Tom Blakely
Candidate for State Representative Bennington-5
tfb@tomblakely.com
These are the issues that I see as important:
Two things:
Those two items are inextricably related. The price of your healthcare insurance is directly related to the number of people who are insured. There are two reasons for that.
First, the more people who pay into health insurance, the more the cost is spread out. Universal insurance means that younger and healthier people would pay in, while at the same time requiring fewer healthcare services. This is true whether health insurance is provided by private companies or though government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Under our current system, many younger, healthier people (along with many others) opt out of insurance. In large part that's because it is just too expensive. That is an unhappy gamble that many have no choice but to take.
Second, hospitals are required (as they should be) to provide healthcare services regardless of a patient's ability to pay. Those services are not free: providers must make up those expenses out of what they charge people who are insured, or who can afford to pay whether they have insurance or not. We end up with a backwards system where the poorest may pay nothing for healthcare, the insured pay more for insurance and copays than they would under universal insurance, and some people pay for their own care -- often paying the highest rates for that care. The uninsured often end up paying more than the insurance companies would pay for the same services for insured patients. Adding to this is the growth of for-profit hospitals, often owned by private equity groups.
Let me be blunt: profit should not be the driving factor for healthcare providers. Patient health should be the number one priority!
Can't find a doctor who can see you in less than 3 months? Worse, can't find a primary care doctor at all? There is a critical and ongoing shortage of healtcare providers across the board. This is especially true in rural areas, including most of Vermont.
Consider this: the average cost of educating a medical doctor in the United States is aroung four-hundred thousand dollars. Most doctors start their practice deeply in debt, often two-hundred thousand dollars or more. The cost of medical school can exceed the limits on government-supported student loans, meaning that many medical (and nursing) students have at least some of their student loans at high interest rates. We have put huge barriers in the way of the people we need the most: medical professionals.
There are some programs that privide tuition forgiveness for medical professionals who agree to practice for a period of time in areas of most need, but there aren't nearly enough. A few medical schools, usually those with large endowments, offer free or low-cost tuition. But even with free tuition, the cost of a medical degree is beyond what many qualified and motivated students can afford. (As a side note, Governor Scott's recent proposed budget eliminated funding for medical tuition forgiveness.)
A better idea: pay tuition for qualified students in advance, including stipends for their living expenses, if they agree to work for some number of years in an area of high need. If they fail to do that, they then owe the full tuition and other costs.
Not only is housing expensive -- rent or own -- but in much of Vermont there simply isn't enough housing. High demand raises the cost even more. Bennington has made strides in rehabilitating older housess and converting former commercial and municipal buildings into apartments and condos. While those efforts are commendable, much more is needed. We need to look at other options such as manufactured housing units and other ways to address the high cost of construction, as well as restricting short-term rentals, which reduce the housing available for working people and families. This is a case where the Federal Government needs to take the lead in increasing funding and affordability. Once we have a functioning Federal Government, I hope to see that happen. Until then it is up to us to look for creative solutions.
The middle class is under threat. My parents raised five kids on just my Dad's salary. He had a steady job as a skilled worker. We weren't rich but we never lacked for anything.
Today, working families struggle to get by on two (or more!) salaries. AI threatens to make things even worse. Meanwhile the ultra-rich do everything they can to grow their wealth to obscene levels. We may soon have the world's first trillionaire (who showed his appreciation by leading a campaign that cost thousands of government workers their jobs, and put our private information at risk!) Meanwhile, our president adds to the misery by slapping tarriffs -- that we pay, regardless of what he says -- on the goods that we need, and starts unnecessary wars that, at best, raise the price of gasoline and heating fuel, and at worst threaten global stability.
We need the government to work for, if not lower prices, at least stable and predictable prices. We need education and training that will give us the knowledge and skill we need to succeed in an ever-changing world.
Renewable energy has reached (or exceeded) price parity with fossil fuels. Instead of attacking solar and wind power, the government needs to encourage their use and development. Renewable energy is a double win: lower cost and better for the planet. We need investment in our power grid to better take advantage of a world that is increasingly powered by clean electricity.
We need the very wealthy to pay their fair share, exactly like the rest of us do. They were only able to accumulate their wealth because of the work the rest of us do on their behalf, often for inadequate compensation.
We need to strengthen labor unions so that workers can fight for a living wage and meaningful benefits. People should earn enough to pay their bills, feed their families, and save for retirement.
We need to ensure the future of Social Security so that our seniors can afford a decent life. Fix the Social Security Trust Fund!
Every day it seems like there is another assault on our civil rights and personal liberties.
By now we have seen the brutality of ICE, carrying out executions in Minneapolis and elsewhere. We wonder not who will win the midterm elections, but whether we will even have midterm elections.
Let me again be blunt:
No kings in America, as it has been since 1776!