Drug costs hikes triple inflation rate 
WASHINGTON – Starting June 1, Medicare discount cards began to be distributed to U.S. senior citizens.

According to the American Association of Retired Persons, users are going to need them just to keep pace with rampant inflation in prescription drug costs.

“If the price of drugs keeps going up faster than inflation, it will become more and more difficult for consumers, especially older consumers, to be able to afford them,” said John Rother, AARP’s policy director.

The findings of AARP’s report released last month on pharmaceutical drug pricing strongly mirror the group’s reports on drug pricing for the years 2000 through 2003. In that study AARP found that manufacturers’ price increases for widely used brand name prescription drugs rose from 4.1% in 2000 to 6.9% in 2003. This latest report, by AARP’s Public Policy Institute, found that the annual rate of increase in these prices rose to 7.2% for the 12 months ending in March 2004.

“This increase is particularly troubling” an AARP statement said, “because the rate of inflation actually declined from 2.3% in 2003 to 2.0%.” Pharmaceutical manufacturers say the increases are in line with inflation.

According to USA Today, the price increases over the last several years outstrip the discounts that will be available to seniors with the new Medicare discount card. The Bush Administration predicts savings of 15% or more for those who pay up to $30 a year to participate.

The higher cost of drugs is expected to lead to more calls to allow Americans to get their prescriptions filled in Canada.

Detroit schools layoff 194 from trades
An era of declining population in the City of Detroit and lower tax revenues has brought about the layoffs of 194 building trade union employees working for the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) in addition to hundreds of other teachers and other personnel. Their last day of work was June 30.

Two years ago, 114 building trades workers were also let go due to a $250 million budgetary shortfall announced by the DPS. The workers, who represent nearly all the building trades, perform maintenance and renovation work at Detroit school facilities. Only 65 workers remain in the bargaining unit, which is represented by The Greater Detroit Building and Construction Trades Council.

“With enrollment and tax revenues going down, it’s a difficult situation for everyone,” said Patrick Devlin, secretary-treasurer of GDBTC. “We hate to see these kinds of job losses. The work that they were doing is going to have to be outsourced, and we’re going to be watching very closely to make sure it goes union.”

The GDBTC’s Ed Coffey, who has represented the bargaining group, said the layoffs “have been devastating. The real tragedy in all this is that these people are going to go back to their union halls looking for work, and some of them already have 30 percent unemployment. The schools are losing money. We don’t have any easy answers.”