CLT
UPDATE
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
MTF cheers on Olympic distance
runner Romney
Governor Mitt Romney yesterday distanced himself from a recent remark by his budget chief that "the ratio between givers and takers" of social services in the Commonwealth is out of whack, fueling the state's fiscal woes....
In his speech Kriss, the secretary of administration and finance, made a distinction between "those who contribute through taxes and those who receive government benefits." ...
"What ratio is sustainable?" Kriss asked. He noted that when President Lyndon Johnson launched his Great Society programs in the 1960s, the "sustainable" ratio of givers to takers was thought to be 9 to 1 -- that is, 90 percent of the population should pay taxes to help the bottom 10 percent rise up by receiving government services.
"Forty years later, our ratio at the state level is more like 3 to 1 -- 75 percent net contributors and 25 percent net recipients -- and edging towards 2 to 1," Kriss said, adding later: "And the trends are unsettling." ...
Michael J. Widmer ... also faulted Kriss -- and the administration -- for taking taxes off the table in negotiations over the budget. "The implication of Kriss's remarks is that this is not sustainable and therefore we have to reevaluate services, and that misses half of the equation," Widmer said.
The Boston Globe
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Romney balks at aide's remarks about needy
The delivery of human services in Massachusetts, from mental health treatment to elder care, is dominated by paperwork, conflicting bureaucracies, and a lack of quality measurement, according to a report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation....
The system has grown far from the days when the epitome of care was placement at a state-run institution for the mentally ill or retarded. Today the government contracts most of the work to 1,100 private organizations, many of them nonprofit, that provide care to 600,000 people -- almost one-10th of the population -- at a cost of nearly $2 billion....
The Taxpayers Foundation report envisages a future in which many private agencies compete to work for the state under a compensation schedule sufficient to pay their staffs adequately....
The report, done in collaboration with the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, is careful to note that its recommendations will not resolve the state's fiscal problems. Instead, costs would increase as providers get more money to pay workers and as information systems are updated for new purchasing arrangements.... Reorganization must put clients' needs first, and that means maintaining coverage for those who have it now and expanding it to those still in need.
The Boston Globe
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
A Boston Globe editorial
Providing for people
Chip Ford's CLT
Commentary
Gov. Mitt Romney: Olympic-class distance runner.
Have you ever seen anything like this guy's
speed as he's clocked running away from principles? I picture his office
full of weathervanes, each labeled with some special interest, his head
spinning as they catch the variable breezes of political correctness.
Any potential support for his secretary of
administration and finance, Eric Kriss, was quickly abandoned like so
many previous examples of "Profiles in Courage." You just knew
it was coming as soon as state Sen. Richard Moore (D-Uxbridge), senate
chairman of the Committee on Health Care, on Monday labeled Kriss's
comments "divisive rhetoric" in a scathing overreaction.
Kriss is the just latest cast member in the Romney
production of "Seduced and Abandoned." Being fed to the
critics has become a regular event in the Romney administration lately.
I don't know how any Romney's aides can still show up at the
production set each morning and even think about opening their
mouths to try making him look good.
The Gimme Lobby has caught the scent of this weakness
in Romney's character, his need to be liked at any cost. Already Steve Collins, executive director of the Massachusetts Human Services Coalition,
has called on Romney to abandon his "no new taxes" promise.
Once Steve labels it "divisive" or "ugly" or
"nasty" or "pooh pooh" then all bets are off.
Far more revealing though is that even Michael Widmer,
president of the so-called Massachusetts
Taxpayers Foundation, now has the chutzpah to call for tax hikes in
the coming budget. No longer is he even attempting to disguise MTF's
true agenda with diversionary rhetoric. "The implication of Kriss's remarks is that this is not sustainable and therefore we have to reevaluate services, and that misses half of the equation," Widmer said.
The Gimme Lobby smells blood from a self-inflicted
critical wound and it is circling, moving in for the kill.
And the so-called Massachusetts Taxpayers
Foundation is again the alpha hyena leading and protecting its pack.
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Chip
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The Boston Globe
Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Romney balks at aide's remarks about needy
By Scott S. Greenberger, Globe Staff
Governor Mitt Romney yesterday distanced himself from a recent remark by his budget chief that "the ratio between givers and takers" of social services in the Commonwealth is out of whack, fueling the state's fiscal woes.
Eric Kriss's comment, in a speech he delivered last week to the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce that concentrated on the state's construction budget, has enraged many Democratic legislators and social services advocates, who say it indicates a lack of understanding of the state's health and education programs and a callousness toward its neediest citizens.
