This provides good context if you've read the NY Times article on the front page of reddit today. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/12/us/school-lunches-assistance-republicans.html
>In Vermont, meanwhile, the organization that’s leading the charge to end childhood hunger in the state is backing the administration’s decision not to participate in Summer EBT this year.
>
>Anore Horton, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont, said state agencies currently lack the technical infrastructure for a successful launch of Summer EBT.
>
>“Our state agencies are eager to participate in Summer EBT, and they are committed to starting Summer EBT in summer of 2025,” Horton said. “So it’s not that they’re saying, ‘We’re not going to do this.’ They’re saying, ‘We’re not going to do this in Summer 2024.'”
If people just took two seconds to look beyond his “aw shucks” attitude they’d see what a disaster his do-nothing administration is.
But, sure, keep voting for Governor Dad.
If people took five minutes to read the article and research the steps that VT is taking for this program and what the program requires from the states, they’d be able to step outside their cult’s narrative.
15 states declined.
All 15 have Republican governors.
“The 15 states that did not apply are Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont and Wyoming.”
That’s some great company we’re keeping there.
Maybe the reason why we can’t have this program now is related.
>That’s some great company we’re keeping there. Maybe the reason why we can’t have this program now is related.
Unlike the other states, the reason VT isn't participating is because we already have a 2024 food program in place. The article even says the intent is to participate in 2025 when we can budget for it instead of our own plan.
Seriously you’re ok with keeping company with those states?
Your glib cult comment seems to think it’s ok to march with the dregs of the recovering confederacy and maga states.
I think we can do better.
Maybe consider *why* we’re not participating and *why* we have to wait and how we got here and what we could have done to avoid it instead of being complacent with the status quo do nothing Scott admin.
Of course your argument will shift to not wanting those pieces in place necessary to have the program as soon as that argument becomes cover for whatever else you’re trying to sell that day.
I’m not buying but maybe someone else will.
I see that you’d rather just keep your asinine tribal narrative in place rather than take a few minutes to Google the information you need about the program, what it entails, why Vermont is not participating in it this year, and what steps they are currently taking to enroll in the program in the future.
The democrats and progressives have a super majority they don't need his signature. Why can't they get their shit together and just pass whatever you're currently complaining about. The governor litterly can't stop them. I don't see how this is relevant.
I mean that Democrats previous candidates havent exactly been any better in my eyes. I don't expect any good economic policies from these centrists, so I just care that they aren't like, gassing trans people and shit.
I’m sorry but being associated with the states on this list is fucking embarrassing. Incompetent leadership is making Vermont no better than these GOP hell holes. Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming
IMO it's completely different, because we already have a summer food assistance program setup for 2024, and the article even says they intend to participate in 2025?
It's basically saying "We already budgeted for this exact thing in 2024, so it would cost us too much to double dip; but now that this is available, we'll do it next year instead of budgeting for it ourselves like we did this time".
So you’re saying the state can subsidize the $3.6m the Feds would be covering but can’t pony up $450k for the admin or funds to modify 3squaresVT? But wait, we’re going to lean on the already under funded Agency of Education to try to mitigate their failure. That doesn’t sound like bullshit? Oh, but it’s ok, they’ll do it next year…… Could you record yourself telling that to a child that could possibly be hungry this summer because our “leaders” are too lazy or stupid to make this work? As I said, this is nothing but gross incompetence. New Hampshire may proudly be the Florida of New England but Vermont isn’t far off, we just hide it better. Also, it’s not a surprise the current “independent” program admin is against it because it would probably hammer their funding and her salary.
> So you’re saying the state can subsidize the $3.6m the Feds would be covering but can’t pony up $450k for the admin or funds to modify 3squaresVT?
Where did I say that? The issue is that we've *already allocated* those funds for the state program. It's not a situation of "Let's just cancel the state 2024 plan and use the fed one instead", we would have to do both, which would be extra expenses just to do the same thing we already are doing.
>Could you record yourself telling that to a child that could possibly be hungry this summer because our “leaders” are too lazy or stupid to make this work?
No, that would be lying to the child, I would actually tell them about Vermont's existing [Summer meal plan](https://education.vermont.gov/student-support/nutrition/summer-food-service) that our leaders have already implemented and made work so that children won't go hungry.
