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| Abbott's hallmark - that of a leader or a deceiver? |
The Dallas Morning News' endorsement of Greg Abbott over Wendy Davis boils down to this: extremists are holding Texas hostage. It's too troublesome to take a stand against them, so we should surrender to them. Despite his extremist record, Abbott will somehow moderate GOP extremism.
Of course, the DMN editorial board does attempt to dress this up. What have they seen to indicate that Abbott is the better pick for chief executive?
"Davis has no price tag for her education package; Abbott says his would cost $775.5 million. Such specifics are the hallmark of an organized leader."
"Davis has no price tag for her education package; Abbott says his would cost $775.5 million. Such specifics are the hallmark of an organized leader."
But does his "hallmark" hold up when it comes to disability rights? As we'll see, the DMN editorial board may wish to reconsider its endorsement after checking Abbott's "specifics" regarding home care for the disabled.
Let me take up where I left off with my interview with Dennis Borel, Executive Director of CTD, the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities. He says that providing proper compensation for home care workers is key.
"We have a workforce crisis for people in our community for people that want to stay in their own home. Like any public policy, if you ignore it for long time, you've got a lot of catching up to do. We've got more than a decade of catching up now," said Borel.
According to Borel, the cause of the crisis is simple, These workers, part of the state's Medicaid program, are grossly underpaid. That means the quality of care is substandard since, if nothing else, staff turnover is horrendous. Last year, Borel says that one of the state's largest agencies for home care workers reported a 100% turnover. Everyone threw in the towel to look for something better than $7.50/hr with NO benefits - no health insurance, sick days, paid vacations - NOTHING.
Think about the realities here. You don't have to be a healthcare professional to know that having a parade of people pass through the homes of the state's disabled is grotesque. Even if these workers are unfailingly professional, capable and courteous (nothing short of miraculous at $7.50/hr), the fact that the client has to constantly restart this relationship is, by definition, unsettling. Constancy of care and care providers is essential. These SHOULD NOT be "pass through" jobs.
Let me put this relationship in a different context that conservatives might better appreciate. Providing home care isn't for everyone. You might even say it's a calling, what some of my Christian friends would properly recognize as a ministry. Let's push this pastoral parallel a bit further. How healthy is a congregation that has a parade of ministers pass through? What is the quality of the relationship that the members of the congregation enjoy with these care providers? Isn't this fundamentally different from congregations that enjoy the blessings of a long, settled ministry? Isn't the same dynamic happening here in the ministry of those called to care for the disabled in their homes?
"Well, ministers aren't that concerned about money," some might object. That's a nice thought - you can reward someone's selfless sacrifice by heaping financial hardship on them. Aside from being morally bankrupt, it simply doesn't work. Ask anyone who has done hands-on church management about the role ministerial compensation plays in retaining good ministers.
So what do Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott say about home care compensation?
Let me take up where I left off with my interview with Dennis Borel, Executive Director of CTD, the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities. He says that providing proper compensation for home care workers is key.
"We have a workforce crisis for people in our community for people that want to stay in their own home. Like any public policy, if you ignore it for long time, you've got a lot of catching up to do. We've got more than a decade of catching up now," said Borel.
According to Borel, the cause of the crisis is simple, These workers, part of the state's Medicaid program, are grossly underpaid. That means the quality of care is substandard since, if nothing else, staff turnover is horrendous. Last year, Borel says that one of the state's largest agencies for home care workers reported a 100% turnover. Everyone threw in the towel to look for something better than $7.50/hr with NO benefits - no health insurance, sick days, paid vacations - NOTHING.
Think about the realities here. You don't have to be a healthcare professional to know that having a parade of people pass through the homes of the state's disabled is grotesque. Even if these workers are unfailingly professional, capable and courteous (nothing short of miraculous at $7.50/hr), the fact that the client has to constantly restart this relationship is, by definition, unsettling. Constancy of care and care providers is essential. These SHOULD NOT be "pass through" jobs.
Let me put this relationship in a different context that conservatives might better appreciate. Providing home care isn't for everyone. You might even say it's a calling, what some of my Christian friends would properly recognize as a ministry. Let's push this pastoral parallel a bit further. How healthy is a congregation that has a parade of ministers pass through? What is the quality of the relationship that the members of the congregation enjoy with these care providers? Isn't this fundamentally different from congregations that enjoy the blessings of a long, settled ministry? Isn't the same dynamic happening here in the ministry of those called to care for the disabled in their homes?
"Well, ministers aren't that concerned about money," some might object. That's a nice thought - you can reward someone's selfless sacrifice by heaping financial hardship on them. Aside from being morally bankrupt, it simply doesn't work. Ask anyone who has done hands-on church management about the role ministerial compensation plays in retaining good ministers.
So what do Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott say about home care compensation?
Many believe that the current base wage of $7.50 per hour is a major reason for the growing shortage of community attendants as well as the current high turnover rate. What would you do to help raise wages and benefits?
Wendy Davis said that this is part of the larger minimum wage issue.
I believe all hardworking Texans deserve to be paid an honest day’s wage for an honest day’s work. No Texan can support a family at a $7.50 hourly wage. That is why I support increasing our minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. That would be an important step for millions of Texans, including those currently earning base pay as community attendants. As governor, I will also work with the Legislature to determine an appropriate benefits standard for the community attendants who are doing such important work for Texans.
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| Always check the candidate's references |
And Greg Abbott?
As part of my Healthy Texans plan, I have called for increasing community attendant professionals’ wages.
Well, sure.....but how much of an increase? How does it compare to Wendy's $10.10/hr?
Let's have a look at his "Healthy Texans plan." Surely he must provide greater detail there, right?
But under "Disability Services," that's not what we find.
Recommendation: In order to recruit and retain personal attendants, and provide home- and community-based living options, increase pay for personal attendants.
No specifics.
Worse, it is fair to say that his answer for the CTD's questionnaire is deceptive. He dodges the issue by referring voters interested in disability rights to a policy document that, he implies, would offer specifics. But there are none.
So what are we to make of the Dallas Morning News picking Abbott for his specific policy positions - especially his willingness to put price tags on his proposals? "Such specifics are the hallmark of an organized leader," they claim.
Well, with disability rights, Abbott does worse than merely leave out specifics. He gave the disability community a FALSE AND MISLEADING IMPRESSION about having a specific pay increase proposal for home care workers. That isn't the "hallmark of an organized leader." But it is a good indication of what we should expect of an Abbott administration.
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Another issue for another time - how Abbott's jihad for "sovereign immunity" seeks to deprive the handicapped of their rights and exposes a fundamental dishonesty.
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Tips? Suggestions? Ideas? Drop a line to carl (at) inanityofsanity (dot) com
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