This column originally appeared in the Williston Observer on February 25, 2010.
Words Matter
If the news in the last few weeks proves nothing else, it is that words matter. How we say things, how we describe them, can make all the difference in the world.
When Joseph Allen Stack flew a plane into an office building in Austin, Texas, a building he knew housed IRS employees, the police and the press had a decision to make: was Stack a criminal, or was he a terrorist?
Police, trying to calm frazzled nerves, insisted Stack was nothing more than a common criminal. Muslim activists, however, began to wonder - was it only Muslims who flew planes into buildings who were considered terrorists? Within days, the debate was filling newspaper columns and blogs, with a Google search returning over 26,000 results in blogs alone.
The opinions varied, but the most compelling argument that I saw was that Stack was a lone wolf, without an organization behind him, and hence a criminal. It is a close call, though, considering the scope of his cowardly and deadly act and the overtly political nature of his manifesto.
In the world of politics, words are the stock in trade, and words can easily be mangled depending on the political point of view.
If you've paid close attention to the news, from time to time, you will hear Republicans refer to their political foes as members of the "Democrat Party." The first time I heard this, I just figured the speaker was ignorant, mispronouncing a relatively simple word. It turns out, though, this is part of a somewhat concerted effort to try to turn "Democratic Party" into an epithet.
Republicans who have taken to using this "epithet" are being silly. Deliberately mangling someone's name to aggravate them is an elementary school tactic. Democrats who take too much offense should remember that age-old mothers' mantra: "They only say it because it bothers you."
Most reasonable people, having heard waterboarding described or witnessed it in action, would call it torture. Many conservatives, notably and recently former Vice President Dick Cheney, prefer to call it "enhanced interrogation." The distinction is self-serving. Torture is illegal. Enhanced interrogation, presumably, is not.
The White House recently released a brightly colored chart, which attempts to put a positive spin on the nation's continued loss of jobs. On one half of the chart, colored Republican-red, the bars in the chart dip further and further below zero, indicating an increasing loss of jobs. On the other half, colored Democratic-blue, the bars are nearly all still below zero, but marching back up towards zero. The presumption is that soon, the numbers will be positive.
The White House line, and that of the Democratic National Committee's Organizing for America project, is that this is all part of the "recovery." There is the "Road to Recovery," the Recovery.gov website, and the Recovery Act (the short name of the act's actual title, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009).
Republicans, though, insist on calling the law "the stimulus bill." The point is to turn the positive word "recovery" into a negative. I'm not exactly sure what it is about "stimulus" that is negative, but both House Republican Majority Leader John Boehner and Minority Whip Eric Cantor have done this repeatedly in just the last week.
Finally, scheduled for today is a meeting of lawmakers from both sides of the political spectrum. The President touted the meeting in last weekend's radio address:
"I don't want to see this meeting turn into political theater, with each side simply reciting talking points and trying to score political points. Instead, I ask members of both parties to seek common ground in an effort to solve a problem that's been with us for generations."
The response from Republicans? They plan to attend, but with their words, were sure to take pot shots at the summit before it even began. Speaking on Sunday's Meet the Press, Representative Mike Pence (R-IN) said this:
"Republicans are ready to work. But what we can't help but feel like here is the Democrats spell summit S-E-T-U-P."
That the Republicans could fear a summit, a televised chance to talk out differences with the approaches of each party to the issue, tells me that what they really fear is that when they express their plan, the entire country will see how devoid it is of real reform.
Words do matter. Listen to them carefully and you will be able to divine which have worth and which are worthless.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
2010 Legislative Review
This column originally appeared in the Williston Observer on February 11, 2010.
2010 Legislative Review
The Vermont Legislature is moving full speed through this legislative session. The challenges our government is facing are daunting. The two biggest, settling a budget in a time of recession and concerns about Vermont Yankee, are enough to keep them busy until May, but there is more work to be done.
$150 million — that's the projected budget shortfall that the governor and the legislature have to fill this session. Running a deficit is not an option, so there are only two choices: cut costs or raise revenues.
The governor, in his budget address in January, called for a bit of both. He suggested raising the property tax on middle-income taxpayers, while also calling for major cuts in education and health care.
Democratic leaders in the House and Senate were receptive to hearing the governor's ideas, but indicated that they had their own strategies for cutting the budget.
One idea that has been batted around is dipping into the state's various rainy day funds, money squirreled away when the economy was seeing better times. The governor, however, feels these funds should be held back in case revenues fall short. By using a portion of these funds now, however, fewer drastic changes might be necessary.
Just one example: the monthly premium for the state's Catamount Health Plan for a person earning twice the federal poverty level (about $10.41 per hour) is $60 for 2010 and is expected to be higher in 2011. The plan's out-of-pocket limit, now at $800 for an individual, would jump to $2500 under the governor's budget proposal. This is a tough sell for someone living at one or two times the poverty level. Already low-wage earners are choosing to forego Catamount. This increase could make many more decide to drop the plan. Pricing the plan out of the hands of those who need it would be penny wise and pound foolish.
Anyone who has read this column knows that I am an unrepentant booster of nuclear power. My resolve on the issue is unchanged, but I am troubled by all of the news out of Vernon recently. Confidence has been shaken by the flawed testimony of Yankee executives, by the detection of tritium in test wells that surround the plant, and by the plan to sell the plant to a spin-off company that seems like smarmy corporate buck-passing.