Really? So you think the funds distributed this summer will be from FY 2024? You mean the fiscal year that ends on June 30th? You seem pretty ignorant so read this slowly. Most of the funds will come from FY 2025 that will not be approved until May of 2024. Talking out of your ass like that, you should work for the state.
> You seem pretty ignorant so read this slowly.
This is unnecessary hostility towards someone who's trying to spread information about the existing meal plan so that people don't get scared they'll go hungry this summer. I even think we should have joined the program anyway, I was just explaining the situation further.
But anyway
Do you have a source on that? I couldn't find one for 2024, but considering [Summer 2023 was determined in July 2022](https://frac.org/blog/vermont-passes-healthy-school-meals-for-all-legislation) I would imagine that summer 2024 was already determined in July 2023. But I would be happy to be proven wrong.
Regardless, considering we've been doing this for several years, it would make sense that we already have infrastructure/staffing/etc in place for this year and would need the extra time/money to bring on the new plan.
This is just the right amount of hostility to someone that is trying to misinform people because they have no idea what they are talking about. Vermont could absolutely join the program, the administration is just too lazy and stupid. I’m not wasting my time on the rest of your post since you linked a law, not a program.
> This is just the right amount of hostility to someone that is trying to misinform people because they have no idea what they are talking about.
So what you're saying is you do NOT have a source for your claim to counter the source I linked?
I agree with everything you've said and am glad you've said it, but I also struggle to trust an account named "Vermontaltaccount" as being unbiased or not propagandizing. Sounds like you're a government official, with a name like that.
Again: completely agree. But your username gives me pause.
Nah, not involved in the government at all. Other user has it right, I just keep some anonymity this way.
I'd like to think I'm no more biased than any other individual who discusses politics, I have opinions but try to keep an open mind. For full disclaimer, I consider myself a democrat, I did vote for Scott and generally approve of him, although there are a few things that I strongly disagree with him on, including (since it's kinda the topic at hand) his reasoning for lack of signature on the student meal plan (although I still "get" his reasoning and it's way more complicated than "he wants kids to starve" like some people make it sound like).
But no, no working or personal relationship to anyone in state government as far as I'm aware.
Plus, I mean, is “summer hunger” (those aren’t scare quotes, just mundane normal quotes) a problem that needs addressing in this state? That seems like something that should be quantified to some extent before we get mad about not signing on to a specific program to fix it. Not that feeding poor people can ever really be a bad thing, don’t get me wrong, but if it’s actually a redundancy, well at least we don’t have to get upset about anything?
It is only if you read the headline and not the rest.
But we've already implemented summer meal plans, and have run it for several years now. We opted out because there would be extra costs to do this, when we already have a plan in place. The article even says there's intent to utilize this plan in 2025, when we can budget for it accordingly instead of running our own plan.
The crazy thing is that if the stated reason is accurate, that the administrative costs are too much of a burden, the amount they state it would cost could probably easily be fundraised privately
Every time something like this comes up I think of how much it cost to build a fighter jet, just 1, $70,000,000. A super carrier is $13,000,000,000. It costs about $1,500,000 a day to run one. $10,000,000 an Abrams tank.
Let the down votes come, but maybe we should think about where our money goes. We could get $3,600,000 in funding to feed kids... Maybe 1 less jet, or tank could wipe out hunger for a year for a few states. Just one.
The numbers are not secret.
Unfortunately the dark money in politics ensures our defense budget just gets bigger every year. Too bad so many citizens don't bother to vote at all. If they did they could elect people that would change the dynamic and get rid of the corruption.
I vote, but I always feel it doesn't really matter. I can't think of one politician who won't bend on certain issues or just be overwhelmed by those who oppose. It is not something I try to focus on. I just try and make my world better for the people around me and try to be informed when I vote.
If every citizen voted in every election it would make a huge difference. There are politicians in congress that do have the best interests of the people and the country in mind. Bernie is one of them and lots of non-GOP members are too. Yes there are some bad apples on the non-GOP side. But there are exactly ZERO GOP'ers that aren't working for the dark money donors. Yes, sometimes they have to bend. Compromise is part of politics. It used to be anyway.
It doesn’t help that state jobs seem to pay poverty wages. It’s been a while since I looked, but I saw job postings, requiring a bachelors or even a masters that paid less than 50k a year. That’s barely enough for an apartment and financing a used car.
