Amid the uncertainty of the times comes a question as to why Florida legislators can consider taking away more services from people who desperately need them: Because they can.
Dollars are becoming more scarce. Legislators scramble to come up with ways of dealing with too much demand and too little money. The easy way out is to continue to cut and cut especially from those who are voiceless and marginalized in our society. They include people who have disabilities, illness, are elderly, homeless or jobless, the young and the poor. The rush to cut taxes in a state whose tax structure is very fragmented caused the chickens to come home to roost.
The cuts in human services, education and other public assistance programs have borne the brunt of cuts...with more on the way. While legislators must act in a responsible manner and live within their means, there comes a time when heaping cuts upon the defenseless need to stop. Just because legislators can cut does not make it right.
It is hoped that 2009 is the year when the Legislature will hold harmless further cuts upon the backs of people with disabilities...who have taken a 35% cut in services in the past 5 years. Why should the Legislature hold these folks harmless? Because they can!
1 comment:
The pattern of behavior exhibited by our legislature, with regard to those needing the most help, is disgusting. If we do not have representatives that are interested in protecting our most vulnerable citizens, then they should be replaced, using the same lack of compassion that they have displayed.
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