Editor’s note: This commentary is by Mary Alice Bisbee, an elder and health care independent advocate, former hospital and nursing home social worker with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master of science in human services/gerontology, now living in Montpelier. This is an open letter to Gov. Peter Shumlin.
[D}ear Gov. Shumlin:
It is admirable that your administration is holding webinars to help us, your constituents and taxpayers, “to learn about the budget process.” However, this is not what Vermonters want to see done to meet the ever increasing needs of those of us who are elderly, disabled, unemployed or just plain poor. Why do we only hear about “budget deficits” while nothing is mentioned about all the unmet needs of many, many Vermonters? Why is it that increasing taxes on the rich is totally off the table in this administration? Could it be that low- and moderate-income Vermonters do not really have a seat at the table? It is during “hard times” when we need more money to address the needs of ALL Vermonters.
It seems to me that it is not up to the citizens of Vermont to come up with a needs-based budget. This should be the responsibility of the administration’s fiscal managers. How do you come up with the needs for transportation? I believe you query your field workers and get the best estimate you can from their input and then let the public know how much of the “need” you can address that year. It is good to see that DCF workers are finally speaking out about their needs for more security and smaller case loads. Shouldn’t the administration also do this for ALL human service areas/programs?
I, for one, would really like to know what percentage of the identified needs are actually going to be addressed in the next state budget?
If low-income folks cannot earn enough to pay their current bills, they also will not be able to pay for goods and services provided by corporations and all businesses.
This is the process mandated under Sec.E.100.1(and .2) of 32 V.S.A.§ 306a as added by Act 162 of 2012. We, the citizens of Vermont need to know that you are basing the human services budget just as you do other parts of the state budget on real numbers gathered not by surveys such as the one I just took, but by real data as collected by human service providers. I quote from 306a in part, under PURPOSE OF THE STATE BUDGET: “The state budget should be designed to address the needs of the people of Vermont in a way that advances human dignity and equality.”
This should include input by the area agencies on aging, community action agencies, visiting nurses associations, mental health agencies, housing and disability agencies, correctional facilities, unemployment figures, etc., as well as direct service state human service workers.
Then, when the needs are finally identified, you and the Legislature may need to raise additional monies through progressive taxation of those most able to pay; the 1 and 2 percent of those most able to do so, by increasing taxes on unearned income, stocks and bonds, other assets and by cutting back on the amount of money that large taxpayers can deduct as charitable donations.
Income inequality is a state issue as well as a national/international issue. If low-income folks cannot earn enough to pay their current bills, they also will not be able to pay for goods and services provided by corporations and all businesses.
We all live on this planet together. We don’t need the “democratic socialism” of President Eisenhower, 90 percent tax on the highest bracket, but we do need to change the equation so that ALL can live comfortably in this the best country, and the best state in our country.