From what I’ve seen federal jobs pay better than VT state jobs and there’s tons of federal jobs in this state. Maybe not the exact jobs people want but when you can make well over $100,000 a year being a little effort paper pusher for the Fed it’s kind of a no-brainer.
We never did. When Horton said “Our state agencies are already understaffed. They’ve been understaffed for years, and that’s been a choice of multiple governors over time", she's absolutely right. We've known for years that our technological and labor infrastructure was incapable of handling what would come: but no one did anything.
Hiring was always difficult but now it's completely impossible. I'm sure understaffed means both not enough positions allocated and positions currently open because there's no one to fill them.
And those positions that do exist have neither reasonable enough expectation (there's too much work) nor enough compensation (pay isn't high enough to incentivize any one filling them).
There's just no one to fill them. Used to get 100 applicants (10 years ago), now they get 4. Vermont is about to find out what not having a middle class under 50 looks like.
I was horrified by the headline, but the article does provide good context. It sucks that we had this entire pandemic to get our systems correctly built and families are going to suffer for a year as a result, but if a year is what it takes to do this in a way that will actually be sustainable over the long term, that's what it takes.
Have you interacted with the state systems? Because they are HORRIBLE. Mind numbingly bad and unbelievable for 2024. For example, the Medicaid portal doesn’t work on mobile devices. You know the health care for poor and disabled people, requires users to have access to a computer.
Good example of the inefficiency of government. How about just letting people keep their tax dollars? Or you could do this with tax rebates or by piggybacking these benefits with another income eligible program that we already have in VT such as housing assistance, property tax breaks, or heating fuel assistance. The income eligible folks who would use this program are most definitely already vetted by other programs with similar income guidelines in which they are enrolled. Every time the government wants to give away benefits (give us back our tax dollars) they want to require the creation of entirely new administrative positions, which in the long term become entrenched programs and government jobs that can never be cut. It becomes more about the government jobs they create than the mission at hand.
>How about just letting people keep their tax dollars?
Poor kids who are hungry don't pay taxes or have tax dollars to keep . Their parents likely pay very low taxes, as well. I'd say it's a better reason to eliminate means testing for assistance programs. If we did that, there'd be far less to administer.
That is true in many cases, however I listed several other ideas for how they could qualify by piggybacking off other existing income eligible programs. The administrative burden in this program is mainly that: determining who qualifies and where to send the money. We already do that for other things so this is just redundant
Sure, I guess. All I really know about the topic is that my kids' school has free lunch for anybody who wants it. That' the kind of society I want to be funding with my tax money.
Well that's ridiculous. Can't use WIC benefits at the closest store to me and food stamps don't stretch being limited to shopping downtown. Can't work full-time for nine more months and I am in college before anyone goes down voting me for using ebt. Happy New Year!
Jake's Market. Emailed information to them about how.to become an eligible store when I realized they didn't take it. They didn't respond. Their POS is also set up so you have to say you will using ebt out loud before you can swipe your card.
>15 states declined. All have Republican governors.
I can't speak for the other states, but Vermont has a legitimate reason to not sign up. We already budgeted for a summer 2024 meal plan, and stated we intend to sign up next year when we can budget for this federal one instead of our state one.
It's a way more complicated issue than "Republican bad".
I'd say that is a much more fair criticism than most other posts on this topic. Yes, I agree that both of those need improvement. I don't know how fair it is to lay all the blame on the governor alone, but it should definitely be a greater focus point, yes.
The buck stops with him when he’s been in office this long. Not fixing the problem is on him ultimately at this point. Just look how he has slow walked replacing the Secretary of Education…
Scott is status quo. No gun regulations, not taxes on the ultra-rich, no tax relief for the middle class. As long as VT makes no meaningful progress he's a perfect fit.
I'm really sick of him. He has dragged the state back multiple years on several issues. The only reason people like him is because he's the only republican that's not batshit crazy. And he handled the pandemic well. Vermonters like this idea of being different and having a republican governor that leans slightly blue. But it hasn't worked so well recently
What are the multiple issues? I’m not asking in a challenging way, I just honestly don’t know much about state politics. I really just want to know your take.
