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Updating Lakeville seniors on out-of-pocket Rx drug costs: I spoke with Lakeville seniors regarding Medicare Part D out-of-pocket caps, courtesy of the Inflation Reduction Act, that will go into full effect next year. Medicare prescription drug plan beneficiaries will pay no more than $2,000 in out-of-pocket costs annually, with the option to smooth those expenses across monthly payments.
I also huddled with state and local officials about the Assawompset Pond Complex, a public water supply and recreational area with significant flooding and ecological issues that will require collaboration between federal, state, and local agencies to address. We have made progress over the past two years and continue to work together on planning, permitting and funding.
End of summer berry season at Ward’s Berry Farm: Jim Ward, owner of Ward’s Berry Farm in Sharon, was gracious enough to give Sharon officials and me a tour of his thriving farm, grocery, and family-fun area. We discussed his support for the EPA, integrated pest management, and partnership with state government and universities on research & development.
A new library and senior center in Freetown: I have been working closely with Freetown’s leadership on repairs to one of its bridges and building a new library and senior center. I reviewed the sites and also got to traipse into a colonial-era building, now in disuse, that the town may renovate for administrative spaces.
In conversations with residents, I learned more about the two sections of the town, Assonet & East Freetown. In Freetown as elsewhere, post offices help define geographic communities. The United States Postal Service is not just a critical service but also a valuable place.
Visiting Mendon’s newest community center: Local craftsmen volunteered to build the Mendon community center, which for decades since has been bulging at the seams to accommodate senior activities, Boy Scouts, and civic meetings.
I came by the center to say hi to Mendon seniors and discuss with officials our collaboration to fund a new community center. We also reviewed Mendon’s progress in its four-part study on its water infrastructure, which would need to expand to support more development.
Barbecue and cornhole with Sherborn’s seniors: Sherborn’s Council on Aging held a barbecue and cornhole competition with the police department. I stopped by to meet the police officers and to offer updates and take questions from the seniors. One question arose that comes up periodically: is the federal government taking money from Social Security? No – and indeed the answer is closer to the opposite.
The Social Security Trust Fund has never been put into the general fund of the government. However, the Social Security Trust Fund does hold about $2.9 trillion in U.S. Treasuries, which it has been drawing down since 2021 to help cover the gap between payroll taxes and benefits, which is widening as the U.S. population ages. From this reserve of Treasuries, Social Security can keep paying full benefits until 2035, at which point benefits would fall to 83% of promised amount unless Congress acts to restore fiscal health, as it did in 1983.
New manufacturing jobs in Swansea: German manufacturing company Isabellenhuette is expanding its footprint in Swansea as the location of its US headquarters, including a new facility and more manufacturing jobs. At the ribbon-cutting, I pointed to Isabellenhuette, which makes precision copper alloys, as an example of how Massachusetts thrives with international trade and investment.
Intertwining an R&D edge with excellence in high-value manufacturing, the talent base of the Commonwealth attracts businesses from all over the world. Protectionist policy would reduce foreign investment in, and market access for, our state’s economy. Instead, further investments in infrastructure (like Route 6 sewer upgrades in Swansea), education, science and workforce development will sharpen American and Bay State competitiveness.
Smartphones and social media safety at the YMCA: The Stoico/Firstfed YMCA serves Swansea, Somerset, Rehoboth, Dighton, and Berkley. I visited to meet some counselors and campers, tour the facility and hear about the planning for a community pool. I was gratified that federal funding has helped improve the programming for the kids for the start of this school year.
As always, I asked leadership and staff about smartphones and social media. They are grappling, like every youth-facing organization, with their downsides and consider it a core challenge. We discussed my recent bipartisan legislation, the Intimate Privacy Protection Act, to establish a duty of care for social media corporations. This legislation holds social media companies accountable for de-platforming cyberbullying, intimate privacy violations, defamation, and other toxic content that especially targets kids.
Maple walnut ice cream at Crescent Ridge Dairy: I rounded out summer with fresh ice cream at Crescent Ridge Dairy in Sharon in a roundtable discussion with owner Mark Parrish, his staff, and Sharon officials. We talked about solar panel installation, the status of Sharon’s water infrastructure upgrades, and, of course, dairy farming. I learned that grain is ‘fast food for cattle’ and grass-fed is best! |