Mountain Times - Volume 48, Number 21: May 22-28, 2019

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8 • Opinion The Mountain Times • May 22-28, 2019 OP-ED We must fight for women’s rights By Madeleine Kunin The decision to have a safe and legal abortion is under threat. Recently, the state of Alabama ruled to outlaw almost all abortions—including in case of rape or incest. It is one of the chilling indicators of Roe V. Wade’s fragility. The intent of the new law is to bring it all the way up to the Supreme Court in the hope that the newly conservative court will strike Roe v. Wade down. This ominous action makes it vital that Vermont protect the right of our citizens to uphold access to a safe and legal abortion. The alternative would force women to go back to the old days—of botched abortions, sickness and possibly, death. Fortunately, the Vermont General Assembly is on the way to inoculating itself against such a dangerous federal retreat. Enshrining abortion rights into Vermont law is the first step. A constitutional amendment (which takes four years to amend) is equally important to protect Vermont women and families. These two measures have now been approved by the Legislature and are on their way to the governor’s desk. We can be proud of Vermont lawmakers, but we cannot ignore the women of Alabama and other antiabortion states. We must continue to fight to protect women ‘s rights nationwide, by protecting Roe v. Wade and by electing and appointing pro-choice lawmakers and judges. We must protect this Supreme Court decision step by step. Women’s and children’s health and safety is at stake. Madeleine Kunin is a former Vermont governor. When it comes to birth rate, everyone has Vermont beat By Art Woolf Last week the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released a report titled, in typical boring governmentspeak, “Births: Provisional Data for 2018.” The national media coverage played up the significance of that data, with everyone from the New York Times to NPR to CNN to The Wall Street Journal noting that the number of births in 2018 was the lowest in 32 years. Perhaps an appropriate title for this story is “United States: You Haven’t Seen Anything Like Vermont.” If the national media thought the new numbers were interesting, they should have looked at the number of “provisional births” in Vermont. The number of births in the nation may be at a 32-year low, but Vermont’s 5,431 births was at a 161-year low. The Wall Street Journal noted that the VERMONT’S 5,431 BIRTHS WAS AT A 161- YEAR LOW. 2 percent decline in 2018 was the fourth year in a row of declining births and births have fallen for 10 of the last 11 years. Vermont can top that. Births here fell 4 percent – twice as much as the nation – and have only risen in seven of the past 27 years. The number of births nationally peaked in 2007, when there were more babies born than at the peak of the Baby Boom. That wasn’t the case in Vermont. We did not see any peak in the early 2000s. Our recent peak year of births was in 1989, and even that was less than in 1959, when more Vermont Baby Boomers were born than in any other year. Birth rate, page 9 LETTERS Meeting the challenge of change in agriculture Dear Editor, Farmers are always facing change. Change is challenging. From wild weather swings to global market forces, farmers are always riding stormy seas. Change was the primary theme recently at a Dairy Summit in Jay. The two-day summit brought together more than 240 people from Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and New England. All those attending the summit, including more than 100 dairy farmers, were intentional in their desire to make positive changes to the industry. Through collaboration and creative change, farmers are developing strategies and ideas for future work at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. Farmers want help showing their farms to the public and policy makers. They believe we all need to do a better job telling what’s happening on their farms through authentic relationships. The Agency will embark on getting more people, including lawmakers and regulators, to see their businesses this summer and fall. Developing new dairy products for consumers was also a major theme at the summit. Farmers are committed to connecting with their customers but need help with product development. It’s a crowded field, a crowded shelf at the supermarket, with endless consumer choices. We heard quite plainly that the Agency needs to lead with innovation. The Agency, along with federal and private partners, will expand its work developing marketing, education and product development resources for farmers and dairy processors. Dairy farmers also told us they believe they can help Vermont’s environment by building on cutting-edge approaches to managing their soil. The Agency and its partners will look at “gold standard” environmental efforts on farmland. This approach could lead to farmers receiving payments for Agriculture, page 17 Improving mental health for older Vermonters saves lives and money Dear Editor, May 20 marks National Older Adult Mental Health Awareness Day, creating an opportunity to raise recognition in our communities around the importance of supporting older Vermonters in maintaining good mental health. Twenty years ago, a one-year experiment concluded, and it was deemed a success. The year prior, $15,000 of state funds were allocated to purchase mental health expertise from Northeast Kingdom Human Service. This fortuitous collaboration was intended to fill a gap in services to some of the area’s most vulnerable citizens – homebound older Vermonters with mental health needs. Interested parties followed the experiment, and at the conclusion of the trial year, the Vermont State Legislature set aside a small sum of money to fund a continuation of the project throughout the state. The Eldercare program – as it is known, was born, and although underfunded, remains active in most counties in Vermont today. These services make a real difference in people’s lives. Take the story of Frida, for example, based on a real-life case study of a client. Frida was referred to an eldercare clinician after overdosing on pain medication to escape her physical and emotional pain. She had a history of trauma and long-term physical abuse, and had tried drinking to relieve her suffering. Frida was depressed, anxious, ashamed and angry with herself as her doctor would no longer prescribe pain medication due to the overdose. Frida lived in a rural setting, was estranged from her family and had no peer supports. With the support of the clinician who met with her, Frida worked on mindfulness techniques to assist her in coping with chronic pain. The clinician taught Frida to offer herself support and self- Mental health, page 9
