“New Problem” for Illinois pension programs

Fixing ‘Tier II’ issue can be both costly and an opportunity

Ralph Martire

Posted December 18, 2023 5:06 pm

By Ralph Martire

The General Fund budget Gov. Pritzker inherited from his immediate predecessor Bruce Rauner could charitably be described as a “hot mess.” It was running an operating deficit of 30%, which in turn had created a ginormous $8 billion backlog of unpaid bills. To be clear, that isn’t fiscally sustainable.

It also isn’t desirable, because lack of fiscal capacity on the front-end means the inability to fund services to adequate levels on the back-end. That’s no bueno, given that over 94% of all General Fund service expenditures cover the core areas of education, health care, social services and public safety — which are not only demanded by voters and taxpayers, but also provide direct and indirect benefits to everyone.

And while Rauner’s financial mismanagement made things decidedly worse, the truth is Illinois’ fiscal problems are structural, have vexed lawmakers for generations and are so bad they’ve forced real cuts to be made in those four core service areas for decades. Indeed, when Pritzker first took office in 2019, Illinois was spending some $8 billion, or 24.4% less (after adjusting for inflation), on education, healthcare, social services and public safety than it had back in FY 2000 under Republican Governor George Ryan.

To his credit, Pritzker largely put Illinois’ fiscal house in order. He reduced the General Fund operating deficit from 30% to below 2%, generated interest cost savings by prepaying loans and pension contributions, got the Unemployment Insurance Fund healthy and built-up Illinois’ rainy day fund from zero dollars — Rauner had totally depleted it — to north of $2 billion. This created the fiscal capacity to start making some enhanced investments in core services that had previously been cut — although total spending today is still below FY 2000 levels in real terms.

Unfortunately, recent projections show the General Fund deficit will begin to worsen next fiscal year and continue to deteriorate thereafter. And no, overspending is not now, and as the afore-cited data prove never has been, the driver of General Fund deficits. The real culprit has always been a poorly designed state tax system that fails to comport with the principles of sound taxation, doesn’t track the modern economy and hence fails to generate enough revenue growth to cover the cost of maintaining the same level of public services from one year into the next.

To top things off, Illinois is on the verge of incurring a significant new financial obligation. See, historically Illinois was exempt from enrolling the vast majority of state workers — or any public school teachers — in Social Security. Which means Illinois didn’t have to pony-up the 6.2% of payroll needed to contribute into the system. But that exemption only pertains for so long as benefits provided under Illinois’ pension systems are at least equivalent to benefits provided under Social Security.

In 2010, Illinois created a new, Tier II pension plan that not only provides a significantly lesser benefit than under the prior Tier I plan, it also requires that Tier II members pay the same portion of their wages for these lesser benefits as Tier I members pay for greater benefits. Besides being patently unfair, Tier II runs afoul of the rules that allow Illinois to avoid enrolling folks in Social Security.

Since Illinois can’t afford to enroll all exempt state employees — and all public school teachers — in Social Security, it’ll have to increase Tier II benefits. Paying for that will be a challenge, because current tax policy doesn’t generate enough revenue to continue funding what the state does today, much less handle new costs.

This conundrum actually creates an opportunity. After living for generations with flawed tax policies that force Illinois to underfund core services, lawmakers can use the need to solve the pending Tier II fiscal crisis as an impetus for reforming state tax policy to work in the modern economy, finally allowing Illinois to make adequate and sustainable investments in the core services that build better communities.

Ralph Martire is Executive Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, a fiscal policy think tank, and the Arthur Rubloff Professor of Public Policy at Roosevelt University. rmartire@ctbaonline.org

Above is from:  https://www.dailyherald.com/20231216/columns/fixing-tier-ii-issue-can-be-both-costly-and-an-opportunity/

Current Status of General Mills New Warehouse

Rockford Register Star

Belvidere General Mills warehouse was supposed to open months ago. Here's the hold up

By Chris Green, Rockford Register Star,

1 day ago

The exterior of the massive General Mills warehouse and distribution center at 1210 Irene Road is complete and the landscaping is in place, but the anticipated fall opening date has been pushed back.

Belvidere Mayor Clint Morris said the company, which broke ground in August 2022, is now eyeing a late winter-early spring opening due to a shipping delay.

"They're still waiting on supplies," he said.

Exactly what supplies and equipment have yet to arrive is not clear.

"It could be storage racks, maybe forklifts. I don't know," Morris said.

General Mills still is on pace to hire 55 to 75 people, Morris said, as was written into its agreement with the city.

The 1.3 million-square-foot warehouse and distribution center will be state-of-the-art with an unspecified level of automation, but will not be fully automated, Morris said.

"From the city's perspective, this is about creating jobs," he said. "There will be workers out there."

General Mills has been a part of the Belvidere community for over 20 years and currently operates a specialty foods manufacturing plant at 915 E. Pleasant St. where it produces cereals and food for the company's Nature Valley and Fiber One brands.

Chris Green: 815-987-1241; cgreen@rrstar.com; @chrisfgreen

Above is from:  https://local.newsbreak.com/belvidere-il/3262791622116-belvidere-general-mills-warehouse-was-supposed-to-open-months-ago-heres-the-hold-up?s=dmg_local_email_bucket_14.web2_fromweb

Steer Tailing on way to be banned in Boone County?

