – because if the private insurance companie have to compete with a public option, it will keep them hones and help keep prices down. covering more Americans will obviously cost a good deal of money at a time wherewe don’r have extra to That’s why I have alreadu promised that reform will not add to our deficit over the next ten To make that happen, we have alreadyu identified hundreds of billions worth of savings in our budge – savings that will come from steps like reducingf Medicare overpayments to insurance companies and rootingh out waste, fraud and abuse in both Medicare and Medicaid.
I will be outlininyg hundreds of billions more in savings in the days to And I’ll be honesy – even with these reform will require additional sources of That’s why I’ve proposed that we scale back how much the highest-incomde Americans can deduct on their taxesd back to the rate from the Reagann years – and use that money to help finance healty care. "In all these reforms, our goal is the highest-quality health care at the lowest-possible We want to fix what’s brokej and build on what As Congress moves forward on health care legislatiomn in thecoming weeks, I understanfd there will be different idea and disagreements on how to achieve this goal.
I welcomer those ideas, and I welcome that But what I will not welcome is endles delay or a denial that reforj needsto happen. When it comes to health this country cannot continue on its current I know there are some who believde that reform istoo expensive, but I can assurwe you that doing nothing will cost us far more in the comingt years. Our deficits will be higher. Our premiums will go up. Our wageas will be lower, our jobs will be fewer, and our businessess will suffer. "So to those who criticize our efforts, I ask, “Whaft is the alternative?” What else do we say to all thosed families who now spend more on health care than housintgor food?
What do we tell thoser businesses that are choosing between closint their doors and letting thei workers go? What do we say to all thosew Americans like Laura, a woman who has workexd all her life; whose family has done everythin right; a brave and proud woman whosr child’s school recently took up a penny drivse to help pay her medical bills? What do we tell them ? "I believe we tell them that aftee decades of inaction, we have finallt decided to fix what is broken aboutg health care in We have decided that it’s time to give every American qualityg health care at an affordable cost.
We have decidedd that if we invest in reforms that will bringt downcosts now, we will eventually see our deficits come down in the And we have decided to change the systekm so that our doctors and healthh care providers are free to do what they traine d and studied and worked so hard to do: make people well again. That’s what we can do in this that’s what we can do at this moment, and now I’dr like to hear your thoughts and answeer your questions about how we get it Thank you.
"

Chrysler-Fiat deal crosses finish line - Triangle Business Journal:

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The company is now known as and remainse based inAuburn Hills, The Supreme Court, which had temporarilyt held up the deal on Monday while it considered appeals by three Indiana state pension fundws and several consumer groups, said in an order that the groupw had not proven that the courf needed to intervene. Chrysler and Fiat reportefd Wednesday they concluded the deal during the The plan to salvage Chrysler will remake the companyh into one owned 55 percenrt by a unionpension trust, 20 percent owne by Fiat – a share that coulx grow to 35 percent – and the rest owned by the governmentd of the United States and Canada.
Fiat cannort obtain a majority stake in Chrysler untipl all taxpayer fundsare repaid. "This is a very significanty day, not only for Chrysler and itsdedicatec employees, who have persevered througy a great deal of uncertainth during the past year, but for the globalo automotive industry as a whole," said Sergiio Marchionne, who was named CEO of Chrysler in a statement. "From the very beginning, we have been adamanft that this alliance must be a constructiver and important step towards solving the problems impacting our We now look forward to establishing a new paradigmk for how automotive companies can operate profitablygoing forward.
" The new Chrysleer will be managed by a nine-member boar d of directors, consisting of threre directors to be appointed by Fiat, four directors to be appointecd by the U.S. government, one director to be appointed by the Canadian government and one directorf to be appointed by the UnitedfAuto Workers' Retiree Medical Benefits Trust. The board is expected to name C. Robergt Kidder as chairman.
On Tuesday, a federalk bankruptcy judge in New York refuse toblock Chrysler's effort to pull the franchises of 789

