The Jewish candidates: Kate Schwartz in the 75th A.D.

Other items in today’s column include:
*Jewish community coronavirus news
*San Diego County Judaica

Editor’s note: As part of our continuing series on members of the Jewish community who are running for public office, we look today at the campaign positions of Kate Schwartz.  An earlier story related the commentary of Schwartz, a clinical social worker, on how Americans are dealing with the coronavirus psychologically.  Other candidates who have been profiled in the series are Kroc Center for Peace and Justice scholar Sara Jacobs (53^rd Congressional District), San Diego City Councilwoman Barbara Bry (San Diego mayor’s race), attorney Joe Leventhal (5^th District San Diego City Council), and midwife Sarah Davis (78^th Assembly District).

By Donald H. Harrison

SAN DIEGO – Kate Schwartz, a Fallbrook Democrat who will face incumbent Assemblywoman Marie Waldron (R-Escondido) in the Nov. 3 runoff election, said the coronavirus pandemic illustrates the necessity to re-open community and rural hospitals. Furthermore, she said, it is evidence that California should switch from competing private health systems to a unified, single-payer health care system.  She said California could set an example for the rest of the nation.

“We need to rethink the closure of our community and rural hospitals,” Schwartz said during a telephone interview.  “I think that is coming back viciously to bite us because we would have a whole lot more beds now if those hospitals hadn’t been closed.”

The small hospitals were closed because “insurers required all the insured to go only to their facilities to receive their services to be covered without any out-of-pocket expenses.” That led to a situation where the only patients who could come to the small hospitals were those who were covered by Medicare and Medi-Cal, generating insufficient revenue to keep the hospitals profitable and open.

For residents in Schwartz’s home town of Fallbrook that meant instead of going to a hospital nearby, they had to drive to Escondido for care in some cases, or “for a lot of us who are in HMO systems, we have to go all the way down to San Diego to receive our care.”

In situations like we have today with the coronavirus pandemic, “it is really not good that you have people needing to travel so far for their care,” Schwartz said.

“I think we are learning one of the hard lessons about for-profit health care,” she said.  “We need to take into consideration for the future the benefits of a single payer health care system that would cover all residents of California.  We can see how important that is today because you really are only as healthy and safe as the person standing next to you depending on their health.

“It is so important that everyone have access to quality care,” she said.  “We shouldn’t have to travel so far to receive it.  And it should be care that is truly affordable as well.  If we were all in the same patient pool, then financially it would be feasible.”

Among drawbacks of a fragmented health system, she said, is the difficulty obtaining medical records for patients who need to be treated by a different medical provider.

“I work through a federally qualified health center,” said Schwartz, who is a clinical social worker.  “Yet, I don’t have access to the county system.  Even though we may treat the same patients, we can’t communicate back and forth.  There can be some passage of time concerning releases of information.  It is not at all seamless, nor efficient enough to manage this type of pandemic well.  If we had a single system, it would have been connected directly into the CDC (Centers for Disease Control.)

One of the arguments against a single payer health system is that it probably would result in a significant increase in taxes.  Schwartz said private provider costs have been going up at such a rate, a single payer system would be preferable.

She said many health care plans have large deductibles and co-pays which “almost makes your health insurance useless.”

“I have seen families come in with annual deductibles of $6,000; it really does discourage access to affordable care, and this is when they are paying very large monthly premiums as well,” Schwartz said.  Also, “I’ve seen co-pays go up from $5 or $10, which is where they were 20-25 years ago, to now $40-50.”

Whatever cost-of-living increases workers receive, she said, get eaten up by the increased costs of health care.  “Each year we are making less and less due to the increase in cost of health care benefits and yet we are receiving less and less for it.”

Schwartz commented that a federal mandate required that all facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare to develop emergency preparedness, “however the feds did not provide any funding along with that mandate. I would legislate to make disaster preparedness and resilience a statewide priority with increased funding”  and additionally, she said, she “would demand from our Congressional Representatives far greater transparency and improved funding at the federal level to the states for emergency preparedness.”

I asked Schwartz if, as a mental health professional, she believes in a housing-first  solution for homelessness, or, as some have suggested, attempting first to wean from their addiction those members of the homeless population who are addicted.

