
When and if we finally act, we overlook the connected nature of our problems, and so our “solutions” are too narrowly focused and generate unintended consequences on which we pile new legislation.
When and if we finally act, we overlook the connected nature of our problems, and so our “solutions” are too narrowly focused and generate unintended consequences on which we pile new legislation.
If the health care system continues as it is now — managed for profit even in the “nonprofit” realm — we’ll never achieve the goal of improving our national wellness.
Colleges need to be reinvented, transformed, so they acknowledge change and fiscal realities — and guarantee a quality, accessible education for learners of any financial ability.
Bill Schubart is a retired businessman and active fiction writer, and was a former chair of the Vermont Journalism Trust, the parent organization for VTDigger. The term “social media” has never made linguistic sense to me. It seems like an oxymoron. To me, “social” implies my predigital childhood, where people I knew walked and talked […]
Rather than consolidate and close smaller schools, we should expand their mission to become vital community assets.
We can emerge stronger and wiser, or we can settle back into the “old normal” where Vermonters continue to struggle to find employment that pays enough to afford housing, food, health care and education.
Missing from the discussion is the quality and relevance of our public school curriculum to the current and emerging needs of today’s Vermonters.
My friendship with later-to-become Vermont state Sen. Fred Westphal was a profound lesson in how to talk and be friends with someone whose ideas you revile, a social discipline we would do well to pursue today.
We’ve done little or nothing from a policy perspective to stem the immense damage done by addiction to refined carbohydrates, which are propelled untaxed into our food systems and with government subsidy.
We must look to the causes of crime in our own communities, flaws in the criminal justice feeder system, and then continue working together to diminish the need for spending $180 million a year keeping Vermonters behind bars instead of investing that money in community-support systems that reduce criminal behavior.
Although a significant amount of fiber-optic cable has been installed in Vermont, the ‘last mile’ connectivity remains a steep investment challenge.
An increased need for nonprofits’ help and more pressure on donors could create a chance to collaborate and consolidate.
The largely deregulated drug industry is one of the major drivers of increasing health care costs.
Vermont has a unique opportunity to reimagine the future.