A Federationist Speaks Out

A Federationist Speaks Out

The Braille Monitor

May 2003

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A Federationist Speaks

Out

by Chris Kuell

Chris

Kuell

From the Editor: The

Friday, March 28, 2003, edition of the Danbury News-Times carried an

op-ed column by NFB of Connecticut second vice president Chris Kuell. The blind

of Connecticut are once again struggling to improve state vocational services.

This time the plan was to dismantle the entire program and shuffle the blind

off to another agency. The sheltered shop run by the Board of Education and

Services for the Blind (BESB) was to be summarily shut down.

At a hearing conducted

by a committee of the legislature, Federationists Allen Harris, Fred Schroeder,

Jason Ewell, and many others testified. Though blind people were doubtful about

how seriously this testimony was taken, it apparently did some good. It is still

too early to tell for certain, but apparently BESB will not be dismantled, and

some managerial changes such as the method of appointing the agency director

will be made. Here is Chris Kuell's article:

Rowland Plan Will Dismantle

Agency for Blind

The State of Connecticut

is in a dire fiscal mess. Everyone (theoretically) is going to have to tighten

their belts a little to help bail us out. But what about the folks that don't

even have a belt? Did I hear someone asking, "John, what did you do with

the money?"

We

ordinary people don't know what the governor did with all the surplus. He did

send out checks to all the taxpayers in the state, distracting the voting public

long enough to assure his re‑election. After that, he gave himself a raise

and sharpened his axe.

How will our elected officials

deal with the mess? The plan appears to be to sacrifice the neediest of our

citizens: the poor, children from non-English speaking families, the aged, unwed

mothers, battered women, the deaf, and the blind (like me). We will lose because

the programs we depend on will be dismantled or lose significant funding. The

neediest among us are being treated like society's bottom dwellers, as persons

of unnecessary expense.

On March 10 I sat waiting

to testify at a public hearing regarding a proposed bill to consolidate the

Board of Education and Services for the Blind (BESB). The hearing room and an

overflow room were full, with more than seventy concerned citizens anxious to

be heard. When my turn finally came, a sighted friend told me there were only

three committee members present, and one of them was asleep. The pleas of the

mother with her two-year-old blind daughter, the industries worker who lost

his job along with 132 other blind and multihandicapped workers, the man who

spoke on behalf of all the blind vending operators--all went essentially unheard

by those that are sworn to care.

The

director of BESB, Donna Balaski, a Rowland appointee, wasn't there to defend

the agency or the clients whom she is paid to represent. Why was she absent?

I think it serves her career interests not to appear contrary to the wishes

of Governor Rowland. Her absence from this most important hearing sickens me.

The

blind in our state face a greater than 70 percent unemployment rate. By dismantling

BESB and throwing it to the Department of Social Services (DSS), the governor

and legislature guarantee that figure will approach 100 percent. Sure, they

sleep at night by telling themselves DSS will take care of things just fine.

But, they are not kidding

anyone. How can an overworked, understaffed, largely bureaucratic and administrative

agency, facing deep cuts itself, absorb 13,355 new clients? New clients that

need instruction in Braille, low-vision aids, mobility and orientation, independent

living, specialized technology, and a host of other services DSS is unprepared

to provide? Obviously, DSS can't, and our elected officials don't seem to care.

After all, we can't even vote independently yet. Perhaps they will pass the

legislation to allow for accessible voting machines this session, but I'm not

holding my breath.

The

politicians will also defend their actions by claiming that BESB is a scandalous

agency that does little to help its consumers. Unfortunately this assessment

is largely correct. Yet Rowland created the mess at BESB by the abuse of his

executive appointment abilities. Rather than appointing executive directors

that are capable and competent to revitalize the agency, Rowland has used his

power for political payback.

Take

a look at the last three executive directors. Balaski, the current director,

didn't lift a finger to stop the closing of the Blind Industries program, even

though National Industries for the Blind and the National Federation of the

Blind presented her with multiple alternatives.

Her predecessor, Larry

Alizobek, is on his way to jail for accepting bribes and awarding contracts

to the governor's friends. Before Alizobek's brief term was Ken Tripp, who was

recommended for prosecution by the attorney general for multiple counts of on-the-job

sexual harassment and various other abuses. All three of these so-called leaders

of the blind were Rowland appointees. While they collected their fat paychecks,

the have-nots got shoved aside.

I don't have a summer home

or gold doubloons to bribe the necessary people. All I have is a surplus of

bile and anger in my gut resulting from the way the governor has treated his

non-wealthy constituents. Unemployment rates rise, literacy rates fall, and

hope for the bottom dwellers is exchanged for a one-way ticket out of a mess

created by Rowland himself.

Mahatma

Gandhi said, "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest

members." How will the governor and the 2003 General Assembly be judged?

A deferred charitable

gift annuity is a way for donors to save taxes and make significant donations

to the National Federation of the Blind. (The amounts here are illustrative,

not precise.) It works like this:

James Johnson, age fifty,

has decided to set up a deferred charitable gift annuity. He transfers $10,000

to the NFB. In return, when he reaches sixty-five, the NFB will pay James a

lifetime annuity of $1,710 per year, of which $179 is tax free. In addition,

James can claim a charitable tax deduction of $6,387 of the $10,000 gift in

the year the donation is made.

For more information

about deferred gift annuities, contact the National Federation of the Blind,

Special Gifts, 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4998, phone (410)

659-9314, fax (410) 685-5653.

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