2012 Presidential Candidates are answering the calls from thousands of Alzheimer’s disease advocates around the country asking leaders how they would stop Alzheimer’s, a disease that affects 5.4 million Americans and cost the nation $187 billion last year.

Three presidential candidates – Newt Gingrich, Jon Huntsman and Michele Bachmann – are the first to release videos discussing how they would address the Alzheimer’s crisis and lead a national effort to stop the disease. The videos represent the first indication that the fight against Alzheimer’s will be an issue in the 2012 Presidential race. To view all three videos, please visit:http://www.usagainstalzheimers.org/alz2012/.

“Alzheimer’s disease will cost our nation $2 trillion over the next decade if we don’t act,” said George Vradenburg, co-founder and chair of USAgainstAlzheimer’s, who led the effort to gather comments from all 2012 candidates. “These three candidates emphasize that a strategy of curing Alzheimer’s disease can be a critical driver in reducing health care costs, with the proper regulatory environment and private and philanthropic partnerships and investment. We look forward to hearing from the other candidates, including President Obama, on how they would address Alzheimer’s.”

In the past month, USAgainstAlzheimer’s reached out to the campaigns of all 2012 presidential hopefuls, including President Obama, seeking a video response to how they would address the Alzheimer’s crisis. The following are excerpts from the videos received thus far:

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich has long made Alzheimer’s disease one of the centerpieces of his campaign, outlining a series of proposals in his new “21st Century Contract with America” that emphasize the need for greater brain science research, medical innovation and a more agile Federal Drug Administration. “Alzheimer’s affects millions of people, and it affects the families of millions of people because an Alzheimer’s caregiver is twice as likely to have a health problem as somebody who’s not a caregiver. Alzheimer’s is going to cost us between now and 2050, as much as 20 trillion dollars, and that’s why it’s very important that we take steps such as I’m proposing in my brain science initiative,” Gingrich said. To see Gingrich’s video, click here: http://bit.ly/snq9k7.

Ambassador Jon Huntsman aims to increase funding for research and bolster public-private partnerships to develop a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. “[Alzheimer's] carries a tremendous human toll, but also a financial toll, driving up health care costs by hundreds of billions of dollars a year. It is a disease with no treatment and no cure, but that doesn’t mean there is no hope. Experts believe a cure is possible by the end of this decade, but only with a sustained, targeted, and national commitment,” said Huntsman. “Now it is time for us to declare a War on Alzheimer’s, and rally the American people around the belief that this disease is beatable.” To see Huntsman’s video, click here: http://bit.ly/tQuvTf.

In her message, Rep. Michele Bachmann referenced the development of the polio vaccine and how this cure gives hope to those seeking a cure for Alzheimer’s. She said, “It was once predicted we would spend$1 billion a year on polio, maybe even more. Today, polio costs us virtually nothing, because Jonas Salk found a vaccine — a cure — and I’d like to see that same thing happen with Alzheimer’s. Because I believe a cure is always better — and cheaper — than more care.” To see Bachmann’s video, click here:http://bit.ly/v1WAHN.
Currently, 5.4 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s and the disease impacts 14.9 million caregivers nationwide. In the coming decades, the number of Americans suffering from Alzheimer’s will triple. Without a cure, over 10 million baby boomers will die from the disease.

Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. and remains the only disease in the top ten with no means of prevention, treatment or cure. It is a disease that destroys not only one’s memory and shortens one’s life, but disables one’s physical capacities as well. Despite the personal and financial toll Alzheimer’s inflicts, the National Institutes of Health invests only about $450 million per year toward Alzheimer’s research — less than $90 per person living with the disease.

USAgainstAlzheimer’s is a national advocacy campaign and advocacy network committed to stopping Alzheimer’s by 2020. An independent non-profit organization working in partnership with the Alzheimer’s community, USAgainstAlzheimer’s works to advance policies and elect candidates dedicated to stopping the disease by supporting research for a cure.

For more information about USAgainstAlzheimer’s, visit http://www.usagainstalzheimers.org/.

Image Courtesy of  Christopher Halloran / Shutterstock.com

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According to the bureau of Labor statistics, the American economy added a shocking “zero” number of jobs in the month of August. This makes it the worst monthly job report this year, fueling doubts about economic recovery and increasing the pressure on President Obama.

Despite a big effort by the Obama administration to design a simulative fiscal policy in the recent past, the overall picture is still very negative. The greatest impact of this may be the Democrats’ ability to contest elections in 2012; in effect, the presidential approval index fell to the lowest of its time in office.

In August people who strongly approved of Obama’s performance fell 3 percent from 24 percent to 21 percent. On the other hand the number of people who strongly disapprove of the President’s performance rose to 42 percent from 38 percent.

Variations in this index show to what degree voters are satisfied with the performance of the President; if there is a rise in approval rating it shows that people’s concerns are being taken care of, or they feel happy. Likewise, if there is a fall in this index then voters are unhappy with the President.

The essential idea is that the President is in the midst of an uncertain economy and the political crisis will have major bearing on his hopes for a return to the White House in 2012. Everything depends on what the President has in store this time, but it will be far less ambitious than the $825 billion stimulus package of 2009.

Economists in the U.S. who advocated for government intervention call for a package of at least $300 billion to avoid backsliding of the economy. Overall unemployment rates are steady at 9.1 percent; anything less than 100,000 jobs a month would be catastrophic for the democratic campaign in 2012.

Economists estimated that the economy needs 150,000 jobs per month in order to keep pace with the growth rate of the population. But to reduce unemployment to below 8 percent, the economy needs to create more than 275,000 jobs in one month.

Initially President Obama had agreed to deliver the speech on his new job proposal on September 7, but incidentally (or intentionally) the Republican Party chose the same date to hold a televised debate. Just like with the debt deal, this incident became a platform for conflict between democrats and republicans, but the White House said it was just a matter of coincidence.

The Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, asked Obama to rescheduled his speech on September 8 and the White House agreed. This shows the basic idea that even in dire economic condition and undeniable uncertainty over the future of U.S economy, Republicans are enjoying their play in politics.

But all in all, the campaigning for 2012 is firing up. From the President to the presidential candidates — everyone is preparing to roll out thier agendas in order to cement their chances. They are very much concerned with what voters are concerned with, and of utmost importantly: Jobs, jobs, and jobs.

The political environment in the U.S. is driven by the unemployment agenda because ultimately it will determine the destiny of the front-runners for 2012. Everything depends on how well they sail the American citizens out of this mess.

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