(Continuing site policy of promoting diaries from officeholders and candidates. – promoted by kestrel9000)
I am pleased to tell you that I have invited Dr. William Hsiao, the architect of Taiwan’s health care system, to address the Senate and House Health Care committees this Thursday, March 18 at 2pm in Room 11 of the state house. I am excited about Dr. Hsiao’s visit as it will be the first time Vermont legislators will have the opportunity to hear from a health policy expert with real-world experience in designing and creating a health care system.
Vermont families and businesses can no longer afford our broken health care system, with its escalating costs and seemingly endless obstacles to coverage. It is time for Vermont to make a commitment to move towards a system where all Vermonters have access to high quality, affordable health care. Dr. Hsiao has the skills to redesign our health care system and I am hopeful that legislation will be passed this year that will begin that process.
Hsiao has guided successful reforms in a number of countries, including Taiwan, Sweden, Cyprus, China, Vietnam, Poland, Hong Kong, Uganda and South Africa. Taiwan is a striking example of his use of his reform model. In 1995, the Hsiao-designed universal health care system was implemented within one year, driving down the rate of uninsured from 45% to 5% and stabilizing health spending at 6% of GDP. Quality and outcomes have improved and life expectancy for the previously uninsured has improved dramatically.
Hsiao is the K. T. Li Professor of Economics at Harvard. He is the director of the Program in Health Care Financing at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is author of many books, including 2004’s “Getting Health Reform Right.” More information on Dr. Hsiao can be obtained at http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/fa…
I would encourage all of you to attend what is sure to be an exciting and informative event!
Cross posted from Border Jumpers, Danielle Nierenberg and Bernard Pollack.
The bus ride from Lusaka, Zambia to Harare, Zimbabwe with a company called EasyGo Bus company lasted four hours longer than it should have (total trip was nearly 12 hours). We spent four hours at the border crossing, where everyone’s belongings were examined, less for security and more to squeeze as much money as they could from undeclared goods. Baboons outnumbered people at the crossing, they have mastered the art of swiping food from unaware passengers, and they seemed to want to be near the humans most afraid of them (ie. me).
Once we got going our bus abruptly stopped. A wild elephant stood in the middle of the road, staring down our bus, ears flaring. It was mad, and ready to charge. Seeing all the Zimbabwean passengers freak out made me really scared about our safety. Slowly the bus began to reverse away, even the driver was scared, and we sat and waited in silence till the elephant got bored.
When we finally arrived in Harare, it was nearly midnight, and the bus station isn't exactly the friendliest place for a bunch of Americans to chill out at that hour looking for a taxi. Our backpackers hostel is called "One Small World" and every room is named after the capital city of a different African country (we stayed in Windhoek, Namibia). We had a series of jam-packed days ahead, so we passed out, only to awaken to the fact that the water didn't work and the power was out. Power outages are something we've gotten used to, spending nearly three days in the dark in Lilongwe, and facing outages nearly everywhere in East Africa.
After the economic collapse here, inflation skyrocketed the Zimbabwe currency out of control (ever seen a trillion dollar bill?) As of today, they are using the US dollar as the main currency for the country (with several people telling us that it will soon switch to the South African Rand).
We started the day meeting with Raol DuToit, who'd spent twenty years with the World Wildlife Fund and now works directly for rhino conversation. Listening to Raoul, he was an encyclopedia on every major conservation issue relating to Southern Africa. Following that meeting, we visited an Italian restaurant called Leonardo's to break bread with a true hero of mine: Wellington Chibebe, the Secretary-General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. A dedicated activist his whole life, Wellington is arguably the most important public figure in the fight for freedom and democracy in Zimbabwe. Despite having been jailed numerous times, badly beaten, and under constant surveillance — this brilliant, mild-mannered man spent a few hours passionately telling us about the struggle to bring change to his country, the heroic role the labor movement plays in the movement for democracy, and the spirit of the people to overcome fear.
ZCTU was the force behind creating the first successful electoral opposition to President Robert Mugabe, winning a presidential and parliamentary elections for the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), whose leader and the current Prime Minister under the 2008 power sharing agreement Morgan Tsvangirai, is also the former Secretary-General of the ZCTU. They won against seemingly insurmountable odds: almost all print, television and radio was controlled by the ruling party, people faced massive voter intimidation and suppression, and opposition activists were routinely arrested and jailed.
Wellington spoke with great hope and urgency about the direction of the country, feeling that some progress is being made under the 2008 power sharing agreement (Mugabe refused to give up power, but shares the government with the MDC), and also stressed that the labor movement belonged to no political party and would be an independent voice holding politicians accountable and standing strong behind policies of good governance and democracy. He reminded us that even good politicians sometimes lose their way.