Boone County committee votes to ban steer tailing. Here's a closer look

Northern Public Radio | By Maria Gardner Lara

Published December 8, 2023 at 10:48 AM CST

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Maria Gardner Lara

Boone County animal show ad hoc committee member Dara Mogenis speaks during a meeting on December 5, 2023.

A Boone County board committee reviewing rodeo ordinances passed a motion to ban steer tailing this month. It’s the sole event held at Mexican-style rodeos in the county.

The organization behind the drive for the ban is S.H.A.R.K., Showing Animals Respect and Kindness. The nonprofit animal rights group has heavily campaigned for the ban on the Mexican-style rodeos around the country including at Boone County.

Steve Hindi leads the nonprofit. In remarks in a recent video posted on his group's social media page, he said, “There’s something very, very, wrong in Boone County. The place reeks of corruption. We’ve identified three board members who will support these cruel rodeos no matter how much evidence we pile up.”

Hindi also claimed that the Boone County State’s Attorney’s office is working to protect the rodeos.

The page reaches thousands of followers from around the world and his posts often include a call to action for supporters to contact government officials who he feels haven’t taken the action they desire.

Some targets of S.H.A.R.K. tell WNIJ the group goes too far and that the tactics amount to harassment.

S.H.A.R.K. is registered in Geneva, Illinois. In 2020, tax returns show the organization had net assets around a half a million dollars, including $200,280 in contributions. In 2021, contributions were $297,735 and net assets were $374,429.

S.H.A.R.K. is also a party to a lawsuit against the county regarding the permitting of the rodeos. According to reports, the animal rights group argues that the county is not enforcing laws on animal cruelty, even though it's submitted videos demonstrating animal abuse.

In an interview with Hindi in November, he said one of the things that he finds cruel about the Mexican Style rodeos is participants’ use of long electric prods to move the animals—but his beliefs run deeper:

“We are opposed to all rodeos because all rodeos treat animals cruelly,” Hindi said.

He hasn’t called for a ban on American rodeos, such as the events held at the Boone County Fairgrounds.

Hindi said he focuses on banning the Mexican style rodeos in the county because he finds them to practice a larger degree of cruelty compared to American rodeos.

PETA, a national animal rights group, advocates for a ban on all rodeos.

Rodeo operators tell WNIJ that in the 2023 rodeo season, participants were no longer using those prods.

The Boone County ad hoc committee has been reviewing items regarding the Mexican-style rodeos held in the county since August. They’ve discussed defining what a rodeo is, liquor at the events and security, with no definitive resolution.

But when it came to steer tailing, the committee concluded on the item rather quickly and voted to ban animal tailing after holding discussions at the same meeting.

Board member Alisa Patterson opposed the move.

“I think we're doing a disservice to spend an hour and 15 minutes talking about this,” Patterson said.

"And we're going to vote on something without coming up with one thing that can make this thing safer for the steers, and for the riders,” she said.

Steer tailing is the only rodeo event held at Mexican-style rodeos hosted throughout the county. It involves a person on horse attempting to knock down a neutered male bull by its tail.

Prior to the vote, Dara Mogenis, a community member on the committee, played a video of incidents where animals were injured in rodeos held in the county. She’s a huge opponent of the Mexican style rodeos.

“It's very difficult for me and some of the other people here in the audience to think, 'How can it be done safely?,'” she said.

“And that would be a question to ask the rodeo participants, is there a safe way to do it? I can't see one.”

County board member Dave Wiltse said in addition to concern for the animals shown in the video, he’s also worried about those who may not visibly show any harm.

“How about all the other steers that didn't break anything?” he said .

“[The steer] ran 20 times in competition and stood in the pans and had pain from being dumped; fear from being in the chute again, to be run again."

County board member Alisa Patterson said she’s seen all of S.H.A.R.K. produced videos. While she doesn’t want animals to get hurt either, she finds it unfair to include videos filmed in 2022— prior to more recent code being implemented.

“There were differences between 2022 and 2023,” she said.

“And by continually mixing those things together, you're not getting a clearer picture of what's going on,“ Patterson said.

The county sheriff log of calls for 2023 regarding rodeos show a decrease in allegations of animal cruelty from the prior year.

In 2022, there were 19 rodeos held and five complaints alleging animal cruelty. This year, nine events were held and there was one allegation of an injured steer that’s under investigation.

Gracie Robles, a rodeo operator, said four of the nine rodeos this year were held on her property. She noted there were no complaints made in connection to her events.

Robles attributed the decrease in incidents due to the new codes.

“We are willing to do what we need to do,” she said.

“In some cases, when we aren't able, we're not holding an event.”

Beginning this year, veterinarians were required to be on call during the rodeos, participants are required to wear bib numbers, and there must be security personnel who are state licensed.

Banning electric prods is not part of the code. She said this year participants no longer use them.

Another issue that was discussed was the number of runs steers make in the competitions.

“They're not supposed to be overworked, they're given a break, but still are not meant to run over and over and over,” Mogenis said.