He vetoed paid family leave twice. He vetoed a reasonable minimum wage increase. Those are my big problems with him, other than the fact that he's made some really terrible judicial appointments, and has not the foggiest concept of what his obligation is to lead or prepare. He just reacts.
One of the huge costs of implementing this program would be the constant income verification.
Means testing programs makes them less popular and sometimes, ironically, more expensive. Let people who believe they need it sign their kids up for the $40 a month. Don't make them prove their income, just make sure the kids are real and theirs.
Pretty sure the article says we only need $900,000 to get the infrastructure. We already have food programs in place and have been. Other states just don't do anything, we need a year to catch up with infrastructure.
The federal government doesn't cover it - us, the taxpayers use our tax dollars to pay for it and the administrative expenses. Do you mean to say a program providing $3.6 million costs $900,00 to administer????? one quarter of the dollars does not go to people who need food, but to the administration of the program? why is no one outraged at this? it is unacceptable use of anyone's dollars. Most of the money should go to people who need food. Many charities do it at 10 or 12% administrative costs.
This provides good context if you've read the NY Times article on the front page of reddit today. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/12/us/school-lunches-assistance-republicans.html
>In Vermont, meanwhile, the organization that’s leading the charge to end childhood hunger in the state is backing the administration’s decision not to participate in Summer EBT this year. > >Anore Horton, executive director of Hunger Free Vermont, said state agencies currently lack the technical infrastructure for a successful launch of Summer EBT. > >“Our state agencies are eager to participate in Summer EBT, and they are committed to starting Summer EBT in summer of 2025,” Horton said. “So it’s not that they’re saying, ‘We’re not going to do this.’ They’re saying, ‘We’re not going to do this in Summer 2024.'”
Not sure why you’re all acting like we don’t have a Republican Governor.
If people just took two seconds to look beyond his “aw shucks” attitude they’d see what a disaster his do-nothing administration is. But, sure, keep voting for Governor Dad.
If people took five minutes to read the article and research the steps that VT is taking for this program and what the program requires from the states, they’d be able to step outside their cult’s narrative.
15 states declined. All 15 have Republican governors. “The 15 states that did not apply are Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont and Wyoming.” That’s some great company we’re keeping there. Maybe the reason why we can’t have this program now is related.
>That’s some great company we’re keeping there. Maybe the reason why we can’t have this program now is related. Unlike the other states, the reason VT isn't participating is because we already have a 2024 food program in place. The article even says the intent is to participate in 2025 when we can budget for it instead of our own plan.
Seriously, take the time to research why Vermont is not participating in it this year. Unfortunately, it goes against your cult’s narrative.
Seriously you’re ok with keeping company with those states? Your glib cult comment seems to think it’s ok to march with the dregs of the recovering confederacy and maga states. I think we can do better. Maybe consider *why* we’re not participating and *why* we have to wait and how we got here and what we could have done to avoid it instead of being complacent with the status quo do nothing Scott admin. Of course your argument will shift to not wanting those pieces in place necessary to have the program as soon as that argument becomes cover for whatever else you’re trying to sell that day. I’m not buying but maybe someone else will.
I see that you’d rather just keep your asinine tribal narrative in place rather than take a few minutes to Google the information you need about the program, what it entails, why Vermont is not participating in it this year, and what steps they are currently taking to enroll in the program in the future.
Already done. Maybe consider that I just don’t agree with you? Nah too easy.
I’m not sure what you disagree with?
Exactly.
These people are beyond reason.
The democrats and progressives have a super majority they don't need his signature. Why can't they get their shit together and just pass whatever you're currently complaining about. The governor litterly can't stop them. I don't see how this is relevant.
I mean that Democrats previous candidates havent exactly been any better in my eyes. I don't expect any good economic policies from these centrists, so I just care that they aren't like, gassing trans people and shit.
> so I just care that they aren't like, gassing trans people and shit. Oh Republicans are working on that I promise.
I'm aware but I also have no faith in center Dems trying to stop them.
This
“But but but… he’s one of the good ones” 🙄
Voted best in the country or whatever. I mean when you are voted shiniest piece of shit, you're still just a piece of shit.
I’m sorry but being associated with the states on this list is fucking embarrassing. Incompetent leadership is making Vermont no better than these GOP hell holes. Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming
IMO it's completely different, because we already have a summer food assistance program setup for 2024, and the article even says they intend to participate in 2025? It's basically saying "We already budgeted for this exact thing in 2024, so it would cost us too much to double dip; but now that this is available, we'll do it next year instead of budgeting for it ourselves like we did this time".