“I am a proponent of the housing-first model,” she responded.  “There is a hierarchy of needs.  Some basic needs need to be met before you can address a more social need.  The basic needs are food, housing, security, and then an individual is freed up to focus on solutions and getting help for the higher-level problems which can include substance abuse or alcohol.

“However, I want to make the point that not everyone who is homeless has a mental health or substance abuse problem.  Homelessness is an economic problem and some of the individuals do need social services.  I am very much in favor of a housing-first model that includes wrap-around social services.”

She said she was intrigued by a program in Eugene, Oregon, for veterans that utilizes 60 square-foot conestogas – so named because they look like the Conestoga wagons that took 19^th century settlers across the American prairies.  “They are much less expensive than tiny homes and they have doors that can be locked.  It’s almost like a little permanent tent but made out of material easy to put together but much more stable.”

Such shelters provide homeless people with a place to sleep and to stow away their belongings.  While the veterans can’t cook in their tents – they have to go to a common dining area – “it has been a way to get them off the street immediately and have social services there, later moving them into more permanent housing. It costs about $600 to put the conestogas together, and they can be taken from place to place.  So that certainly is one idea.”

Schwartz said the housing-first concept is “more flexible and less judgmental” than programs that insist homeless people undergo treatment before they qualify for the shelter.  “Think about people who need shelter and think about what would make them feel safe and secure and more autonomous.”

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Jewish community coronavirus news

*Congresswoman Susan Davis on Saturday provided constituents with answers in the following Q&A format about the federal coronavirus relief act adopted into law on Friday:

Q: Who qualifies to receive a cash payment (rebate) and how much will people receive?

A: Anyone who has a social security number and has an adjusted gross income up to $99,000 (or $198,000 for married couples) is eligible to receive a rebate. Single individuals with incomes up to $75,000 will receive $1,200, married couples with incomes up to $150,000 will receive $2,400, and those with children will receive an additional $500 for each claimed child dependent (under 17). The rebate amount phases out at a 5% rate ($5 for every additional $100 of income) above adjusted gross incomes of $75,000 for single filers, $112,500 for heads of household, and $150,000 for joint filers.

Q: When and how will rebates be delivered?

A: Rebates will be delivered automatically by the IRS. For those who filed a federal income tax return in 2018 or 2019, payment processing will be based on payment or address information already on file with the IRS. Those who receive rebates via direct deposit can expect a payment within a few weeks. Rebates sent via check can take longer and may see a delay.

Q: Do the rebates need to be repaid?

A: No, these payments do not need to be repaid. If an individual experienced an income loss in 2020 or if they have an increase in family size, they may be able to claim an additional credit of the difference when the individual files their 2020 tax federal income tax return in 2021.

Q: Will I be taxed on this money?

A: No, rebates are not taxable.

Q: Can those collecting Social Security or disability also receive a rebate?

A: Everyone is eligible for the rebate payments as long as they have an social security number and their household income is not higher than the threshold explained above. This includes Social Security beneficiaries (retirement, disability, survivor) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients. Social Security beneficiaries will be paid automatically, whether or not they filed a return. Others – including SSI recipients who do not file taxes – may need to take additional action to be determined by the IRS.

Q: Will the rebate affect my eligibility for benefits from federal programs?

A: No, the payment is considered a tax credit, not income, and will not affect eligibility for federal programs.

Q: What if I am self-employed or an independent contractor and my work has been impacted by the coronavirus?

A: The CARES Act temporarily expands unemployment insurance to cover individuals who are not traditionally covered, including the self-employed, gig-workers, independent contractors.  Additionally, 50 percent of certain self-employment taxes are deferred through the end of 2020. Deferred taxes will not become due until end of 2021 and end of 2022, with 50% of the liability being paid at each date. Independent contractors are also eligible for assistance through the Small Business Administration’s new Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Emergency Grant Program. For information specific to self-employed and independent contractors from the California EDD, click here.

Q: If I already used up my unemployment benefits for the year, but find myself unemployed again due to COVID-19, am I eligible to apply for unemployment again?

A: Yes. You are eligible for up to 13 weeks of additional unemployment benefits through December 31, 2020 as long as your job loss was coronavirus-related.

Q: What support is there for small businesses?