In response, Robles, the only rodeo owner on the committee, said steers don’t run nonstop. She said on average they rent 60 steers for the daylong events. They're divided into three groups and they rotate every hour.

County board member Sherry Branson and other members made comparisons to the competitions held in the county to professional rodeos and the associations that govern them.

But Robles says their events are different.

“These guys that come to our events are not professionals,” Roble said. "That's why we have to get this permit because it's an informal competition,” she said.

Board action

The committee voted five to three to ban animal tailing. Board member Tom Walberg voted against it.

He said he does not support animal abuse and believes it’s best if animal services handles allegations of harm.

“Those are the folks that really need to be dealing with these issues as opposed to county board members trying to regulate or create ordinances to fix a problem that we don't maybe totally understand," Walberg said.

Also, he doesn’t think the board should have rushed into making a decision that is complex.

“I certainly want to be mindful to all constituents in Boone County,” he said, “and give them every opportunity to voice all their concerns and try to make the best decision.”

What's next

All recommendations the committee makes will need approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals before it’s presented to the county board for a final vote.

County actions on the Mexican-style rodeos have been contentious. WNIJ has previously reported how some Latino leaders were concerned that some remarks made during board meetings in opposition to Mexican-style rodeos have been tinged with racism.

Nationally, the Los Angeles City Council recently voted unanimously to ban all rodeos, despite opposition from charreria aficionados and Professional Bull Riders, Inc., which annually visits the city as part of its Professional Bull Riders tour.

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Maria Gardner Lara

AARP: The new COVID

New HV.1 COVID Variant Sweeps U.S.

This ‘great-grandchild’ of omicron is behind more than a quarter of coronavirus infections

---

By

Rachel Nania,

AARP

EN ESPAÑOL

Published November 07, 2023

/ Updated November 21, 2023

GETTY IMAGES

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Just in time for respiratory virus season, health officials are tracking a new coronavirus variant that has unseated its predecessors and is now the dominant strain in the U.S.

HV.1, as it’s known, currently accounts for about 29 percent of coronavirus infections in the country, the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. Just behind it is EG.5, also called Eris, which is responsible for about 22 percent of COVID cases.

Here’s what we know so far about HV.1, including how well experts expect our vaccines and treatments to work against it.

HV.1 is in the omicron family

Similar to EG.5, HV.1 is a descendant of the omicron variant, which has been dominating in the U.S. since late 2021. Some experts are even referring to HV.1 and EG.5 as the great-grandchildren of omicron, says Matthew Binnicker, director of clinical virology at Mayo Clinic.

They share similarities with the original strain of omicron but have a few differences, or mutations, that set them apart, “and most of those mutations are rendering the virus, including HV.1, to be able to spread more efficiently from person to person,” Binnicker says.

Vaccines, treatments expected to still work

Despite this advantage, health experts expect our vaccines and treatments to remain effective against severe infections caused by the newly dominant variant. The reason: HV.1 is similar enough to another omicron spin-off, XBB.1.5, which is what the new vaccines target.

“There have been laboratory studies that have shown that the immune response generated by the updated vaccines are able to neutralize some of the more recent COVID variants,” Binnicker says.

Similarly, there’s no indication that antiviral treatments, like Paxlovid, will be rendered ineffective against HV.1, Binnicker adds.

That’s good news as we enter the time of year when the spread of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, kicks into high gear. Cameron Wolfe, M.D., an infectious disease specialist at Duke Health, said during a September news briefing that we typically see a larger spike of COVID-19 in January and February, especially. “And I don’t see any reason that won’t be the case [again],” he said.

Currently, COVID-19 hospitalization rates are inching up; more than 16,200 Americans are being hospitalized each week with COVID-19, federal data shows. Deaths from the virus are also increasing. The CDC reports rates for the week ending Nov. 11 were up 9 percent from the previous week.

How to protect yourself from HV.1, other COVID variants

The best way to protect yourself from winding up in the hospital with COVID — or worse, dying from the disease — is to get vaccinated, Binnicker and other health experts say. Vaccine uptake, however, has been low since the new vaccines became available in mid-September. As of mid-October, 7 percent of Americans in a national survey reported getting the shot.

Find COVID-19 Vaccines in Your State

AARP's 53 state and territory COVID-19 vaccine guides can help you find vaccines near you and provide the latest answers to common questions about costs, eligibility and availability.

“And that’s just not high enough,” Binnicker says. “We need to have a higher percentage vaccinated because we are seeing patients with COVID end up in the hospital and on ventilators.”

Older adults have been more likely to get the new vaccine than younger age groups. Data from the national survey, reported by the CDC, show that 15.4 percent of adults ages 65 to 74 received the new COVID vaccine as of mid-October; that share jumps to 20.5 percent when looking at adults 75 and older.

In addition to staying up to date with the vaccine, Binnicker says people who want to lower their risk of getting COVID-19 can wear a mask when they’re out in crowded public spaces, such as the grocery store. A good fitting, high-quality mask can help to block transmission of the virus. Also: Wash your hands often. “That’s really important to help prevent spread as well,” Binnicker says.

