The Savings Estimator: How the Progressive Coders Network Revolutionized a Campaign for Universal Healthcare
Anyone who has ever studied single payer healthcare and other universal healthcare systems around the world knows this truth: it saves money as well as lives. And we aren’t talking about a few million dollars here and there. We’re talking about billions of dollars. Dr. Gerald Friedman recently concluded in an economic study for Washington State that residents in our state would save over $9 billion annually if we passed universal healthcare and that includes dental and vision, deductible free! Often in our campaigns, and in our little social media echo chambers, we’re preaching to the choir about the savings and benefits. But when we try to convince voters while canvassing, collecting signatures, or phone banking, one question is always asked: “How much will I pay?” At this point, until recently, I’ve stumbled. “Far less than you pay now,” is my usual response. That doesn’t cut it with voters. They want to know the taxes they will pay and how much universal healthcare will save them. Enter my heroes: Progressive Coders Network.
“Working with ProgCoders was incredibly energizing and rewarding. Not only do these coders have mad skills, they share your vision. They’re your team, and they want success as much as you do. You can really feel that.” — Jen Nye, volunteer Lead Organizer for I-1600
At the start of our campaign, Whole Washington, the organization behind the Universal Healthcare ballot measure I-1600, envisioned a calculator to answer the “how much will it cost?” question. Being a scrappy grassroots organization of nurses, ex-campaign staff, activists, and other dedicated volunteers, we didn’t have the expertise to accomplish such a herculean project. Thankfully there is an organization dedicated to helping progressive campaigns like ours.
Progressive Coders Network has dedicated volunteers such as Marc Aaron and Pamela John who worked tirelessly in conjunction with Whole Washington volunteers like Erin Georgen and Jen Nye to make the savings estimator a reality.
“ProgCode’s mission is to remove or reduce the impact of big money in politics by supporting the creation of open source tech tools to empower the grassroots. The community knew from the outset that it wanted to be a source of tech support to help local-level healthcare initiatives achieve their goals. Building a savings estimator to support Whole Washington’s people-driven grassroots ballot initiative was a no-brainer, and Tech Lead Marc Aaron really stepped up as the driving force behind the successful completion of the savings estimator,” said ProgCoders’ Pamela John. “Progressives like the hard-core organizers behind I-1600 are our inspiration. As a community, we continue to find that when we put our collective heads together, there’s this sweet spot at the intersection of community organizing and tech activism where incredibly impactful stuff gets done, even when federal congressional gridlock seems insurmountable.”
Because of ProgCode, an individual or business can enter in their financial information and the estimator will let them know how many thousands they will save if I-1600 passes. My family of three will save $220/mo for example. Due to Washington’s incredibly regressive taxation system, that’s much needed relief.
As important as this was for our campaign in Washington, I see this as having national implications. The estimator can be tweaked for any legislation anywhere in the country, including federal plans like HR 676 and S 1804.
And while it is a critical tool for answering an important question, it has also driven many people to our website. In fact, in the most recent newsletter we sent, the estimator got an astounding 63% of the click throughs. It produced new volunteers and increased excitement for the initiative. At this point every single payer campaign staffer should be sitting on the edge of their seat brimming with enthusiasm! It’s difficult to keep people engaged in the political arena even when the stakes are high. If added to your site this estimator will re-engage your members and will bring in new volunteers. Moreover, it will defeat the opposition’s argument that single payer is too expensive to implement.
Please give the estimator a try! While you’re at it, toss in a dollar or $27 to help amplify the work of the Progressive Coders Network: https://www.patreon.com/ProgressiveCodersNetwork
In Solidarity,
Georgia Davenport, Interim Campaign Director for Whole Washington
https://www.facebook.com/WholeWashington
georgia@wholewashington.org
