The Three Hs: housing, hunger and healthcare

  Photo courtesy VTDigger A basic goal of civil government is that its citizens should have a secure place protected from the elements in which to live and perhaps raise… Read More

We need to rethink our systems of governing

  Vermont State House   On Election Day, as I confronted my voting ballot in the Hinesburg Town Hall, I was daunted to find that for the first time there… Read More

Real leaders don’t amplify differences, they bridge them.

Vermont State Capital Governor Phil Scott pulled off a trifecta win in the latest election. The “most popular” governor in the country, a non-MAGA, conservative Republican in a liberal state,… Read More

Healthcare regulation elicits blowback, Vermonters need to respond

Courtesy UVM Medical Center Hospital We don’t like change. Change threatens those of us who are privileged to have a part in the status quo, even when it’s dysfunctional and… Read More

Healthcare… A Way Home

Shutterstock In the ‘90s, Vermont was among the states with the lowest per capita spending, but since 2010 it’s been consistently among the highest (see slide 14). So, to envision… Read More

Rural Free Delivery (RFD)… Rest in Peace (RIP)?

Shutterstock I think the heat-drunk garter snake living in our mailbox is an omen. As I lower the dented cover and reach gingerly inside to get our mail, I wonder… Read More

What a Functional Vermont Healthcare System Might Look Like

Shutterstock I’m often asked what an ideal Vermont healthcare system would look like. Many working in the field of healthcare reform in Vermont have put forward similar models and we… Read More

A New “Women’s Prison”… or a humane reentry facility?

Chittenden Regional Correction Facility (CRCF) One of the benefits of age is the realization that there are few absolutes and that being “right” is often relative. When I was young,… Read More

Are We Ready for a Functional Healthcare System?

The healthcare industry in Vermont is at a tipping point and the outcome depends on Vermonters understanding what is broken and how to fix it. Just leaving it to hospital… Read More

The 14th Vermont Journalism Conference at UVM: Good News

Center for Community News In this time of contrapuntal highs and lows, I find a need to look for and celebrate the occasional highs. I woke up the morning after… Read More

The Ghost Quartet: Part II

Shutterstock A Lucrative model: Make them sick, then charge them to get well. In Part I of the Ghost Quartet, we explored the lucrative model of using the chemical/agricultural complex… Read More

Future of Vermont Healthcare: Goal and Vision

  Shutterstock Future of Vermont Healthcare Council Goal: For Vermonters to find consensus on and advocate for a healthcare system that delivers quality, equity, access, and affordability for all Vermonters.… Read More