Prices are going up again on gasoline and diesel, and on about everything else. There isn’t much that we can do about it at the state and local level. The state budget is in, and – contrary to fears of some – we do not have big budget increases. The state has new challenges resulting from the loss of massive amounts of funding from the federal government, but somehow our taxes will stay about the same. Good job from our legislators! Some will experience a modest rise in their electricity bill – paying in large part for initial investments in long-term cheaper renewable energy. We previously had the opportunity to make these investments but largely deferred them so now we will need to pay a bit more. A modest decrease in take-home pay will also affect some, because of the Family and Medical Leave Act. This new law provides a kind of worker insurance to pay for time off needed if having a baby (perhaps an appropriate response to declining family sizes?) or if seriously ill.
Hurting the most likely will be those who are legally here but losing Medicaid or SNAP support. Those losing Medicaid will have no ability to pay for preventive care. This means more people will get sick – likely resulting in more spread of infectious disease putting everyone at risk (anticipate a terrible flu season.) Of course, our emergency rooms will still see anyone in an emergency – they will not turn away people in critical condition. But without money to pay for their care, hospitals must raise their prices to cover these unrecoverable costs. Or – they simply go out of business. We can see this with many rural hospitals closing. At risk of spreading undocumented rumors, I found a recent news report listing thirteen Virginia rural hospitals at high risk of closing, including HCA Lewis Gale in Pulaski and Carilion Giles Community Hospital in Pearisburg. I try to write only about things that I can verify through very reliable sources – this is an exception. I don’t know if this report is accurate and could not find a more reliable information source. It’s clear though that rural hospitals almost everywhere are facing serious economic problems.
Losing SNAP will mean that people will go hungry. It also means that there will be more need for local support. Virginia is currently facing a tough situation with the federal government imposing additional verification standards on SNAP recipients. In response, Virginia has adopted much stricter requirements. The number of ineligible recipients has dropped but so has the number of eligible people who can successfully negotiate the system to apply! A recent news story reports that there has been a 14 percent drop in SNAP enrolment (a number that I again cannot verify.) In outgoing Governor Youngkin’s last budget, he recommended hiring 14 new people to augment the staff needed to comply with stricter SNAP standards – so the need to hire more people to support this program started with a Republican administration and is continuing with the current Democratic administration. To meet the federal requirement to lower the number of people cheating the program, the state will hire more staff and will support fewer needy people. Doesn’t that seem a bit crazy that it will cost taxpayers more to provide less food to hungry people – all to catch a few cheaters?