Afterwards we visited the editor of "The Worker", Ben Madzimure. This newspaper, sponsored by ZCTU and supported by the Solidarity Center. "The Worker" is one of the five independent print media sources not controlled by the government, and one of it's most important watchdogs. The newspaper reaches deep into the country thanks to the structure of the ZCTU. Zimbabwe is one of the most literate on the African continent (approximately 90 percent), so their role in distributing alternative perspectives is so critical. I can't say enough about how important a role they serve, when almost all other print, television, and radio is government controlled.
The next day we spent with the leadership of ZCTU. Having the time to learn and listen from these courageous men was an experience I will never forget. As much horror that I felt about what continues to happen in Zimbabwe against the poor and basic democratic freedoms, as I looked at these strong and resolute leaders in the eyes, I couldn't help but feel so much hope for the future, especially after meeting with many rank and file members at the local level later that day.
We also spent the morning meeting with the General Secretary of the General Agriculture and Plantation Workers' Union of Zimbabwe, Getrude Hambira. She spoke about the current conditions for farm workers, many of whom are terribly exploited with few ways to adequately redress exploitation.
In addition, we visited the research arm of ZCTU, the Labour and Economic Development Research Institute of Zimbabwe. They are part of a regional alliance of labor researchers, called African Labour Research Network (ALRN), also supported in part by the Solidarity Center and the Canadian Labor Congress. They've put together a training manual that outlines ZCTU’s "8 core socio-economic rights" and are using that material to train union activists across the country.
More than 80 percent of jobs in Zimbabwe have been informalized resulting in a very large informal sector. These informal sector workers, often the most exploited and the most ignored, formed a union in 2002 called Zimbabwe Chamber of Informal Economy Associations, an associate of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), to help win a voice in government.
We were given the opportunity to visit two community projects coordinated by the informal workers association with President Beauty Mugijima and program coordinator Elijah Mutemeri.
The first project was a village where they were working with the local community to build a school in an area where hundreds of people were forced to relocate during "Operation Restore Order." As part of a de-urbanization program under Mugabe, the controversal leader of the country, nearly 2 million workers were forcibly removed from their homes in cities, stripped of their belongings, and forced to live in rural areas, without any agriculture skills or training. We met with this community, who although they had very little resources and volunteer support, where trying to build a school to teach area children. They recently succeeded in getting accredited by the local government and the community is pushing local public officials for additional resources to build the school. The visit was especially inspiring because the teachers working there endured long commutes because they believed in helping the community. Many families in the makeshift town were also raising orphan or abandoned children, as well their own.
The second project we visited was an orphanage for children that the union was helping support. As we arrived children were singing, clapping, and rushing to us to offer hugs and high fives. Most of these hundreds of kids lost their parents to HIV/AIDS, and the orphanage provides them not only a place to go to learn and go to school, but also gives them a family.
The teachers and caretakers who work there are mostly volunteers and you can see that they shared a deep commitment and passion for the future of these kids.
Lots more to say about Zimbabwe, but I am well above 1,000 words. I just want to publicly thank Fisseha Tekie of the Solidarity Center and all the incredible people we met during our short visit.
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In Unusually Blunt Language — The Strongest U.S. Rebuke of Israel in More Than 20 Years — Biden Blasts Israel’s Decision to Build New Housing for Jews in Arab Neighborhood of East Jerusalem, Warning That They ‘Undermine’ Not Only Mideast Peace Process, But Also U.S. War Effort in Iraq and Afghanistan
NOT ON THE SAME PAGE — Vice President Joe Biden (left) meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the vice president’s trip last week to Israel and the Palestinian Territories. The grim expressions on their faces tell the story: Biden, angered by Israel’s announcement that it was building new housing for Jews in a predominantly Arab neighborhood of East Jerusalem, reportedly blasted Israeli officials during a private meeting, condemning the decision as “undermining” the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. But the vice president went further, reportedly raising — for the first time — the specter of Israeli actions causing serious problems for U.S. forces fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Photo: Getty Images)
Rarely have relations between the United States and Israel been this testy. But there was Vice President Joe Biden — during a visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories — using unusually blunt language last week to condemn Israel’s decision to build new housing for Jews in predominantly Arab East Jerusalem.
Biden’s remarks were the sharpest rebuke of Israel by the U.S. in more than 20 years — and might signal a new “get-tough” policy by the Obama administration on the volatile issue of Israeli settlements in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian Territories.
Bernie Sanders to Make Sure Public Option Gets Up-or-Down Vote, Defying Reid, Durbin
— By: Jon Walker
We recently learned that Harry Reid (D-NV) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) were actually whipping against the public option and trying to deny the American people a real up-or-down vote on the issue in the Senate. It is good to see that Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is willing to defy them and instead go with the will of the American people. From Greg Sargent:
“I think somebody should do that, and I’d certainly be prepared to do that,” Sanders told me when I asked him if he’d be willing to commit to introducing a public option amendment. This is, in effect, a commitment to introduce the amendment if no one else does.
