To The Editor:
Once again I’m perplexed at our representative Adam Greshin’s inability to understand the economic reality of American democracy. Federal largesse? Really? This is our money we’re talking about. If it were up to all progressives and most liberals, the federal government would be responsible for all health care as is the case in all other advanced nations, none of whom spend even half of what we spend on health care while getting better results than we do.
If it hadn’t been for Republican obstructionism, we would have had a single-payer federal system, getting rid of the for-profit system that inflates costs so much. So, if we had a federal single-payer system, would that be federal largesse? In that our Vermont Democrat-led Legislature had to deal with an inferior model, I think they’ve done reasonably well. Or, are you saying Governor Shumlin did this all by himself?
Likewise with transportation and health and human services. This is our money coming back to us in the form of block grants. Yes, Adam, I also would prefer that all our money stay in Vermont and that we pay for our own, but the vast majority of our taxes go to the federal government so that isn’t possible. We have relied on the feds in the past and we will rely on them in the future. But you must know this. So what’s your point here? You know that without a radical restructuring of the Constitution, money will need to come from the top. Are you suggesting secession? Or are you suggesting an austerity budget similar to the one that is destroying the economies of Europe? Both are dangerous fantasies. But that’s the problem, Greshin’s piece doesn’t clarify, it obfuscates.
Robin Lehman
Warren
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