Having symptoms? Test yourself. (As of Nov. 20, the federal government is once again allowing U.S. households to order four free COVID-19 tests.) If you test positive, you may be eligible for a prescription treatment that can help stave off coronavirus complications — and time is of the essence with these medications. They work best when started within five days of the start of symptoms.

If your test is negative, try again in a few days. Binnicker says because many people have built up immunity from vaccination or previous infections, it can take longer for the virus to build up to detectable levels in the respiratory tract.

Rachel Nania writes about health care and health policy for AARP. Previously she was a reporter and editor for WTOP Radio in Washington, D.C. A recipient of a Gracie Award and a regional Edward R. Murrow Award, she also participated in a dementia fellowship with the National Press Foundation

Above is from:  https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2023/new-covid-variant-hv-1.html

WNIJ reports on Boone County’s Rodeo Committee

A Boone County committee considers limits on rodeos due to security, but officials say there’s no evidence of a problem

Northern Public Radio | By Maria Gardner Lara

Published November 23, 2023 at 2:30 PM CST

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Maria Gardner Lara.

Boone County Rodeo/Animal Show Ad Hoc committee.

It’s been nearly eight months since the Boone County Board voted down proposals that would have nearly banned Mexican-style rodeos in the county. A special committee is now tasked with reviewing whether to recommend new regulations for the events.

The ad hoc committee has been meeting since August, looking at all matters related to the “charrerias,” or Mexican-style rodeos. These events have been held throughout the county for over 25 years.

During a meeting this month, the county’s assistant state’s attorney Karla Maville and Sheriff Scott Yunk shared their insight and expertise with the committee.

And what they had to say didn’t always align with what some members wanted to hear.

For instance, on the issue of liquor.

These sporting events are held on private property and are “Bring Your Own Bottle” or BYOB. Thus, rodeo owners don’t have a liquor license nor carry insurance required by bars and other establishments selling alcohol.

Boone County Board Chairman Rodney Riley wants to do away with BYOB at these events all together.

“I think BYOB is the root of the evil here,” he said. “At this point, I think if we're going to allow alcohol at these events, we need to look at requiring permits for alcohol sales license and do it the right way.”

But Committee chair Sherry Branson said there’s been no evidence of – quote -- “evil” taking place at these events.

“We all have our own assumptions and our own thoughts and feelings on the matter,” Branson said, “but we had no documentation of that described the State's Attorney's Office that ties the two.”

The county’s assistant attorney said it would be difficult to defend in court a policy that selectively bans BYOB at rodeos.

Rodeo organizers apply for a temporary use permit to hold events in the county.

Maville read a list of complaints the sheriff department received in 2022. There were less than 20. It included issues like traffic, loud music, and five regarding animal cruelty.

And this year she says the sheriff’s department received no complaints.

Committee chair Branson said she was surprised by the numbers.

“I have to say I expected it to be a much longer list,” she said.

Rodeo owners say they’ve always hired security for their events. And since last year they’ve hired additional security to comply with the county requirements that firms be licensed with a state agency.

The sheriff described the security operation at the rodeos as –quote --“at times, it’s impressive.”

And while some members want to bring forth a proposal on security, Chair Branson said there’s not much evidence demonstrating that there’s a problem.

“We have to go by what we have documentation for,” she said. “The state's attorney cannot enforce based upon hearsay; she has to have documentation.”

During public comments, Steve Hindi, the founder of SHARK, an animal rights group, disagreed.

“We've called the police over, and over, and over where those calls have been recorded,” he said. “I don't know [if they’ve been documented], but I know we made them.”

Also, he contended with the argument that rodeo operators and participants who violate the law ought to be the target instead of penalizing all rodeos. For him, it’s not a matter of a few bad actors.

“Time to stop talking about, what, ‘one bad location,’” Hindi said. “Every location -- we've said it over and over -- every location. What part am I not getting through on? Am I speaking a different language? I'm sick of it.”

The ad hoc meeting at times was contentious. At one point, the committee chair called for order after a member of the public interjected during the meeting.

Gracie Robles, a rodeo owner and a member of the committee shared some of the challenges she faces during public comments at a board meeting.

“Many times, at the ad hoc meetings I have felt frustrated, puzzled, bullied and even personally attacked by the public that was present,” Robles said. “Some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted or taken out of context. I would like to make very clear that we the rodeo property owners do not condone or support the abuse of animals at our events.”

Robles said they have a veterinarian on call the entire duration of their events in case of an injury to an animal.

Boone County board member Marion Thornberry said he’s displeased with the response from some county officials.

“The state's attorney says she doesn't she can't defend this, and she can't defend that,” Thornberry said. “Ladies and gentlemen, she doesn't have an option. Anything we pass whether it's an ordinance or regulation, whatever -- she has to defend whether she wants to or not.”

Boone County faces at least two lawsuits in relation to animal shows and the temporary use permits.

At the ad hoc meeting, members came to no resolution on the liquor and security topics. There’s no set timeline for when their work will conclude.

