SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
January 24, 2024
Sullivan’s Salvos 1/25/24
In this edition:
*Much Gratitude…
*Summer EBT for Kids, Part I
*Summer EBT for Kids, Part II
*Evil and Medicaid?
*Did You Know?
*Much Gratitude…
I got a shock on the 18th when I was presented with a Bravo award by the Better Together 2030 group. The award was for contributions to our natural environment, and that makes me very proud!
It is a bit ironic; I always thought if my public service was ever going to be remembered in any way, it would be for human services. That is the field I worked in prior to becoming a County Supervisor, and the area where I think I affected the most change in Johnson County. I figured that human services would be the area in which folks might say, “He made a difference.” So winning an award for the environment was a real surprise.
I have always tried to be as “green” as possible, and I am really proud of the many environmental efforts we have undertaken. I’m pleased with my record. But I’m not sure I deserve this award.
If I deserve it, then certainly our Planning, Development, and Sustainability Department deserves a lot of credit. Josh Busard, Nate Mueller, Becky Soglin, Kasey Hutchinson, and many others in that department do the real work. That also includes former employees like RJ Moore and Kate Giannini.
If I deserve it, then certainly our Conservation Department deserves a lot of credit. Larry Gullett, Brad Friedhof, Wade Schultz, Dave Wehde, and too many others to name in that department do the real work. That also includes former employees like Harry Graves, Larry Lovetinsky, and Gary Pidgeon.
If I deserve it, then certainly all our Offices and Departments deserve it, as everyone in Johnson County government takes environmental stewardship very seriously.
If I deserve it, then certainly other Supervisors deserve it. Because if there is one thing I have learned in my years as a County Supervisor, it is learn to count to three. It doesn’t matter if you are correct. It doesn’t matter how passionate you are. It doesn’t matter how dire the consequences. You cannot get ANYTHING done unless you have three votes. So here is to all those many Supervisors who provided those votes. I would not have won this award without you.
And finally, if I deserve it, then certainly my Granny deserves it. She is the one who took us to the woods, let us play in the creek, and encouraged the collection of frogs, turtles, and the like. She taught me about nature, and though she has been gone for a long time now, I hope this award makes her happy.
A sincere thanks to the Better Together 2030 group for this award. I am truly honored. And getting it from Brad Friedhof and Josh Schamberger made it even sweeter! Thanks again!
*Summer EBT for Kids, Part I
Hungry children in Iowa were dealt a blow recently when Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds declined the federal funding that would have given every poor kid in Iowa a $120 EBT card each month this summer. The cost to Iowa was a mere $2.2 million state match.
So hungry Iowa children are on their own this summer. By way of comparison, Connecticut is close in population to Iowa, with about 3.6 million residents. 273,000 Connecticut children will benefit from the program this summer. Nevada, which has almost exactly the same population as Iowa (3.2 million), will serve 352,000 children this summer. (The numbers vary because Connecticut is a very wealthy state, while Nevada is average. Nevada is 25th in poverty rate, Iowa 33rd, and Connecticut 46.) Your federal tax dollars will help feed kids in Connecticut and Nevada, but not here in Iowa.
Iowa could serve 250,000 children this summer if Kim Reynolds simply said yes. But while poor kids in Connecticut and Nevada eat healthy meals this summer, poor Iowa kids have to hope there is something at the food bank. It is shameful. All Reynolds has to do is snap her fingers, and these kids eat. But she refuses.
Kim Reynolds is the person who decided Iowa should spend $250+ million each year on vouchers for private school tuition. That is her idea of “helping kids.” But she refuses to spend the $2 million in state match required to feed our poorest kids. $250+ million for the rich kids, and zero for the poor kids.
We have almost $2 billion dollars (most of that federal money) that she plans to give away to the richest Iowans through tax cuts. She could use just $2.2 million of that $2 billion to feed our poorest children. That is one thousandth of one percent! It is the equivalent of you having a twenty-dollar bill and claiming you cannot afford two cents!
This decision does not make sense on any level. It does not make financial sense, and it does not make humanitarian sense. It is a truly shameful decision.
*Summer EBT for Kids, Part II
We can agree that Governor Reynolds’ decision is sickening. But we are likely stuck with it. So, now that I have expressed my discontent, what can we do?
Upon learning that the Governor turned down the federal money, Johnson County Social Services Director Lynette Jacoby investigated whether a county could apply to be the local partner. Unfortunately, the USDA does not allow this. (Polk County has gone a step further, and requested that this federal rule be changed.) So access to this federal money is a no go.
A Facebook friend was wondering what it would cost to do a similar program locally. My quick math was this:
$120 EBT cards x 3 months = $360 per kid, per summer.
$360 x 6000 low-income Johnson County children = $2,160,000.
Add in 10% for admin costs, and you are looking at about $2.4 million.
That is a lot of money. In comparison, Johnson County spends less than $2 million annually on our General Assistance (aid to the poor) program. So an additional $2 million in the budget just is not happening. We simply do not have the resources.
Yes, we could talk about doing something on a more scaled back level, but it would probably be easier and less costly to simply increase our giving to local food banks. But we are open to suggestions. Please let me know if you have other ideas.
*Evil and Medicaid?
I believe Governor Reynolds’ actions rise to the level of evil. That is a strong statement, but I feel it is true. I considered this previously when Reynolds chose to privatize Medicaid, which is still a disaster. The following ran in Salvos in December of 2017:
Evil. What does it really mean? The dictionary definition is, “Profoundly immoral and malevolent.” There are three parts there:
Profound: It has to be intense. This cannot be something small. It has to have serious consequences.
Immoral: Not conforming to standards of decency. This has to be something no reasonable, decent person would do.
Malevolent: Desiring to do evil to others. This means you have to intend to do evil. You need to know that what you are doing is wrong.
I happen to believe that “profoundly immoral and malevolent” is a very fitting description of Iowa’s failed Medicaid privatization scheme. It touches all the bases!
Is it profound? Medicaid serves the most vulnerable members of our society. First, you must be incredibly poor. Then you need to fit a second category of need. For example, most Medicaid recipients are children. The next biggest group is people living in nursing homes. The third largest group is people with significant disabilities. These are people whose health can easily be negatively affected.
I would argue that the impact has been profound. In addition to targeting the most vulnerable Iowans, Medicaid serves 1 in 6 Iowans. So the scale is profound, too. It is a very big deal!
Is it immoral? Who amongst us would take medicine from a child? Who amongst us would throw a senior citizen out of a nursing home? Who amongst us would throw a person with disabilities out of her group home? Aren’t those acts immoral?
This is EXACTLY what the privatization of Medicaid has done! So, it follows that the privatization of Medicaid has been immoral.
Is it malevolent? This is the toughest piece. That it is profoundly immoral is not in question. Now we must determine if a person KNOWS it is profoundly immoral.
There are two options here in the case of Governor Reynolds. If she understands that her decisions have been profoundly immoral, she has committed a truly evil act. If she does not understand, then she is too ignorant to serve as Governor.
It is really quite simple. Medicaid privatization was an evil act. Evil is in our midst. There is no point calling it anything else. Disagree? Please explain your reasoning. I would like to be convinced there is more to this; I really would.
So I ask you – faced with this evil, what are we going to do?
*DID YOU KNOW? Somewhere around 5000 Johnson County children live below the poverty line. (Source: US Census Bureau.)
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 2:18 PM
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