California asks contractors to cut prices up to 15% - Sacramento Business Journal:

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“We need your help!” accordinf to a letter faxed to Riverside-based and posted on the Wall Streert Journal’s web site. “Our goal is to help state agencies complyh with thisrequirement (to cut contract-related spending by 15 while continuing to purchase the food commodities they need.” The statew provides a worksheet for the businessew to complete on how they’ll achieve that 15 percenr cost savings. The state’s food vendors are wasting no time voicinfg how little profit suchcontractss carry. Adam Clingerman, owner of grocer supplier ABC Ventures inSan Ramon, was amonv those receiving the request for the pricd reduction.
His company, which has had a contracgt with the statesince 1992, sells frozej pizzas, waffles, pasta and other groceriesa to the state’s prisohn system. Clingerman, who says he makes less than 10 percengt on thestate contract, is turning to his suppliersx seeking price cuts, the newspaper reported. Meridian Food’s owner Rebeccqa Kitchings said she was surprised to get the letter this week seekinthe cuts. “Oh, for heaven’sw sake,” Kitchings told the Wall Street “It’s a contract. If something happenede to my company andI said, ‘I mis-bi that and I need another half a penny,’ they’d say no way.
”

Grassroots movement by students proves students can start tradition - Central Florida Future

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Grassroots movement by students proves students can start tradition Central Florida Future UCF Athletics Association's attempt at establishing some sort of tradition, the UKnight salute, has been an absolute bust. Seeing as how the crowd has responded, it's obvious that the whole idea has been a failure, considering that none of the players, ... and more »

Six Flags, former Elitch Gardens owner, files for Chapter 11 - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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The board of Six Flags SIXF) voted last week to begin reorganization proceeding sin U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Districtof Delaware. The companyt listed assets of $3.03 billion and debtsa of $2.36 billion in its filing. Cascade Investments, the investmen firm for Microsoft founderBill Gates, owns 11.1 percenf of the voting securities in New York-based Six the largest share, bankruptcyt documents show. Six Flags has 97.7 million shares of common stockand 1.1 million sharesw of preferred stock. "The current managemengt team inheriteda $2.
4 billion debt load that cannot be sustained, particularly in these challenging financia markets," said Mark Shapiro, president and CEO of Six in a statement. "A a result, we are cleaninyg up the past and positioning the companh for futuregrowth ... Followingg a record year of performancein 2008, whichy completed the three-year turnaround of our system-wide park this action to clean up the balance sheet paves the way for a full revival of the Shapiro said.
Elitch Gardens had operatede for more than a centuryg at a northwest Denver The old Elitch Gardens shut downin 1994, and a new versiojn of the amusement park openef a year later in downtown The local Gurtler family and its financial partnerds sold the new park to Premie r Parks Inc. in 1996 for $65 million. It became Six Flagws Elitch Gardens twoyears later, when Premiefr acquired Six Flags Inc. and changed its corporate name to Six Six Flags soldoff Elitch's and other propertiex in 2007 in a series of transactions that left the Denvetr attraction in the hands of CNL Incomre Properties Inc., a real estate investmentt trust based in Orlando, Fla.
CNL reportedlyu paid $312 million for the properties. CNL arranged for Parc Managementt LLC of Florida tomanage Elitch's. Six Flagse now operates about 20 North Americabnamusement parks.

Capitolwire: Pileggi Wants to Change PA Electoral Process - PoliticsPA

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Capitolwire: Pileggi Wants to Change PA Electoral Process PoliticsPA PA Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi wants to allot Pennsylvania's electoral college votes on a congressional district by district basis, rather than the current system of winner take all. In a state like Pennsylvania, where Democratic candidates ... and more »

September is National Preparedness Month - AugustaGazette.com

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September is National Preparedness Month AugustaGazette.com By Anonymous September is National Preparedness Month and Butler County Management encourages everyone to take action in making sure your family, neigborhood and community are ready for emergencies and disasters of  »