Above is from:  https://www.northernpublicradio.org/wnij-news/2023-11-23/a-boone-county-committee-considers-limits-on-rodeos-due-to-security-but-officials-say-theres-no-evidence-of-a-problem

Johns Hopkins weekly newletter 11-16-2023

Roundup and analysis of the top headlines on health security, pandemic preparedness, COVID-19, and other news from the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

Please note that some links may require subscription or registration

November 16, 2023



Note: We will not publish on November 23 in observance of the US Thanksgiving holiday. We will resume publication on November 30.

TOP NEWS

US respiratory virus season in full swing; other nations see increased flu activity

The respiratory virus season in the US is in full swing, with the “tripledemic” diseases—RSV, flu, and COVID-19—increasing nationwide, especially in the South. Influenza-like illnesses (ILI) have exceeded the baseline, marking the onset of flu season. This is its second earliest start in 6 years, with 2.9% of doctor visits nationwide being for symptoms like fever, cough, or sore throat. Puerto Rico has declared an influenza epidemic, with high levels of activity and numerous hospitalizations and deaths, particularly among unvaccinated older adults and children. RSV is also at a very high level, with some US states experiencing intense seasons despite expectations of a calmer year.

For the first time in US history, vaccines for all 3 major respiratory viruses are available this fall, but vaccination rates for COVID-19 and RSV remain significantly lower than for flu. Experts continue to highlight the importance of vaccination, especially for those at higher risk of developing serious complications, including older adults and those with underlying medical conditions. About 36 million adults in the US—about 14% of the US adult population—have received the updated 2023-24 COVID vaccine, whereas nearly 35% of the US adult population have received the flu vaccine. As for those aged 65 years and older, 57.6% have received the flu vaccine and 13.5% of adults aged 60 and older have gotten an RSV vaccine.

Among children, only 4.9% have received the updated COVID vaccine and 32.6% have received a flu vaccine. Though there is a new monoclonal antibody shot to lower the risk of RSV-related hospitalization among newborns, premature infants, or young children with health conditions that put them at higher risk, shortages of the new tool have raised concern as the nation enters what could be another severe RSV season.

Flu activity is up in some other Northern Hemisphere locations and tropical countries. In East Asia, China and South Korea saw increased flu levels, while several nations in Southeast Asia, Southern Asia, and the Americas also reported rises. In the last half of October, 86% of positive flu samples were influenza A, including the H3N2 and 2009 H1N1 subtypes.

Climate change poses serious risks to human health, wellbeing, Lancet Countdown report, other groups warn ahead of COP28

Several new reports were released this week ahead of the global climate summit known as COP28, taking place in Dubai November 30 to December 12. In addition to reports from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the World Economic Forum, a group of 7 climate organizations, and the US government, the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change published its eighth report. Together, the reports warn in no uncertain terms, that rising temperatures are already impacting human health and, if left unabated, will have catastrophic consequences for human survival.

Among some of the impacts seen already: heat-related deaths are rising; air pollution is increasing the risk of death and adverse outcomes from various conditions; serious and life-threatening bacteria are spreading into new areas due to warming waters; disease-carrying insects and dangerous fungal spores are moving into new territories; and food insecurity is affecting a record number of people worldwide.

As part of its Fifth National Climate Assessment—which says climate change-associated threats pose risks to the economy, human health, ecosystems, buildings, homes, and infrastructure like roads, with impacts that could exacerbate existing inequalities—the US government published an interactive atlas to help Americans anticipate how changing climate conditions might affect their homes and businesses. There are some signs of progress, but experts agree that more actions must be taken on climate and health to avoid a “dangerous future.”

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PAHPA reauthorization unlikely this year due to political disagreements, lack of engagement; 100 stakeholder groups call for quick action; commentary proposes how to best prepare for next pandemic

Axios: Pandemic prep bill falls victim to COVID politics

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US House approves amendment to HHS spending bill that would ban on federal funding for so-called gain-of-function research; scientists worry provision could hinder important research if passed

STAT+: House moves to limit so-called gain-of-function research

Science: House approves ban on gain-of-function pathogen research

See also: Hopkins Bloomberg Public Health Magazine: Gain-of-Function Research: Balancing Science and Security

WHO says Israeli military incursion of Gaza hospital ‘totally unacceptable’; UN human rights chief says disease outbreaks, hunger ‘inevitable’

Reuters: WHO says Israeli raid on Gaza hospital is totally unacceptable

New York Times: Israel Seizes Gaza Hospital That Became Symbol of the War Itself

Health Policy Watch: Israeli Troops Enter Shifa Hospital – WHO Decries Move as “Totally Unacceptable”

Reuters: U.N. human rights chief says widespread disease, hunger inevitable in Gaza

NBC News: Disease runs rampant in Gaza as clean water runs out

International Committee of the Red Cross: The protection of hospitals during armed conflicts: What the law says

See also: The Telegraph: ‘Tragic milestone’ hit as 1,000 attacks against doctors and hospitals recorded in Myanmar

Americans’ trust in science, scientists lower now than before pandemic, survey finds; US CDC director works to restore trust in agency

Pew Research Center: Americans’ Trust in Scientists, Positive Views of Science Continue to Decline

STAT: One-quarter of Americans have little to no confidence in scientists to act in public’s best interests, per report

Washington Post: How CDC’s new director is trying to regain trust shattered by covid

Recent conference sessions, journal article, blog post address various aspects of rebuilding trust in science