The Mountain Times • May 22-28, 2019 CAPITOL QUOTES • 9 CAPITOL QUOTES “A strong Vermont economy starts with decent wages for workers. When Vermonters have more money in their pockets, working families have more to invest back into our local economy. This grows jobs and economic opportunity across Vermont. Improving the incomes of working families and the middle-class is a top priority in the House,” Said House General, Housing, & Military Affairs Committee chair Rep. Tom Stevens (D-Waterbury). “This puts more money in Vermonters’ pockets and more money back into the Vermont economy. The annual wage growth in this bill will occur unless there is a major economic downturn, giving Vermonters a much-needed raise, and giving Vermont businesses a backstop in times of economic uncertainty,” Said Rep. Matthew Trieber (D-Rockingham) On increasing the minimum wage to $15 in 2024... “Increasing Vermonters wages is an economic imperative and an issue of gender equity. More women than men are working in minimum wage jobs. We know that nationally, women make up two-thirds of all minimum wage and tipped wage workers, and many are single parents. Vermont workers need a raise and this bill accomplishes that goal in a modest way that makes considerations for shifts in the economy that disproportionately impact Vermont small businesses,” Said House Speaker Mitzi Johnson (D-South Hero). Birth rate: continued from page 8 Another record was set last year for the nation. The general fertility rate – the number of births per 1,000 women age 15 to 44 – fell to a record low of 59.0. Vermont again has the nation beat. Our general fertility rate was well below that at 47.7 births. Some of the reasons given for this continued decline in U.S. births apply to Vermont, but others don’t. Some analysts thought the decline in births during the Great Recession was a reflection of those bad economic times and are puzzled that the decline hasn’t reversed. Others claim the falling number of births is an indicator of people’s despair at an economy that isn’t performing well for young people and a reflection of political uncertainty and gloom about the future. That’s very hard to prove. Other reasons are easier to see. High birth rates among the 17 percent of the U.S. population that is Hispanic helped boost the number of births in the past. But birth rates for Hispanic mothers have plummeted in the past 20 years, removing that source of growth. That helps to explain falling births and birth rates in the U.S., but not for Vermont. Only 2 percent of Vermont’s population is Hispanic, so that can’t be a factor in Vermont’s birth decline. More highly educated women have fewer babies over their lifetimes. Babies are expensive, and not just because of the cost of diapers. Someone has to stay home to take care of young children, and it’s usually the mom. That means an interrupted career path for college-educated women and lower lifetime earnings, two Mental health: continued from page 8 compassion, and to focus on her strengths and capabilities. Frida adopted a dog who became her constant companion, bought herself a computer, and subscribed to the Boston Globe. She also joined a church where she did public speaking. She became interested in the world rather than focusing on her pain level. She became a part of her family again. At the conclusion of her treatment she told the clinician who worked with her, “I have learned not to focus on the pain and bad memories. Now I focus on all that is in my life and I feel grateful.” With a growing population of older Vermonters comes a greater demand for these critical mental health services. There are various reasons for this: some older citizens experience a loss of roles, a sense of purpose, or increased isolation – or a combination of all these factors. Others lose supports through moves or death which causes grief to mount. Some older Vermonters experience significant changes in functioning and health which can lead to anxiety, depression, mood dysregulation and grief. Individuals with breathing disorders often experience State’s rate is lower than nation as a whole major opportunity costs of having children. Even if both parents work, daycare is expensive and college costs loom high as a future expense. Vermont has one of the highest percentages of adult females with college degrees, so all of these reasons help to explain the low number of births in Vermont and the U.S. Another factor is the decline in teen births, which have fallen by more than half in the past decade and by more than 70 percent since the early 1990s. That may also be the case in Vermont, although the CDC report doesn’t tell us about Vermont teen births. But any fall in Vermont teen births over the last two decades is likely due to the big decline in the number of teenagers here rather than any significant fall in teen birth rates. Whatever the reasons, the nation as a whole is looking a lot like other rich nations in Europe, Japan, and elsewhere, with a declining number of births and the average woman having fewer than two babies over her lifetime. Vermont has been there for a while and is leading the nation down that path. If national observers are interested in seeing how a big decline in births and low levels of fertility affect an economy, they should come to Vermont. Who knows, visits by journalists and demographers could be a new growth industry for the state. Art Woolf is an associate professor of economics at the University of Vermont. He served for three years as state economist for Gov. Madeleine Kunin beginning in 1988. This commentary was published in VTDigger May 19. Investment, attention from state lacking PHYSICAL DISABILITY AND ILLNESS CAN TRIGGER MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS. considerable levels of anxiety, especially upon exertion. Studies also show that physical disability and illness can trigger mental health disorders and mental health disorders can lead to worsening physical health. Loss of mobility, chronic pain, the onset of Parkinson’s disease, dementias, complications of diabetes, strokes, and vision and hearing loss can demand big adjustments that older folks may need help making. Currently, the specialized knowledge needed to begin to adequately address the intertwined mental and physical health needs of our older neighbors is limited, yet growing. Programs and funding to expand mental health care for this population are sorely needed, including the need to support family caregivers in Vermont who shoulder most of the load for older Vermonters who have experienced disabling conditions. Ultimately, proper treatment of mental health concerns for our older citizens will not only improve the overall health of this state, but will also bring down health care costs. Cinda Donton, Eldercare Clinician with Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging.
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Mountain Times - Volume 48, Number 21: May 22-28, 2019

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