More reasons to Vote NO on Question 1

Here is a very well written article on why you should vote NO on Question 1 tomorrow. The hospital's name has been removed in the event they have a problem with folks reposting this. I couldn't have said this better myself.

With the upcoming election on Tuesday, many of you have asked about the hospital's position on Ballot Question 1, which would repeal the state income tax. We believe that passage of this question would have a devastating effect on this hospital and the children and families we serve.

While we appreciate that voting is, and should be, a very private matter, we do want to take the opportunity to provide some information and to urge you to vote "No" on this question. We have a strong personal and institutional ethic of shared work and shared responsibility, and believe that state government can make a difference in the lives of children.

We have the lowest uninsured rate, the highest childhood immunization rate, and some of the best school performance results in the country. We should not lose sight of all the good things state government can accomplish for its youngest residents.

Question would eliminate approximately $12 billion dollars in revenue from the state budget. Overall state spending is approximately $31.8 billion. This cut would amount to 40 percent of overall spending. About 1/3 of all state budget expenditures are for health care programs, including MassHealth, SCHIP and uncompensated care. Nearly 30 percent of our patients rely on these programs for their health care coverage.

Passage of this ballot question would require dramatic cuts in coverage, services and provider rates. These cuts would be in addition to, and in fact would dwarf, the very significant budget cuts already announced by the Governor. School funding would be terribly impacted by passage of this legislation. We strongly believe that educational success is an absolute precursor for life success for all the children of the Commonwealth. School funding is one of the major components of the state budget and accounts for approximately $4.3 billion of total spending.

Many of our most vulnerable patients depend upon a wide range of human services programs, from the Department of Mental Health, the Department of Children and Families (formerly DSS), the Department of Mental Retardation and the Department of Public Health. These programs range from financial support, to WIC, to the Early Intervention program. These services are essential to children and would be devastated by passage of this ballot question. As a reminder, (our institution is) a non-profit organization.

We (and you) are prohibited from officially endorsing candidates for office. However, there is no similar prohibition on taking advocacy positions on issues that affect children; in fact, we believe this to be a critical part of our mission.

Additional resources: The actual ballot question, as well as official information from proponents and opponents is available at the Secretary of State's Web site. Excellent analysis on the economic impacts, where state spending goes and the likely magnitude of cuts is available from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Thank you for taking the time to consider this important issue.