As I have explained earlier, if even one senator offers a public option amendment, and it is ruled germane, it would likely receive an up-or-down vote as part of the reconciliation vote-a-rama. Designing a public option/public program buy-in that would be ruled germane and does not violate the Byrd rule should definitely be possible.
Durbin’s argument against the public option amendment, or any other smart, pro-consumer, Democratic amendments, is that they could endanger passage of the reconciliation bill if it is sent back to the House. Given that Republican sources are saying the Senate parliamentarian ruled the House must first pass the comprehensive Senate health care bill before the reconciliation fixes can be taken up, the fear that the public option amendment could derail the reconciliation fixes seem strange.
If it gets to that point, Durbin will already have the health care reform bill he originally voted for signed into law. The reconciliation fixes are minor, and clearly not overly important to Durbin, since he already voted for a bill with all the “problems” in it. Since Durbin does not want the important student loan reform bill as part of reconciliation, there is no reason to actually worry about the fate of the reconciliation sidecar bill from his stand point.
Just in time for St. Patrick’s day, there’s a new player in the marketing trend that has notorious corporate offenders energetically painting themselves green in order to entice the growth sector represented by environmentally concerned consumers. Walmart, it seems, wants its piece of the green pie.
This trend toward “green-washing,” has already seen some real whoppers (like the oxymoronic “clean coal”) floated out there in its opening salvos. The marketing concept is simple: if you get ahead of your PR problem and re-brand your product or business model to sound environmentally responsible, there is a good chance that this new image will be accepted and reinforced by consumers before naysayer’s can force them to learn the awful truth. Then it’s game over because the marketplace has a notoriously short attention span for the onerous details.
Is Walmart getting a pass from much of the environmental community who should be giving it’s green claims greater scrutiny?
In a new blog-post Stacy Mitchell (The Big Box Swindle), Senior Researcher for the New Rules Project scolds environmental groups for failing to take a closer look at Walmart’s recent attempts to green-up their corporate image:
So, on the one hand, you have Wal-Mart’s sustainability program, which proposes to reduce the emissions associated with some of the products it sells. And, on the other hand, you have Wal-Mart’s core business model, which ensures that we have to replace those products far more often. This is where some of our most prominent environmental groups have really failed us. They’ve loudly cheered Wal-Mart’s every green announcement, but have done little to help us understand or prod the company to confront the deep sustainability issues that are at the heart of its business model.
Mitchell points to Walmart’s relentless practice of consuming vast tracts of farmland and wildlife habitat to site it’s supercenters, accessible only by automobile, and the seas of parking lots that accompany them. By effectively smothering local competitors that customers might access on foot, Walmart’s ultimate success hinges on forcing consumers to get into their cars to purchase even a carton of milk.
Wal-Mart has carefully defined the parameters of sustainability to avoid running up against the basic formula of how it operates and grows. Glaringly absent from Wal-Mart’s recent sustainability report, for example, is any mention of sprawl or land use. There’s no discussion of how much undeveloped, carbon-absorbing habitat its big stores consume each year, even as the nation’s supply of both developed retail space and abandoned “greyfields” mushrooms to epic proportions.
Great story in today's Times Argus/Rutland Herald about the Vermont Low Income Advocacy Council, the state's foremost anti-poverty advocacy organization.
But the 77-year-old Hubbardton widow is poor. That's why, as president of the Vermont Low Income Advocacy Council, she's driving her tank of a used car to the state capital to defend herself.
“I haven't ever seen things so bad, except years and years ago when I first went on welfare and you had to wait six months,” she says. “That was a long six months. Of course, I was young then and could survive.
I've worked closely with VLIAC, and Edna Fairbanks-Williams, for many years, on issues ranging from housing and evictions to electric industry restructuring, low income energy programs, unemployment compensation, and many other issues. These advocates not only live the life, they also deeply analyze and understand the issues and technicalities.
After being hammered by the public, it seems Vermont’s DOE Education Challenges Design Team has retreated from insisting on closed door meetings.
(And special thanks appears to be owed to the Dover, VT school board for their leading role in this.)
But the rationale for hiding the goings on in our state government is still being upheld:
[VT DOE spokesperson] Remick said it was easy to understand why a finance manager or a superintendent would want to be able to talk about issues without worrying how their comments would be perceived by the public
Uh … no, Ms. Remick, you have it entirely wrong. It’s easy to understand why we shouldn’t trust decisions based upon comments that have to be hidden from view, but it is most assuredly NOT easy to understand why a professional in their respective fields should feel hamstrung by the notion that people are going to make interpretations of what they, the professionals, say.
What we need is a robust defense of the public’s right … not necessarily need … to know, because otherwise we end up re-arguing the above over and over and over.