American Public Health Association: Fighting for Public Health: Coming Together in a Divided World

International Science Council: Reframing Trust in Science for Multilateral Policy: Insights from the Science Journalists Forum

Psychological Science: Vaccine Nationalism Counterintuitively Erodes Public Trust in Leaders

Gavi VaccinesWork: To Prevent the Next Pandemic, Follow the Science

Generative AI could spread more convincing health misinformation, guardrails needed, experts warn

Axios: Deepfakes could supercharge health care's misinformation problem

Flinders University: Medical researchers find AI fails pub test

Review, commentary examine misinformation during COVID-19 pandemic, effectiveness of interventions, impacts

Health Affairs: A Systematic Review Of COVID-19 Misinformation Interventions: Lessons Learned

JAMA Internal Medicine: Health Disinformation—Gaining Strength, Becoming Infinite (commentary)

Routine vaccination exemptions at record high level among US kindergartners, CDC report shows

CBS: School vaccination exemptions now highest on record among kindergartners, CDC reports

ABC: Exemptions for routine childhood vaccination at highest level ever: CDC report

Your Local Epidemiologist: Drop in routine vaccinations

See also: AP: UK experts recommend chickenpox shot for kids for the first time, decades after other countries

Nations must redouble efforts to fill gaps in measles vaccination coverage to prevent future outbreaks, make progress toward elimination, report says

ABC News: "Staggering" rise in global measles outbreaks in 2022, CDC and WHO report

MMWR: Progress Toward Measles Elimination — Worldwide, 2000–2022

COVID-19 contributed to widening gender gap in US life expectancy, now 73.2 years for men, 79.1 for women

STAT: Life expectancy for men in U.S. falls to 73 years — six years less than for women, per study

JAMA: Widening Gender Gap in Life Expectancy in the US, 2010-2021

About 20% of COVID-19 patients experienced virologic rebound after taking Paxlovid, study shows; WHO releases 13th update of COVID-19 treatment guidelines

STAT: Study suggests Covid rebound is far more common with Paxlovid than without

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Receiving COVID, flu vaccinations at same time safe, effective, and might produce more immune response against SARS-CoV-2, studies suggest; about 36M people in US have gotten updated COVID jab

CIDRAP: Coadministration of COVID, flu vaccines as effective as when given separately, data suggest

NBC News: Should you get your Covid and flu shots at the same time? New research suggests yes

ABC News: About 36M American adults have received the updated COVID vaccine: CDC

“The key thing is to see if this has any kind of meaningful clinical benefit – do the higher levels of antibody translate into more protection against infection or disease?” – Dr. Amesh Adalja, Senior Scholar at the Center for Health Security, told The Guardian about the study, which is not yet peer-reviewed.

COVID, flu vaccine uptake lagging among US healthcare workers, CDC studies show

CIDRAP: COVID, flu vaccine uptake in US healthcare workers lacking

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As scientists learn more about how long COVID affects the brain, task force publishes consensus guidance on treatment of mental health symptoms in long COVID patients

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Georgetown University School of Medicine: Georgetown Global Health Center Launches First Open-Access Wildlife Disease Database

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FROM THE CENTER

More than 100 stakeholder groups join Center for Health Security in calling on US Congress leadership to reauthorize PAHPA

This week, more than 100 stakeholders, including the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), and other groups representing academia, industry, and research institutes, sent a letter to congressional leadership urging them to reauthorize the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) before the end of the calendar year and with the same bipartisan support it has had since its original authorization 17 years ago.

“Our nation’s changing health security threat landscape and the federal government’s responsibility to protect the American people demand that we work together now to find a strong bipartisan path forward to reauthorize this critical legislation,” write the signatories. “Failing to reauthorize PAHPA would have serious effects on our country’s economic well-being, national security, and health security given the rapidly changing threat landscape.”

See a full list of signatories and read the full letter here: https://centerforhealthsecurity.org/2023/more-than-100-stakeholder-groups-call-on-us-congress-leadership-to-reauthorize-pahpa

Was the auto strike a “Christian Social Justice” move?

There’s another Christian movement that’s changing our politics. It has nothing to do with whiteness or nationalism

Analysis by John Blake, CNN

Mon, November 13, 2023 at 7:03 AM CST·12 min read

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Just days before he would lead an unprecedented strike against the Big Three automakers, Shawn Fain, the president of the United Auto Workers, did something extraordinary.

Fain, a middle-aged, bespectacled man who could pass for a high school science teacher, was warning auto workers they would probably have to strike, citing resistance by automaker CEOs whose companies he said made “a quarter of a trillion dollars” in profits while they “nickel and dime our members every day.”

He then paused before saying, “Now I’m going to get personal.”

Fain started talking about his Christian faith. He cited scripture, including Matthew 17:20–21, where Jesus told his disciples that if they have faith the size of a mustard seed they can move mountains because “nothing will be impossible for you.” He said that for UAW members, organizing and making bold demands of automakers was “an act of faith in each other.”

