Editor’s note: earlier this week, Susie Stulz of Woodstock wrote on the Hartford (White River Junction) public page that “As the Bible definitely says: Blessed are the billionaires*; *the poor can go screw themselves. (Trump 3:16). Angry? Yeah, we are too. But staying silent makes things worse, but active protest changes things. So come on out to Tribou Park and make your opposition to the Big Awful Transfer-Of-Wealth Bill heard. We’ll be protesting that ugly bill every day from 12:00 to 1:00.” This morning VDC received this reply from longtime WRJ resident and recent commentary contributor Gaylord Livingston.
Dear Susie – Thank you for the passionate rally cry, but before we all grab our signs and pitchforks, let’s pause for a little moral inventory—and maybe a glance in the mirror.
You say the bill is a “massive transfer of wealth to the rich.” That’s rich. Weren’t we already transferring untold billions through a bloated Medicaid system with little oversight, funded by ever-growing federal debt dumped on the working public? It’s curious how “progress” always seems to involve expanding bureaucracies, locking in dependency, and somehow—miraculously—raising healthcare costs while calling it affordable.
Let’s also be honest: “losing coverage” doesn’t mean dying in the streets. It often means being asked to work part-time or fill out a form. And yes, we all know that paperwork is the modern equivalent of a public flogging—cruel, unusual, and wildly oppressive. If Medicaid eligibility checks are your tipping point, the bar for injustice might be set a bit low.
Now onto the trillion-dollar debt claim. Ah yes, the very crowd that cheered trillions in printing during lockdowns is suddenly clutching pearls over budget math. Where was the fiscal concern when the middle class was gutted by inflation, small businesses crushed by mandates, and tech oligarchs made billions while regular people were locked out of their lives?
As for the Bible quote you’ve conjured—Trump 3:16? Cute. But turning a serious national dilemma into a snarky Bible parody might not be the moral high ground you think it is. Especially when many of us are just trying to figure out why we pay so much into a system that gives so little in return—unless you’re part of the permanent activist class.
Here’s a thought: instead of marching on Tribou Park with hashtag placards, maybe ask why a supposedly “public” healthcare system fails unless subsidized to the hilt. Ask who profits off that failure. And ask who really benefits when more Vermonters get pushed onto government programs—because it isn’t the taxpayers, and it sure isn’t the patients.
Your anger is valid, but it’s misdirected. This isn’t a war between billionaires and the poor. It’s a reckoning with a state that’s too big headed to succeed and too entrenched to change—until we stop rewarding failure with more funding and start demanding accountability instead of performative outrage.
With all due respect (and just a pinch of sarcasm),
A Vermonter who prefers results over slogans,
Gaylord Livingston