We hear a lot from politicians and TV pundits about the state of our economy. Most of them (at long last) do acknowledge at least that “times are tough.”

Certainly the numbers are in agreement*. Unemployment is on the rise. Wages are declining. Foreclosures are mushrooming. More and more people are going medically uninsured or underinsured. Fuel prices continue to skyrocket. Income inequality is worsening. Higher education becomes less affordable every year. And a record number of families are being forced to use resources such as food banks just to survive.

But what do all these statistics really mean? How do the failed economic policies that have brought us to where we are today affect everyday hard-working people in their real lives? For the answers to these questions, I’m turning to you.

To help our elected officials understand—and be held accountable—for what’s really happening in the economy, I am asking you to share your story. After all, it’s you they’re supposed to be serving, and the economy is more than just numbers: it’s the day-to-day reality of our lives.

Therefore, please share with me, if you can: What’s going on in your life economically?

Answering this question may be difficult, especially considering the emotional toll that financial pressures and crises can take on us, not to mention our natural tendency to keep these kinds of things to ourselves. But keeping quiet just hasn’t worked. I believe it’s time for all of us to speak out and tell the truth about real life in today’s economy, so that we can stoke the fires for positive change and a more hopeful future.

To share your story, simply email me at ryan@hersha.org by Monday, June 30, 2008.

After June 30, I will collect your answers and share them with other elected officials, not just on the City Commission but at the state and federal levels as well. I will see to it that as economic policy is debated, your own real life experiences are at the heart of the discussion.

I look forward to hearing back from you soon. Please feel free to forward this message to your friends and neighbors.

Thank you very much for your help.

Sincerely,
Ryan Hersha
Battle Creek City Commissioner
ryan@hersha.org

*http://michigan.gov/dleg/0,1607,7-154–187872–,00.html; http://www.argmax.com/mt_blog/archive/2008_02_real_wage_decli.php; http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080613/BUSINESS06/806130349; http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/publications_show.htm?doc_id=688615; http://wkzonews.blogspot.com/2008/06/gas-prices-rise-again.html; http://www.mediamouse.org/features/040908incom.php; http://www.collegeboard.com/press/releases/189547.html; http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-05-18-foodstamps_N.htm

Resolved by the Commission of the City of Battle Creek:

There are more than one million Michigan citizens that do not have health insurance and hundreds of thousands more are “under-insured,” meaning they lack enough health coverage to care for serious illness or injury.

Over 15,000 Calhoun County residents have no health insurance. Calhoun County has been determined by the Department of Health and Human Services to have a medically underserved population and to be a professional health shortage area.

Health care costs continue to rise every year. Each year more residents drop their health insurance because they can’t afford it and each year more businesses drop health coverage for their employees because the business cannot remain competitive and pay high health insurance costs. The burdens to businesses of financing our broken health care system represents a competitive disadvantage for Michigan.

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, the City of Battle Creek expended approximately $6.6 million on employee and retiree health cares costs.

A system that controls costs while providing high-quality comprehensive care is needed in Michigan.

Therefore, the City Commission of the City of Battle Creek, affirms that:

1. The public health and general welfare of the people are matters of primary public concern.
2. The state legislature has a responsibility to pass suitable laws for the promotion and protection of the public health.
3. The state legislature is called upon to pass laws to ensure that every Michigan resident has affordable and comprehensive health care coverage through a fair and cost-effective financing system.
4. The state legislature is called upon to pass a plan that, through public or private measures, controls health care costs and provides for medically necessary preventative, primary, acute, and chronic health care needs.
5. To these ends, we support the passage of the Michigan Health Care Security Ballot Proposal, which, if passed, would compel the state legislature to act on these responsibilities.

For more information about the ballot proposal, visit healthcareformichigan.org.

Please show your support for the resolution by contacting the City Commission — by email or phone or in person by attending tonight’s meeting. Our meetings are held on the third floor of City Hall (10 N. Division), beginning at 7:00 pm. Thank you!