“Great acts of faith are seldom born out of calm calculation,” added Fain, who often carries his grandmother’s Bible. “It wasn’t logic that caused Moses to raise his staff on the bank of the Red Sea. It wasn’t common sense that caused Paul to abandon the law and embrace grace. And it wasn’t a confident committee that prayed in a small room in Jerusalem for Peter’s release from prison. It was a fearful, desperate, band of believers that were backed into a corner.”

Fain’s faith did move a corporate mountain — three, to be exact. After a six-week campaign of strikes, the UAW reached a historic agreement with General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Chrysler-owner Stellantis that would give workers their biggest pay raise in decades. The victory (it still has to be ratified by UAW members) not only reinvigorated an emboldened labor movement in the US, it also marked the revival of another movement in America: the Social Gospel.

Fain’s sermonette was remarkable because labor leaders don’t typically cite the Bible in such detail to justify a strike. But they once did. Fain’s decision to blend scripture with a strike is straight out of the Social Gospel playbook.

Members of the Writers Guild of America join UPS Teamsters during a rally ahead of a possible UPS strike on July 19, 2023, in Los Angeles. - Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

The Social Gospel was a Christian movement that emerged in late 19th-century America as a response to the obscene levels of inequality in a rapidly industrializing country. Its adherents took on the exploitation of workers and unethical business practices of robber barons like oil magnate John D. Rockefeller, who, when once asked by a reporter how much money he needed to finally have enough, purportedly said, “Just a bit more.”

The Social Gospel turned religion into a weapon for economic and political reform. Its message: saving people from slums was just as important as saving them from hell. At its peak, the movement’s leaders supported campaigns for eight-hour workdays, the breaking up of corporate monopolies and the abolition of child labor. They spoke from pulpits, lectured across the country and wrote best-selling books.

The popular trend of people wearing WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) bracelets, for example, didn’t start off as Christian merchandizing. It was the slogan of a popular 1897 novel, “In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do,” written by the Rev. Charles Sheldon, a Social Gospel leader.

Fain’s sermonette underscores a trend that has largely gone unnoticed: The Social Gospel movement is making a comeback. Some may argue it never left.

When it comes to religion, stories about White Christian nationalism command most of the media’s attention today. But a collection of American intellectual and religious leaders are showing that there’s another type of Christianity that’s also shaping our politics, and it has nothing to do with Whiteness or nationalism.

These leaders include the UAW’s Fain, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, independent presidential candidate Cornel West, the Rev. William Barber II, the Rev. Liz Theoharis and the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Matthew Desmond. The most famous follower of the Social Gospel is the Rev. Martin Luther King, who was assassinated while helping lead a labor strike of sanitation workers.

All the above leaders are carrying on the torch of the Social Gospel in one way or another. They are using the Bible, as Social Gospel leaders once did, to argue in various ways that Christian deeds are more important than creeds and that unfettered capitalism “thrives on selfish impulses that Christian teaching condemns.”

Reverend William Barber speaks during an anti-poverty demonstration at the US Supreme Court in Washington on November 15, 2021. - Jemal Countess/Getty Images

It might sound like hyperbole to say that this resurgent form of the Social Gospel is changing our politics. But its proponents have helped reshape many Americans’ perspectives.

More Americans now believe that Big Tech monopolies are a growing threat to prosperity; more support a dramatic raise in the federal minimum wage; and more believe that government should help those least able to help themselves — whether it’s young people struggling with staggering student loans or the government sending money directly to families and small businesses impacted by the Covid pandemic. All these shifts in attitudes and policy reflect in part the influence of the Social Gospel.

Would Jesus go on strike?

Fain embodies this shift in thinking. He reached deep into the Social Gospel throughout the UAW strike, routinely deploying what one commentator called “strikingly Christian rhetoric.”

Christopher H. Evans, author of “The Social Gospel in American Religion: A History,” said he heard the Social Gospel in Fain’s UAW speeches.

“It sounds like there’s very much an emphasis on Jesus is for the worker, Jesus stands in solidarity with the laborers,” said Evans, a professor of the history of Christianity at Boston University. “That’s his consistent message and it runs through a lot of the tradition of the Social Gospel going back to the late 19th century.”

Mining companies used to employ child workers, called "breaker boys," to break large lumps of coal into smaller pieces and remove impurities. These young workers were photographed in the late 1800s in Kingston, Pennsylvania. - Library of Congress

There was once a “deeply pro-labor vein of Christianity” in the late 19^th and early 20^th century that galvanized powerful working-class movements, wrote Heath W. Carter, author of “Union Made: Working People and the Rise of Social Christianity in Chicago,” in a recent essay.

“For countless workers throughout American history, traditional faith and labor militancy have gone hand in hand,” said Carter, an associate professor of American Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary. “From the labor movement’s earliest days, workers insisted that they organized because the Bible told them so.”

Union-friendly newspapers brimmed with scriptural quotations. The Gospel of Luke supplied some perennial favorites: ‘Woe unto you that are rich! For ye have received your consolation’ (6:24) and ‘the laborer is worthy of his hire’ (10:7).”

The modern-day Social Gospel prophets

Other current leaders carrying the Social Gospel torch have helped shape debates around everything from health care and minimum wage to attitudes toward the poor.