A: $350 billion is now available for a new Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program. The program will provide cash-flow assistance through 100 percent federally guaranteed loans to employers who maintain their payroll during this emergency. If employers maintain their payroll, the loans will be forgiven. Refundable tax credits are available for private-sector employers that are required to offer coronavirus related paid leave to employees. An employee retention tax credit is available for struggling businesses that are not eligible or choose not to participate in the new SBA Paycheck Protection Program. Any business that has been forced to fully or partially suspend operations, or that has seen a significant drop in revenues is eligible for a 50-percent credit for wages paid to furloughed or reduced-hour employees. The CARES Act creates a new SBA Economic Injury Emergency Grant Program. These grants provide an emergency advance of up to $10,000 to small businesses and private non-profits harmed by COVID-19 within three days of applying for an SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan. For more information about SBA programs and resources, click here.

The CARES Act was signed by President Trump and is now law. For a full list of questions and answers regarding assistance in this bill, please click here.  If you have other questions, please feel free to email me or call my office.

*Relying on social media to provide helpful, constructive activities in which people at home can participate, Lauren Lizerbram, wife of JNF-USA’s national president Sol Lizerbram conducted an online seminar in how to prepare challah for Shabbat. Among those who followed along was Peter Singer, a member of the San Diego regional JNF board, shown above proudly displaying four loaves that he baked.

With Spring in the air, Jeanne Shenkman, a resident at Seacrest Village in Encinitas, enjoyed the opportunity to walk on the grounds of the Jewish community sponsored facility for senior citizens.  With visitors discouraged during the coronavirus pandemic and dining room meals temporarily cancelled in favor of tray-served meals in the residents’ rooms, getting out for some fresh air is a treat, especially for Shenkman who loves to photograph plants and flowers.

*The Jewish Community Foundation is sponsoring an online panel at 12 noon Tuesday, March 31, in which financial planners Sheryl Rowling, Steve Doster, and Orin Green will discuss the stock market, Social Security, and the federal stimulus plan.  Register via this website.

*Meanwhile, in a Saturday morning interview with KUSI-TV’s Jason Austell, Beth Sirull, president and CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation, said “We’re seeing a lot of organizations shutting down, laying people off. … As a result we have individual people and families who have rent to pay next week — April 1 rent is due — and medicines to buy and food to buy and so we have set up a ‘vulnerable populations fund’ that if people go to jcfsandiego.org, you’ll see it. Here we are raising money to help those people who especially in the short term have bills to pay and need to meet their basic needs.  At a time like this, the first order of business is to make sure that everyone has a roof over their head, and food on the table, and can buy their necessary medicines.  We are encouraging everyone who can to donate and to help in this regard.”

*Gary Weitzman, president and CEO of the San Diego Humane Society, messages, “Compassion isn’t canceled — and neither is the Walk for Animals! As our community works together to overcome this challenging time, we have decided to make the Walk a VIRTUAL experience, allowing us to stay connected in our commitment to create a more humane San Diego. This decision wasn’t made easily, and it’s the first time in 26 years that we won’t be walking side by side — but our love for animals will continue to unite us, even if we’re separated by distance. On May 2, we’ll be taking the Walk for Animals online with live pancake demonstrations, a blessing of the animals, adoptable animals and more! “

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San Diego County Judaica

Our community’s collection of Judaica photos grows.  Today we feature at left a photograph of Rachel & Jerry Levens displaying a “Neshama” (“Soul”) sculpture that Jerry made for his parents, the late Lillian & Rabbi Monroe Levens of Tifereth Israel Synagogue, 70 years ago when Jerry was a student at Hoover High School.  At right is a photo of artist Jacqueline Jacobs with a sculpture she made for Passover titled “What Makes Us Free.”  She explains that “The sculpture is made of wood, chicken wire and parchment paper. The messages consist of ‘What makes us free?’and ‘What enslaves us.’ At the top , trapped. inside Chicken wire cage are our negative behaviors. These make us slaves.The cage has an opening to allow the chometz to be removed .At the bottom, hanging free are those qualities that free us.  On top, there is more about the pursuit of good deeds.”

*Donald H. Harrison is editor of San Diego Jewish World.  His previous articles may be accessed by clicking his byline at the top of this page.  He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com