If federal worker pay becomes ‘performance-based,’ start with the president

Regarding “Trump backs move to halt pay increase for federal workers” (Aug. 31): After leading us toward an even bigger deficit, Donald Trump now wants to cancel pay raises for federal employees. For Trump, of course, reneging on contracts is standard procedure.

Trump also says federal pay should be “performance-based.” Fine. Let’s start at the top and make the president’s pay performance-based. Performance reviews usually happen each year, so we’re already behind schedule. I recommend the presidential review committee comprise our living past presidents. (The fly in the ointment here is that eventually Trump would be on the committee. Oh well.)

The review itself wouldn’t be public, but the president’s pay would be. So when it dropped – and it would – we’d get the message, even if he didn’t.

‘Concern’

State Treasurer Dale Folwell’s latest cost-cutting campaign is betraying more than 700,000 state employees and their families’ trust by reducing their ability to get the healthcare they need.

Earlier this year, the director of the State Health Plan reported that 80 percent of its spending is attributed to just 17 percent of employees, primarily due to chronic disease. Most responsible employers today are using that kind of information to target health improvement and prevention efforts. Yet this year, the State Health Plan only spent one percent of its $145.9 million annual budget on employee wellness initiatives.

Across North Carolina, local governments and businesses are working successfully with hospitals and health systems to improve health outcomes, manage costs and keep employees healthy and productive. A year after opening an employee health clinic with Vidant Health, the city of Greenville has seen a 21 percent decrease in urgent care visits among employees and a total savings of more than $140,000. Gaston County’s wellness program through CaroMont Health cut sick hours by more than 13,000 in two years.

As self-insured organizations, our hospitals and health systems are investing in innovative programs to address their own team members’ physical and emotional health. Treasurer Folwell’s plan for unjustified across-the-board reimbursement reductions, posturing in the media over contracts and inability to work with his own third-party administrator to understand the plan’s costs are of serious concern to providers who take care of North Carolinians every day.

Ultimately, our legislature and the State Health Plan Board of Trustees are responsible for the health and well-being of state employees, teachers, dependents and retirees covered under the Plan. Those members deserve better.

The length limit has been waived to permit a fuller response.

Regulate scooters

Regarding “How do we make these electric scooters useful?” Kudos for scooters in Raleigh, but Raleigh has issues to address. Scooters and other two-wheeled vehicles are nearly invisible to most any car or truck driver. Even in daylight.

Many bicyclists now have flashing lights on their rear clothing or bike. This is wonderful, but it is not a requirement. With the scooters now being used on Raleigh streets, there is nothing to indicate they exist from the rear at night. I almost ran over a dark-clad youngster a few nights ago. He was invisible. Black clothes on a black scooter with no rear light or reflector doesn’t cut it on a 35 mph road, especially at night.

Scooters need to be lit and have reflective gear both front and back. Scooters make sense for city transport, but Raleigh needs to regulate their use, require them to be used safely and protect individual riders as well as the general public.

Insurance should be included in every rental fee, much like rental cars. Require riders be insured, and maybe have a huge surcharge for helmetless riders that have accidents. The scooter company should provide insurance as part of their business. Also, no scooters should ever block any sidewalk.

Leave pedestal

Amidst the controversy about the UNC-Chapel Hill’s “Silent Sam,” about the statue, I have no solutions. But I do offer a proposal for what to do with the pedestal that remains on campus.

Why not leave the pedestal exactly as it is and where it is – as a powerful testimony to the necessity of change? The empty pedestal could speak eloquently to the many sides of this issue.

This story was originally published September 7, 2018 at 12:15 PM.