Dear Editor,
On a typical foggy morning in September I was commuting to work on my bicycle and every car was shrouded in a 50-foot cocoon of visibility. It occurred to me that what I was seeing was similar to how so many of us live in our own protective cocoons, and how we cope by focusing solely on what’s in our immediate field of vision.
It is not our fault that we may not want to peer outside of that safe place. But if we did, we would see that many of the issues facing us are not of their own making, but imposed upon us by groups that are governed by their own self-interest. We would also see that we have strength in numbers, and that the struggles we face are connected to one another, as are the solutions.
Many of us are paying higher health care costs in the form of premiums, deductibles and co-pays, creating a downward spiral that can leave a person and their family shattered. On top of those bills people are also trying to pay their rent, student loans, child care, eat and simply keep their families safe.
This letter is a request to the 2015 Vermont legislature to step outside the safety of their conventional bubble and shift the paradigm. They must adequately and equitably fund the universal healthcare system and do the same to the state budget to provide the necessary services that are required by a caring society.
Vermont has come too far. We won’t turn around.
Sharon Racusin, Norwich, Vt.