(Doug Racine posted this and, as part of GMD’s policy of placing candidate posts on the front page, here is the latest from Doug Racine. – promoted by Caoimhin Laochdha)
Just sent out this press release – Doug Racine
MONTPELIER, VT — The Senate Health and Welfare Committee today unanimously passed S.88, which calls for a complete overhaul of Vermont’s health care system. The bill creates an oversight panel to hire expert advisors who will design an implementation plan for health care reform. The stated purpose of the redesign is “to ensure that individual programs and initiatives can be placed into a larger, more rational design for access to, the delivery of, and the financing of health care in Vermont.”
“This bill lays out principles and goals which will ensure that our new health care system will guarantee all Vermonters quality, affordable health care every day of their lives,” committee chairman Doug Racine noted. “We’ve made a lot of progress by tweaking our current system and picking the low hanging fruit, but now we need systemic changes to make real progress.”
Under the proposal, the new health care system will be in place by July 1, 2012. The bill calls for three complete system designs – one of which must be a government-financed, single payer system – to come back to the governor and the legislature by January 1, 2011. The legislature will then choose one of the designs and begin the implementation phase. The designs called for in the bill must be complete packages, ready for execution as soon as the preferred option is chosen.
“This is the essential next step in health care reform that will lead to universal access to affordable health care for all Vermonters,” Racine explained. “What is needed is true systemic reform, and we cannot have real reform without a real plan to create a whole new system-and this bill creates that new system.”
The bill will now move to the Appropriations committee and then to the full senate. “I am optimistic that we can get this bill through the senate quickly,” Racine commented. “By listening to the various stakeholders and including many different interests in the discussion, we have crafted a bill that achieves systemic reform and addresses the concerns that have been raised.”
Racine, a candidate for governor, has made health care reform one of the priorities of his campaign. More information can be found at his website: www.dougracine.com.
(Once again, in keeping with GMD’s policy of promoting first-hand diaries by the candidates to our front page, here is the latest from Matt Dunne. – promoted by Sue Prent)
The campaign team was delighted to see a new analysis of the WCAX poll this week. As many of you on GMD recognized when the results were first released, the margin of error in the poll meant that the pure ranking of candidates was not necessarily a true picture of the field.
University of Vermont Political Science Professor Anthony Gierzynski shows that the Vermont Governor’s race is still wide open, and that when the margin of error is taken into account, three of the Democratic candidates are statistically actually tied with Brian Dubie.
When I got into this race, everyone knew that it would be a challenge early on to compete with the other well known candidates who have been on the statewide stage for years. We were pleasantly surprised to have such strong numbers so early on in the race.
Those of you in the netroots have been a critical part of sharing candidate positions and visions across the state, demonstrating that elections do not have to be dependent on incumbency or spending large sums of money. We can have an election about who has the best experience and ideas to move our state into a new era. Regardless of who you support, thank you for bringing a refreshingly deep discussion to this important election.
As the campaign moves into the next phase, we will be building the kind of grass roots outreach efforts that Vermonters expect. Many of you helped with our quiet effort to engage thousands of Vermonters coming out of the polls on town meeting day. You can expect more of these volunteer driven efforts as Vermonters become increasingly ready to engage in a conversation about our state’s future.
I hope you will join us in this exciting year by signing up on our newly revamped website: http://mattdunne.com/
The bus ride from Lusaka, Zambia to Harare, Zimbabwe with a company called EasyGo Bus company lasted four hours longer than it should have (total trip was nearly 12 hours). We spent four hours at the border crossing, where everyone’s belongings were examined, less for security and more to squeeze as much money as they could from undeclared goods. Baboons outnumbered people at the crossing, they have mastered the art of swiping food from unaware passengers, and they seemed to want to be near the humans most afraid of them (ie. me).
Following that meeting, we visited an Italian restaurant called Leonardo's to break bread with a true hero of mine: 
Afterwards we visited the editor of "The Worker", 
The first project was a village where they were working with the local community to build a school in an area where hundreds of people were forced to relocate during "Operation Restore Order." As part of a de-urbanization program under Mugabe, the controversal leader of the country, nearly 2 million workers were forcibly removed from their homes in cities, stripped of their belongings, and forced to live in rural areas, without any agriculture skills or training. We met with this community, who although they had very little resources and volunteer support, where trying to build a school to teach area children. They recently succeeded in getting accredited by the local government and the community is pushing local public officials for additional resources to build the school. The visit was especially inspiring because the teachers working there endured long commutes because they believed in helping the community. Many families in the makeshift town were also raising orphan or abandoned children, as well their own.
The second project we visited was an orphanage for children that the union was helping support. As we arrived children were singing, clapping, and rushing to us to offer hugs and high fives. Most of these hundreds of kids lost their parents to HIV/AIDS, and the orphanage provides them not only a place to go to learn and go to school, but also gives them a family. 
