OP-ED | What Would A Reasonable Person Do?
by Patrick Johnson | Feb 26, 2013 11:30am
(8) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Opinion, Nonprofits
My name is Patrick Johnson and I am the President of Oak Hill, a nonprofit community provider of services to people with disabilities. We have over 100 sites in 58 towns throughout Connecticut
My friends in the legal community tell me that there is, in law, a fundamental assumption called the “reasonable person” rule. To determine the prudence of an action, the question is asked: what would a reasonable person do?
If you hired someone to plow your snow seven years ago, would you, a reasonable person, expect that your snow plow person would continue to plow for the same price as seven years ago?
When you drive into a gas station, would you demand that they charge you no more than the cost of gasoline 7 years ago? The last time our state contracts had a net increase, gasoline was $1.87 per gallon. We have 184 vans on the road every day.
Would you go to the grocery store and expect to be charged the same price for bread, milk, cereal, and chicken as 7 years ago? Currently, food costs average $6.44 per day for the 400 people in our residences. That is $2.15 per meal.
The proposed budget currently under consideration expects that we can achieve increased efficiencies. We can’t. After over 20 years of chronic underfunding there are no more efficiencies to achieve. Every year with no net revenue increase results in a defacto cut equal to the Consumer Price Index. My direct care staff has not had an increase in wages in five years — now we have to cut wages and benefits or close programs.
We are at the tipping point. We are at the fiscal cliff. The most efficient providers are being driven out of business. We are grateful to Gov. Malloy for the 1 percent COLA which softens the blow, but we will have at least a half million dollar loss on top of a major deficit. We need a 4 percent increase in fiscal year 2014 and a 3 percent increase in fiscal year 2015 to simply stay where we are now and meet fixed cost increases. Every year at Oak Hill that we do not get at least a 2 percent increase, we have to absorb a $1,000,000 loss. How long could a reasonable person expect this to go on?
With more than 20 years of chronic underfunding, five years of no net increases, and now an additional two years of cuts and no net increase, how can a reasonable person assume we can continue to function?
After managing human services for 45 years, I am profoundly concerned that we are forgetting why we are here and who benefits. At Oak Hill we provide essential services 24 hours a day to approximately 400 people with significant disabilities. What would a reasonable person assume happens when private agencies under contract to the state are treated like suppliers to Walmart? It is actually worse because those suppliers can expect some margin. The majority of my colleague agencies are struggling with a deficit now. All I ask is that the legislature considers the facts and considers carefully the question: what would a reasonable person do? I urge our elected officials to do the right thing and protect the safety net by increasing funding for private nonprofit providers.
Patrick Johnson is the president of Oak Hill, a nonprofit community provider of services to people with disabilities.
Tags: Patrick Johnson, Oak Hill, community providers, cost of living, budget, fiscal cliff, dh
(8) Comments
posted by: Reasonable | February 26, 2013 12:08pm
This is why convalescent homes in the state are going bankrupt. They can’t pay for spiraling union-mandated costs. The same unions who helped Barack Obama and Dannel Malloy get elected to office—ae now bankrupting our health care providers. Isn’t that an obvious connection to our massive fiscal problems also?
posted by: Noteworthy | February 26, 2013 2:40pm
Everybody wants more and the author makes a good case. Where’s the money? They never, including this author tell anybody where the money is, what else should be cut. Frankly, If Looney/Malloy hadn’t pushed through the EITC layered welfare payment, that would free up $110 million. Where’s the money?
posted by: ASTANVET | February 26, 2013 3:56pm
A reasonable person would not expect to get mandatory increases in pay regardless of performance, or market conditions. A reasonable person would not have a State spend more than it takes in via taxation. A reasonable person would not rely on the state or federal government for stipends or grants to cover long term operating expenses. There is much that a reasonable person would not do. Sir, if the unions haven’t seen a raise - then they are free to find other employment. If they are happy to have a job and be able to care for their family, perhaps that will someday be a thing of value again. Maybe talk to a legislator about priorities… a 600 million dollar bus way over an existing bus route may be a bad use of resources when direct care staff has to be laid off… the burdensome state DEP regulations that drive up costs to do business in CT leading to a decrease in state revenue is probably a bad priority - what would a reasonable person do? A reasonable person would prioritize expenses, get government out of the way, and allow the economy to grow so we can really take care of our own.
posted by: ASTANVET | February 26, 2013 4:06pm
Mr. Johnson, please do not take my comments as a knock against your business - quite the contrary, when people talk about the “safety net” your clients are the people we are (or should be) talking about. Your services are eroded by greed and politics. They are eroded by the folly that happens at the State and Federal level. All this talk about gun control, alternative energy, bus ways, those commissions on aging, or some other affected group… we waste so many resources that could go to direct care and Non Profits like yours… but we don’t have the political discipline or will to make that happen. As I see it, the more taxes we give to the State, the more they will squander - But I believe that fundamentally we are a good people, a charitable people, and I don’t believe that we will let your clients pay the price for our fiscal mismanagement.
posted by: Reasonable | February 26, 2013 4:20pm
Hopefully, Gov. Malloy’s wife pays the biils in the Malloy household, as her husband is too busy on his job—spending money we don’t have —out of our continually growing deficit spending budget. Before he goes overboard again in more “over the hill spending,” Perhaps he should get the advice of a woman who has to balance her household spending. Malloy needs some close help to help him with his continually charging everything on our over-maxed state credit card. He has even been putting the state payroll on our state credit card. When will this unacceptable scenario be addressed and corrected?
posted by: green3nergy | February 27, 2013 2:17pm
In my opinion, the fractional reserve banking system is to blame. There’s nothing governor Malloy can do to prevent increases in the CPI and inflation.
The cost of living is undeniably going up. Such is the nature of expanding the money supply in a debt-based economy. Unfortunately wages do not increase at the same rate as inflation. As a consequence, it becomes increasingly difficult for all businesses and individuals to make-ends-meet.
To solve this problem, we must shift from the currently employed monetary system. Additional state funds do nothing but burden tax-payers.
posted by: sonofduffydyer | February 27, 2013 4:17pm
These politicians you all mention are happy to starve off the non-profit providers. They make no bones at being willing to offer government employees wage and benefit increases. The unionized, government employees get a raise this year, that is IN the budget. They want the non-government providers to fail so that they will have more work. They do not want an open public dialogue about how the state employees have become the elite class in CT, entitled to wages and benefits beyond what real working folk get. But worse, they pull the strings of the legislative puppets who get their campaign donations and votes to keep the status quo. Good luck Mr. Johnson, because you are on your own as the legislature is not a ‘reasonable’ person.
posted by: Reasonable | February 27, 2013 8:52pm
sonofduffydyer: Democratic controlled unions have effectively buried the country—in keeping deficit spending Democrats in office. We lose in many ways with the unions, who keep states and cities in a continual deficit taxation
frenzy, after sending our business and industry overseas. Nothing will change, as long as voters keep voting Democrats into office. It has led to a point of no return.