This week’s question for the major party candidates running for governor has to do with the social services safety net. As the recession forces Montpelier to cut spending, the budgeteers are faced with this conundrum: People need help from the government most precisely when tax revenues fall and government has less money to spend. Read this week’s complete package here.
First up is Democrat Peter Shumlin.
After the series of budget cuts, does the state have an adequate social service safety net to meet the needs of Vermonters?
State government has been operating on an unsustainable track. As a Vermonter, I understand the importance of taking care of one another’s neighbor. But we must have the resources to do so. At a time when Vermont’s most vulnerable have needed services more then ever, the Douglas/Dubie administration has cut them to the bone. At the same time, Vermonters have hit their tax capacity. We cannot rely on higher taxes to provide the necessary social services. It is time for state government to reorganize our priorities.
As governor, I will focus on reducing costs in the top two areas of our budget’s growth — health care and corrections. By reducing the skyrocketing costs in both of these sectors we can lower costs for Vermonters and reinvest a portion of the savings into services.
Health care costs are consuming more and more of our economy. In the next two years, the cost of health care in Vermont is estimated in increase by $1 billion. That translates into a $7,000 annual increase for the average Vermont family of four. These costs are crippling our economy, hampering business growth, driving up property taxes and bankrupting too many Vermonters. As governor, I will bring these costs under control by implementing a single payer health care system. Such a system will get the private insurers out of the way, reward doctors for making people better, not ordering more tests and eliminate the millions of dollars spent on chasing money around.
The second largest area of growth in the state’s budget is our corrections system. We are spending $138 million a year on locking up Vermonters. We have the sad distinction of locking up more non-violent offenders than any other state — often locking up people for offenses like writing bad checks or for the crime of having no other place to go (on any given day, Vermont locks up 150 people for the lack of an appropriate place to live). As governor I will work with community providers to integrate these non-violent offenders back into society. Doing so will save the state $40 million a year. These savings will be reinvested into mental health and substance abuse, transitional housing and early childhood education to prevent future generations from such a fate.
Reorganizing our priorities will not be easy. I ask that you therefore look not only at my rhetoric but at my record. I am the only candidate who sponsored a single-payer health care bill. I worked with other Senate and House leaders to launch the Justice Reinvestment program — an initiative that has begun the process of moving our non-violent offenders into society and reinvesting the savings into services. I have a record of getting tough things done and as governor will ensure that Vermonter’s tax dollars reflect our values and are being invested as wisely and as efficiently as possible.