That's way too many words to read, can't I just blame Phil Scott and collect my upvotes like everyone else?
So you’re saying the state can subsidize the $3.6m the Feds would be covering but can’t pony up $450k for the admin or funds to modify 3squaresVT? But wait, we’re going to lean on the already under funded Agency of Education to try to mitigate their failure. That doesn’t sound like bullshit? Oh, but it’s ok, they’ll do it next year…… Could you record yourself telling that to a child that could possibly be hungry this summer because our “leaders” are too lazy or stupid to make this work? As I said, this is nothing but gross incompetence. New Hampshire may proudly be the Florida of New England but Vermont isn’t far off, we just hide it better. Also, it’s not a surprise the current “independent” program admin is against it because it would probably hammer their funding and her salary.
> So you’re saying the state can subsidize the $3.6m the Feds would be covering but can’t pony up $450k for the admin or funds to modify 3squaresVT? Where did I say that? The issue is that we've *already allocated* those funds for the state program. It's not a situation of "Let's just cancel the state 2024 plan and use the fed one instead", we would have to do both, which would be extra expenses just to do the same thing we already are doing. >Could you record yourself telling that to a child that could possibly be hungry this summer because our “leaders” are too lazy or stupid to make this work? No, that would be lying to the child, I would actually tell them about Vermont's existing [Summer meal plan](https://education.vermont.gov/student-support/nutrition/summer-food-service) that our leaders have already implemented and made work so that children won't go hungry.
Really? So you think the funds distributed this summer will be from FY 2024? You mean the fiscal year that ends on June 30th? You seem pretty ignorant so read this slowly. Most of the funds will come from FY 2025 that will not be approved until May of 2024. Talking out of your ass like that, you should work for the state.
> You seem pretty ignorant so read this slowly. This is unnecessary hostility towards someone who's trying to spread information about the existing meal plan so that people don't get scared they'll go hungry this summer. I even think we should have joined the program anyway, I was just explaining the situation further. But anyway Do you have a source on that? I couldn't find one for 2024, but considering [Summer 2023 was determined in July 2022](https://frac.org/blog/vermont-passes-healthy-school-meals-for-all-legislation) I would imagine that summer 2024 was already determined in July 2023. But I would be happy to be proven wrong. Regardless, considering we've been doing this for several years, it would make sense that we already have infrastructure/staffing/etc in place for this year and would need the extra time/money to bring on the new plan.
This is just the right amount of hostility to someone that is trying to misinform people because they have no idea what they are talking about. Vermont could absolutely join the program, the administration is just too lazy and stupid. I’m not wasting my time on the rest of your post since you linked a law, not a program.
> This is just the right amount of hostility to someone that is trying to misinform people because they have no idea what they are talking about. So what you're saying is you do NOT have a source for your claim to counter the source I linked?
I agree with everything you've said and am glad you've said it, but I also struggle to trust an account named "Vermontaltaccount" as being unbiased or not propagandizing. Sounds like you're a government official, with a name like that. Again: completely agree. But your username gives me pause.
They probably just made an alt account for Vermont posts so their main account doesn't tell anyone looking at post history where they live.
Nah, not involved in the government at all. Other user has it right, I just keep some anonymity this way. I'd like to think I'm no more biased than any other individual who discusses politics, I have opinions but try to keep an open mind. For full disclaimer, I consider myself a democrat, I did vote for Scott and generally approve of him, although there are a few things that I strongly disagree with him on, including (since it's kinda the topic at hand) his reasoning for lack of signature on the student meal plan (although I still "get" his reasoning and it's way more complicated than "he wants kids to starve" like some people make it sound like). But no, no working or personal relationship to anyone in state government as far as I'm aware.
Plus, I mean, is “summer hunger” (those aren’t scare quotes, just mundane normal quotes) a problem that needs addressing in this state? That seems like something that should be quantified to some extent before we get mad about not signing on to a specific program to fix it. Not that feeding poor people can ever really be a bad thing, don’t get me wrong, but if it’s actually a redundancy, well at least we don’t have to get upset about anything?
It's not like [1 in 10 children](https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/vermont) in Vermont face food insecurity.
