Assault On Vermont's Social Safety Net Begins

Advocates have been stepping up to protest the Administration's budget rescissions to the 2009 FY budget and more recently the proposed budget adjustment. Essentially, while the Governor loops his message "no new taxes" "shared burden" etc. What the Administration is really saying is that there will be no tax increase on the wealthy or the middle-class, but that we will shift the costs of government programs onto the backs of the poor, the elderly, and the disabled. And, oh yeah, kids.



In addition to proposing elimination of VPharm, a program designed to help seniors cover the cost of prescriptions, the Governor has reached into the pockets of the poorest - families on welfare to balance his budget.

Despite a stunning 31% increase in barriers to employment identified by Reach Up beneficiaries over the last three years, the Administration targeted $400,000 of rescission cuts that would have helped people get off welfare and move into the workplace for fiscal year 2009. The very purpose of Reach Up is to help Vermonters overcome barriers to employment. Vermonters want to work, but these cuts strike at the heart of low-income families ability to do just that.

But now the Administration is going even further. The Administration has proposed saving money by implementing "full family sanctions" which would terminate benefits to families with children altogether when a beneficiary is alleged to have violated a rule. This is wrong. Vermont has a tradition of putting its children first. Implementing full family sanctions flies in the face of that tradition, exposes children to deprivation and will only further strain social service agencies.

It's worth noting the legislature recently empowered a study committee, the Child Poverty Council, to look into the issue of child poverty in Vermont and identify ways to reduce child poverty by 50% over ten years. Our goal should be trying to find ways to reduce child poverty, not exacerbate it.

Additionally, the Administration plans to save money by counting Supplemental Social Security Income benefits for the aged, blind and disabled (SSI) against low-income families when calculating their Reach Up grants. Currently SSI is not considered countable income when determining Reach Up grants. When you are poor and disabled, every dime counts. Taking money out of Reach Up grants because someone is aged or disabled will turn bad situations into desperate situations. While federal law allows states to count SSI as income against welfare grants, only Idaho and West Virginia have the dubious distinction of holding age and disability against beneficiaries. We should not join that list.

The Obama Administration has actually included an extra SSI payment in its proposed stimulus package. It recognizes the need to provide additional resources to the elderly, blind and disabled. Douglas' counting of SSI toward welfare beneficiaries would essentially take that away. So, what Obama giveth, Douglas taketh away.

Finally, the Administration is recommending the state delay implementation of Reach Ahead, a food assistance component for families coming off the Reach Up program. The purpose of Reach Ahead was to help families reach their food budgets each month while they re-enter the workforce. The state does receive a benefit by funding Reach Ahead because it can count those individuals toward its work participation rate thereby avoiding federal sanction. In addition to taking food off the plates of hungry children, we run the risk of losing federal money through sanction because we will not be able to meet our work participation rates without adequately funding Reach Ahead.

The Vermont Low Income Advocacy Council (VLIAC), Voices for Vermont's Children, Legal Aid, and many other advocates are also opposing the Administration proposal to cut essential benefits in order to balance the budget on those least able to afford it. When you put together the budget rescissions to Reach Up - which directly impedes low-income Vermonters' ability to work - and add in the elimination of funding for Reach Ahead, full family sanctions, counting SSI against the Reach Up grant, plus other factors like reduced case management and the projected dramatic increase in caseload - it is sure to adversely affect low-income families during the most serious economic catastrophe in memory.

To some this may simply look like an attempt to balance a budget through various line items. To me it looks like the Governor is picking the pockets of the poor.