After speaking at a State House ceremony honoring employers who provide jobs to people with disabilities, Romney declined to respond to Kriss's comments directly, saying he hadn't heard them. But he did promise that his administration is "not going to change the responsibility of government to meet the needs of our citizens and fulfill its promise."
"I do recognize that particularly as our population ages, there will be many more people who will be beneficiaries of state and federal programs like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. Many of those individuals have placed funds into those programs in the past and will be receiving back funds they placed in," Romney said. "That's a feature that we have to recognize in our budgeting priorities and the work we do."
In his speech Kriss, the secretary of administration and finance, made a distinction between "those who contribute through taxes and those who receive government benefits."
"Of course, all of us receive some benefits -- like the roads and rails that brought us all here this morning. But we all know that some -- most in this room probably -- are net contributors, while others are net beneficiaries. The ratio between givers and takers turns out to be a critical variable of government," said Kriss, who was not available yesterday to elaborate on his remarks.
"What ratio is sustainable?" Kriss asked. He noted that when President Lyndon Johnson launched his Great Society programs in the 1960s, the "sustainable" ratio of givers to takers was thought to be 9 to 1 -- that is, 90 percent of the population should pay taxes to help the bottom 10 percent rise up by receiving government services.
"Forty years later, our ratio at the state level is more like 3 to 1 -- 75 percent net contributors and 25 percent net recipients -- and edging towards 2 to 1," Kriss said, adding later: "And the trends are unsettling."
His comments came as the Commonwealth faces a projected budget shortfall for fiscal year 2005 of $2 billion, with the Romney administration ruling out a broad-based tax increase. In the days since the speech, many social services advocates have said they were deeply unsettled by Kriss's comments. John McDonough, executive director of Health Care for All, described them as "morally offensive."
"It feels like this is a conscious attempt to construct a new rationalization for a new round of extreme cuts to health and human services for needy folks in the Commonwealth," McDonough said. "Is the secretary speaking for himself, or is he speaking for the governor and the administration?"
State Senator Richard T. Moore, who chairs the Committee on Health Care, accused Kriss of "blaming the victim." "Comments such as these are disingenuous and divisive and do nothing to build needed consensus for improving health care or the state's economy," Moore said on Monday before a committee hearing.
He pointed out that nearly half the state's 913,000 Medicaid recipients are children, and that the rest make financial contributions to society through sales taxes and other fees. Michael J.
Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said Kriss is right to point out that the state has "taken on a greater role in dealing with the social and educational needs of the citizenry." But he described his choice of words as "unfortunate."
Widmer also faulted Kriss -- and the administration -- for taking taxes off the table in negotiations over the budget. "The implication of Kriss's remarks is that this is not sustainable and therefore we have to reevaluate services, and that misses half of the equation," Widmer said.
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The Boston Globe
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
A Boston Globe editorial
Providing for people
The delivery of human services in Massachusetts, from mental health treatment to elder care, is dominated by paperwork, conflicting bureaucracies, and a lack of quality measurement, according to a report by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. The results for clients and their families are long waiting lists, barriers to access, and difficulty in finding the best care available. In a time of austerity, providers try to hang on to their funding from the Legislature and struggle to help the people they are supposed to serve -- all the while offering inadequate compensation to their employees. While the foundation's report says most clients receive adequate care, it challenges the state to do much more: to streamline delivery and payment systems so people get better services while better salaries are provided for the caregivers.
The system has grown far from the days when the epitome of care was placement at a state-run institution for the mentally ill or retarded. Today the government contracts most of the work to 1,100 private organizations, many of them nonprofit, that provide care to 600,000 people -- almost one-10th of the population -- at a cost of nearly $2 billion.
Ronald Preston, secretary of health and human services since January, knew the report was coming. His early work at reorganizing the department shows that he sympathizes with its findings.Preston intends to establish a council to coordinate purchasing across departmental lines. Once his financing staff eliminates duplication and determines what services should actually cost, he hopes to establish performance guarantees to insure that providers do quality work.
The Taxpayers Foundation report envisages a future in which many private agencies compete to work for the state under a compensation schedule sufficient to pay their staffs adequately. But how is this possible when many human service workers earn an income barely above the minimum wage? According to the report, "one large provider calculated that the purchasing power of their entry-level direct care staff has decreased 17 percent between 1988 and 1999."
The report, done in collaboration with the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, is careful to note that its recommendations will not resolve the state's fiscal problems. Instead, costs would increase as providers get more money to pay workers and as information systems are updated for new purchasing arrangements. The governor and Legislature, as they press on with reorganization, should not reduce the number of people who are served in the interest of improving services for those who remain. Reorganization must put clients' needs first, and that means maintaining coverage for those who have it now and expanding it to those still in need.
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