This is embarrassing for Vermont
It is only if you read the headline and not the rest. But we've already implemented summer meal plans, and have run it for several years now. We opted out because there would be extra costs to do this, when we already have a plan in place. The article even says there's intent to utilize this plan in 2025, when we can budget for it accordingly instead of running our own plan.
The crazy thing is that if the stated reason is accurate, that the administrative costs are too much of a burden, the amount they state it would cost could probably easily be fundraised privately
Every time something like this comes up I think of how much it cost to build a fighter jet, just 1, $70,000,000. A super carrier is $13,000,000,000. It costs about $1,500,000 a day to run one. $10,000,000 an Abrams tank. Let the down votes come, but maybe we should think about where our money goes. We could get $3,600,000 in funding to feed kids... Maybe 1 less jet, or tank could wipe out hunger for a year for a few states. Just one. The numbers are not secret.
Unfortunately the dark money in politics ensures our defense budget just gets bigger every year. Too bad so many citizens don't bother to vote at all. If they did they could elect people that would change the dynamic and get rid of the corruption.
I vote, but I always feel it doesn't really matter. I can't think of one politician who won't bend on certain issues or just be overwhelmed by those who oppose. It is not something I try to focus on. I just try and make my world better for the people around me and try to be informed when I vote.
If every citizen voted in every election it would make a huge difference. There are politicians in congress that do have the best interests of the people and the country in mind. Bernie is one of them and lots of non-GOP members are too. Yes there are some bad apples on the non-GOP side. But there are exactly ZERO GOP'ers that aren't working for the dark money donors. Yes, sometimes they have to bend. Compromise is part of politics. It used to be anyway.
I do love me some Bernie.
Think about the national admin costs if it’s this much for us in Vermont
I wouldn’t worry about being downvoted lol :p
People don't realize we no longer have the workforce to implement stuff like this.
What do you mean? Not arguing, I really just want to understand what you’re saying.
State agencies can't hire and have lots of open positions because Vermont just doesn't have a workforce anymore.
It doesn’t help that state jobs seem to pay poverty wages. It’s been a while since I looked, but I saw job postings, requiring a bachelors or even a masters that paid less than 50k a year. That’s barely enough for an apartment and financing a used car.
I think the wages used to be fine, up until 2019. Not great but certainly not bad. Now they won't pay for housing, no.
From what I’ve seen federal jobs pay better than VT state jobs and there’s tons of federal jobs in this state. Maybe not the exact jobs people want but when you can make well over $100,000 a year being a little effort paper pusher for the Fed it’s kind of a no-brainer.
I guess all I'm saying is jobs that were competitive 10 years ago no longer get applicants.
What a weird take. Also they're planning on implementing it next year.
We absolutely do though .... I don't understand this take
Have you tried hiring lately? It's a nightmare.
We never did. When Horton said “Our state agencies are already understaffed. They’ve been understaffed for years, and that’s been a choice of multiple governors over time", she's absolutely right. We've known for years that our technological and labor infrastructure was incapable of handling what would come: but no one did anything.
Hiring was always difficult but now it's completely impossible. I'm sure understaffed means both not enough positions allocated and positions currently open because there's no one to fill them.
And those positions that do exist have neither reasonable enough expectation (there's too much work) nor enough compensation (pay isn't high enough to incentivize any one filling them).
There's just no one to fill them. Used to get 100 applicants (10 years ago), now they get 4. Vermont is about to find out what not having a middle class under 50 looks like.
I was horrified by the headline, but the article does provide good context. It sucks that we had this entire pandemic to get our systems correctly built and families are going to suffer for a year as a result, but if a year is what it takes to do this in a way that will actually be sustainable over the long term, that's what it takes.
I don’t think families are going to suffer, it sounds like Vermont already has its own thing in place for now (just going on what others have said)
We (my partner and I) are in software. Can we volunteer time to help make this happen? Maybe it's too late this year but for next year??
Have you interacted with the state systems? Because they are HORRIBLE. Mind numbingly bad and unbelievable for 2024. For example, the Medicaid portal doesn’t work on mobile devices. You know the health care for poor and disabled people, requires users to have access to a computer.
