As we sat through the legislative commission hearing recently, (where legislators reviewed the Governor’s unallotment recommendations) the lemons indeed were piling up because of the long-term projections of a large budget deficit with no structural solution in sight. But maybe this crisis is just what we need to force some creative thinking and significant reforms to the state’s budget and the government’s role in older adult service payment and delivery. 

Consider a bit of state budget history: we have been living through almost 30 years of state budget troubles, starting with Al Quie running for governor in 1978 on a slogan of “If I can’t cut taxes by ten percent and still make government run better, I won’t make excuses, I just won’t run again.” Well, he won, pushed through a tax cut in 1979 and sent the state into a budget nightmare when the economy went into a recession. Governor unallotments and numerous special sessions began then and came back in 1985 - and in 2000 - and haven’t quit since! Today the legislature, gubernatorial candidates, and many economic-based organizations such as Minnesota Budget Project or Growth & Justice are quick to respond with what is wrong with unallotments (“the autocrat at the kitchen table”) and the unsustainability of Minnesota’s economic structure. The discussions continue and are evolving into a framework of what are “smart” public investments (fiscally responsible, accountable investments) that advance prosperity for Minnesotans. That is where we need to move with our platform in 2010 and beyond.

The message platform we used for 2009 - economic stability and viability for communities and economic contributions of long-term care - that is a good start and a good foundation. However, we need to ratchet up our public investment “case” using multiple messages:

• We need to be sure that business communities and agencies understand the tight interaction between workforce productivity and family caregiving. (There is a new set of facts contained in this recently released study “The Evercare Survey of the Economic Downturn and its Impact on Family Caregiving”) 

• We need to take a proactive stance on the revenue “side” of the equation rather than only focusing on the expenditure side. (We are starting this process next month with a presentation by Growth & Justice before the Long-Term Care Imperative Steering Committee.) 

• We need to identify and promote stronger senior advocates who can “question authority” and the role of government in regulating older adult services that may or may not be publicly funded. Our home and community-based services system is rapidly converting into a highly-regulated system with reduced choices …and is that really what consumers want?  

• We need to gather and highlight data to show that public investments in a continuum of older adult services is a smart investment that can reduce the projected growth line of health care costs. 

• We need to branch out our positions beyond the usual cast of characters. What better time than leading up to a year of great political fodder when we will have a new governor, and potentially lots of new representatives and senators?

I am not saying the next few years will be easy. However, I continue to be an optimist and believe that we can use these times of crisis to formulate a “better world” for older adult services. Someone once said “an optimist sees an opportunity in every calamity; a pessimist sees a calamity in every opportunity.” 

What do you say?