According to Williston Representative Jim McCullough, the closing of Yankee need not be the economic disaster some portray it as. With some state incentives, a shut-down could stimulate investment in alternative energy projects, which could bring even more jobs to Vermont. I'm not completely convinced, but I'm willing to listen.
Another of McCullough's priorities is the protection of shorelines and riparian lands. This is an issue near and dear to many in Williston, especially those kids in our schools who have studied the Allen Brook for years, watching for signs of deterioration and environmental damage.
Our other Representative, Terry Macaig, is looking to help reign in budget shortfalls in the corrections department. Part of the plan would reduce the imprisonment of non-violent offenders and increase services in prison to help reduce recidivism.
Macaig is a cosponsor of a bill that seeks to implement universal health care in Vermont. The stated goal of the bill is to reduce the cost of health care by implementing efficiencies which would follow after the elimination of multiple insurance payers.
Macaig also told me of a plan that could directly effect Williston's town budget: a look into the fees towns pay the state to administer the local option tax. It turns out the fees are out of line with expenses, and representatives from local option towns want this changed.
Chittenden County Senator Ginny Lyons, a Williston resident, has several priorities, including action on Yankee; but she sees health care as a top priority. Some of the ideas she relayed to me include public-private partnerships to improve the quality of care for chronic illnesses and for the elderly, with the goal of not only improved care but also reduced cost.
Lyons is also working on reducing costs in education by looking at school district consolidation, a hot topic for some of the smaller towns and districts in the state, but one which effects the Common Level of Appraisal and could result in a lower state-wide property tax.
There are many ideas for how the state should proceed in these lean times. I'll be watching as the governor and our legislature work out the details. This is not a time to score political points. It is a time to work together to find solutions to these tough problems.
2010 Legislative Review
The Vermont Legislature is moving full speed through this legislative session. The challenges our government is facing are daunting. The two biggest, settling a budget in a time of recession and concerns about Vermont Yankee, are enough to keep them busy until May, but there is more work to be done.
$150 million — that's the projected budget shortfall that the governor and the legislature have to fill this session. Running a deficit is not an option, so there are only two choices: cut costs or raise revenues.
The governor, in his budget address in January, called for a bit of both. He suggested raising the property tax on middle-income taxpayers, while also calling for major cuts in education and health care.
Democratic leaders in the House and Senate were receptive to hearing the governor's ideas, but indicated that they had their own strategies for cutting the budget.
One idea that has been batted around is dipping into the state's various rainy day funds, money squirreled away when the economy was seeing better times. The governor, however, feels these funds should be held back in case revenues fall short. By using a portion of these funds now, however, fewer drastic changes might be necessary.
Just one example: the monthly premium for the state's Catamount Health Plan for a person earning twice the federal poverty level (about $10.41 per hour) is $60 for 2010 and is expected to be higher in 2011. The plan's out-of-pocket limit, now at $800 for an individual, would jump to $2500 under the governor's budget proposal. This is a tough sell for someone living at one or two times the poverty level. Already low-wage earners are choosing to forego Catamount. This increase could make many more decide to drop the plan. Pricing the plan out of the hands of those who need it would be penny wise and pound foolish.
Anyone who has read this column knows that I am an unrepentant booster of nuclear power. My resolve on the issue is unchanged, but I am troubled by all of the news out of Vernon recently. Confidence has been shaken by the flawed testimony of Yankee executives, by the detection of tritium in test wells that surround the plant, and by the plan to sell the plant to a spin-off company that seems like smarmy corporate buck-passing.
According to Williston Representative Jim McCullough, the closing of Yankee need not be the economic disaster some portray it as. With some state incentives, a shut-down could stimulate investment in alternative energy projects, which could bring even more jobs to Vermont. I'm not completely convinced, but I'm willing to listen.
Another of McCullough's priorities is the protection of shorelines and riparian lands. This is an issue near and dear to many in Williston, especially those kids in our schools who have studied the Allen Brook for years, watching for signs of deterioration and environmental damage.
Our other Representative, Terry Macaig, is looking to help reign in budget shortfalls in the corrections department. Part of the plan would reduce the imprisonment of non-violent offenders and increase services in prison to help reduce recidivism.
Macaig is a cosponsor of a bill that seeks to implement universal health care in Vermont. The stated goal of the bill is to reduce the cost of health care by implementing efficiencies which would follow after the elimination of multiple insurance payers.
Macaig also told me of a plan that could directly effect Williston's town budget: a look into the fees towns pay the state to administer the local option tax. It turns out the fees are out of line with expenses, and representatives from local option towns want this changed.
Chittenden County Senator Ginny Lyons, a Williston resident, has several priorities, including action on Yankee; but she sees health care as a top priority. Some of the ideas she relayed to me include public-private partnerships to improve the quality of care for chronic illnesses and for the elderly, with the goal of not only improved care but also reduced cost.
Lyons is also working on reducing costs in education by looking at school district consolidation, a hot topic for some of the smaller towns and districts in the state, but one which effects the Common Level of Appraisal and could result in a lower state-wide property tax.
There are many ideas for how the state should proceed in these lean times. I'll be watching as the governor and our legislature work out the details. This is not a time to score political points. It is a time to work together to find solutions to these tough problems.
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