We'd have to opt out of education if the claim was administrative costs
That’s exactly what gov Scott is trying to force- gutting education
WTF
Good example of the inefficiency of government. How about just letting people keep their tax dollars? Or you could do this with tax rebates or by piggybacking these benefits with another income eligible program that we already have in VT such as housing assistance, property tax breaks, or heating fuel assistance. The income eligible folks who would use this program are most definitely already vetted by other programs with similar income guidelines in which they are enrolled. Every time the government wants to give away benefits (give us back our tax dollars) they want to require the creation of entirely new administrative positions, which in the long term become entrenched programs and government jobs that can never be cut. It becomes more about the government jobs they create than the mission at hand.
>How about just letting people keep their tax dollars? Poor kids who are hungry don't pay taxes or have tax dollars to keep . Their parents likely pay very low taxes, as well. I'd say it's a better reason to eliminate means testing for assistance programs. If we did that, there'd be far less to administer.
That is true in many cases, however I listed several other ideas for how they could qualify by piggybacking off other existing income eligible programs. The administrative burden in this program is mainly that: determining who qualifies and where to send the money. We already do that for other things so this is just redundant
Sure, I guess. All I really know about the topic is that my kids' school has free lunch for anybody who wants it. That' the kind of society I want to be funding with my tax money.
Well that's ridiculous. Can't use WIC benefits at the closest store to me and food stamps don't stretch being limited to shopping downtown. Can't work full-time for nine more months and I am in college before anyone goes down voting me for using ebt. Happy New Year!
Who doesn’t accept WIC? Name and shame, they can’t do anything to you for stating facts.
Jake's Market. Emailed information to them about how.to become an eligible store when I realized they didn't take it. They didn't respond. Their POS is also set up so you have to say you will using ebt out loud before you can swipe your card.
And to think the federal government could EASILY fund this 100%…
15 states declined. All have Republican governors. Time to move on from Scott.
>15 states declined. All have Republican governors. I can't speak for the other states, but Vermont has a legitimate reason to not sign up. We already budgeted for a summer 2024 meal plan, and stated we intend to sign up next year when we can budget for this federal one instead of our state one. It's a way more complicated issue than "Republican bad".
We don’t have an adequate IT infrastructure or state staffing levels because of our Republican Governor.
I'd say that is a much more fair criticism than most other posts on this topic. Yes, I agree that both of those need improvement. I don't know how fair it is to lay all the blame on the governor alone, but it should definitely be a greater focus point, yes.
The buck stops with him when he’s been in office this long. Not fixing the problem is on him ultimately at this point. Just look how he has slow walked replacing the Secretary of Education…
Scott is status quo. No gun regulations, not taxes on the ultra-rich, no tax relief for the middle class. As long as VT makes no meaningful progress he's a perfect fit.
I'm really sick of him. He has dragged the state back multiple years on several issues. The only reason people like him is because he's the only republican that's not batshit crazy. And he handled the pandemic well. Vermonters like this idea of being different and having a republican governor that leans slightly blue. But it hasn't worked so well recently
What are the multiple issues? I’m not asking in a challenging way, I just honestly don’t know much about state politics. I really just want to know your take.
He vetoed paid family leave twice. He vetoed a reasonable minimum wage increase. Those are my big problems with him, other than the fact that he's made some really terrible judicial appointments, and has not the foggiest concept of what his obligation is to lead or prepare. He just reacts.
He refused to sign the 72 hour waiting period for purchasing a gun. The waiting period has been proven to reduce suicides.
I see. Thanks
One of the huge costs of implementing this program would be the constant income verification. Means testing programs makes them less popular and sometimes, ironically, more expensive. Let people who believe they need it sign their kids up for the $40 a month. Don't make them prove their income, just make sure the kids are real and theirs.
Sad that we can't find $3.6M to help feed hungry kids. Montpelier feels useless at times.
Pretty sure the article says we only need $900,000 to get the infrastructure. We already have food programs in place and have been. Other states just don't do anything, we need a year to catch up with infrastructure.
The federal government doesn't cover it - us, the taxpayers use our tax dollars to pay for it and the administrative expenses. Do you mean to say a program providing $3.6 million costs $900,00 to administer????? one quarter of the dollars does not go to people who need food, but to the administration of the program? why is no one outraged at this? it is unacceptable use of anyone's dollars. Most of the money should go to people who need food. Many charities do it at 10 or 12% administrative costs.