Coalition building was a topic at the Massachusetts Library Association’s annual conference earlier this month. Speaker Margie Schuster encouraged attendees to take one more step—in addition to lobbying and message development—and create a coalition to expand into a broader sphere. Good advice.
Given the magnitude of the library funding crisis, I’d urge state and national library associations to do the same. They might, for example, coordinate their efforts and form coalitions with other groups to lobby for big money issues like single-payer healthcare.
There are a number of reasons to support single-payer healthcare. One is that municipal funds currently spent on health insurance could be reallocated to public libraries and a range of other vital services. In West Boylston, 16% of our FY2010 budget will be used to purchase group healthcare insurance for town employees. This single line item is equivalent to the FY2010 appropriations for these town departments:
- Police
- Fire
- Public Safety
- DPW
- Library
- Treasurer/Collector
- Building Inspector
- Town Counsel
- Cemetery
Incredible, isn’t it? You know, each of these departments took budget cuts in FY2010. They might also want to ban together with library associations to call for more responsible national leadership on healthcare and financial issues.
* Original graphic by Quest Medical Claims.