Sen. Warnock, for example, cites Matthew 25, where Jesus says people will be judged by what they do for “the least of these,” to argue for expanding Medicaid to recalcitrant states. In doing this, he is walking in the theological steps of the Social Gospel.

When the Rev. Barber, the founding director of the Yale Divinity School‘s Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, ties issues like climate change, immigration and voter suppression to his Christian faith, he is evoking the Social Gospel.

“The same forces demonizing immigrants are also attacking low-wage workers,” he said in an interview several years ago. “The same politicians denying living wages are also suppressing the vote; the same people who want less of us to vote are also denying the evidence of the climate crisis and refusing to act now; the same people who are willing to destroy the Earth are willing to deny tens of millions of Americans access to health care.”

But perhaps the most surprising place to find the Social Gospel is in the work of an Ivy League professor who is changing the way we look at poverty in America. Matthew Desmond is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.” and “Poverty, by America.”

In his books Desmond argues that poverty is not the result of an individual’s moral failures but the result of a system in which “keeping some citizens poor serves the interests of many.” He also has said the US government has the resources to eliminate poverty.

Matthew Desmond, whose books include, "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City." - Amir Levy/The New York Times/Redux

“I want to end poverty, not reduce it,” he said in one interview. “I don’t want to treat it; I want to cure it.”

Perhaps it’s not surprising that Desmond is the son of a pastor. His books and interviews are filled with scriptural references that could be taken right out of a Social Gospel sermon from the late 19^th century.

During another recent interview, Desmond said the moral outrage that’s characteristic of his work reflects his faith.

“I feel like often, throughout the Scriptures, when you see God getting really angry, it’s because some disadvantaged group is getting screwed,” he said. ”It’s like Isaiah 61:8 — ‘I, the Lord, hate robbery. I hate injustice. I love justice.’ This kind of righteous hate is something that I try to channel.”

How the Social Gospel differs from White Christian nationalism

If the Social Gospel was, and is, such a profound movement, why isn’t it better known today?  And how does it differ from the most scrutinized form of Christianity in contemporary America: White Christian nationalism?

The second question is a tricky one, because it’s inaccurate to say that White evangelical Christians don’t have a tradition of social reform. In the 19^th century, many White evangelical Christians fought for the abolition of slavery as well as women’s rights. Where many diverge from Social Gospel followers, however, is primarily in their attitudes toward poverty.

Many White evangelical Christians in the 19^th century believed in a trickle-down spirituality — if individuals are saved, they will go on help the poor and transform society, said Evans, the Boston University professor. But the shocking explosion of poverty in cities of the Northeast US in the late 19^th century made that belief seem inadequate.

Social Gospel advocates in the late 1800s spoke out against the economic inequities that helped create crowded urban slums like this one in the Five Points neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City, circa 1885. - Archive Photos/Getty Images

“What do you do when you’re faced with the tenements filled with children dying of contagious diseases, where you have mass poverty?” Evans said. “The (Social Gospel) leaders were saying that capitalism as an economic system created these issues, that wealth was concentrated in the hands of a very small number and it’s not trickling down to serve the poor. There is no social safety net, and no regulation of factories and sweatshops.”

Perhaps the best distillation between a Social Gospel approach and a White evangelical approach can be heard in the wry observation of the Brazilian theologian Dom Helder Camara. He once said: “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”

The future of the Social Gospel

For various reasons, the Social Gospel had gradually lost steam by the mid-20th century. The optimism embodied by its leaders seemed misplaced after the horrors of World War I. White evangelical culture grew in prominence. The mainline Protestant churches that carried, and still preach, its message began to lose members and influence.

But the prominence of people like Fain and other leaders who are carrying on the Social Gospel tradition prove that it remains relevant. They also exemplify a future where figures outside of traditional religious organizations — labor leaders, scholars, nontraditional pastors and other spiritual leaders — embody the Social Gospel message.

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain speaks during a rally in support of striking UAW members in Detroit on September 15, 2023. - Rebecca Cook/Reuters

“There’s probably going to be a number of more movements like the United Auto Workers where people apply Christianity toward questions being raised about labor, wealth and capital,” Evans says. “It (The Social Gospel) won’t have the institutional muscle it had before, but you could still have these voices and followers.”

The climate in contemporary America seems ripe for the Social Gospel message. After decades of decline, major unions, including the Teamsters, the Writers Guild of America, the Screen Actors Guild, and others are flexing their muscle. Support for unions surged last year to its highest level since 1965. Inequality has soared to record highs. And a Pew survey last year found that a majority of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 had a negative view of capitalism.

It may be too much to expect the Social Gospel to return to its previous place of prominence. And the soaring optimism of old Social Gospel reformers may now seem as outdated as wobbly black-and-white silent films.

But what’s unsettling is that so many of the issues that early Social Gospel leaders battled are plaguing America again a century later. There a shocking concentration of wealth at the top, courts and corporations are crushing worker’s rights, and exploitive child labor — once seen as an appalling vestige of the past — has returned to parts of the US.

Fain’s UAW’s sermonette may have a moved a mountain, but there are so many more that remain.

John Blake is the author of “More Than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew.”

Above is from:  https://www.yahoo.com/news/another-christian-movement-changing-politics-130312634.html