Thread: CA Budget Hurts Seniors But We Still Pay For Illegals

This just makes me want to stop paying taxes. We are forced to pay for illegal immigrants while our seniors feel the cuts. This is sooooooo wrong.

Seniors suffer most from cuts
Shirley Harlan
Article Created: 05/08/2008 06:56:24 PM PDT
http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_9198818


Imagine yourself at age 75 - living at home alone, facing illness, even debt.
As a senior citizen and a member of the California Alliance for Retired Americans, I ask you to imagine yourself living on $29 a day in Supplemental Security Income, a number that has remained substantially the same for years, while the cost of living in California has skyrocketed.

It is no secret that our state - and all of us - are facing the worst budget crisis in California history. Over the years, I have seen a parade of sensationalists cry wolf, using words like "devastating" and "unprecedented." With a budget gap that may top $20 billion, these words are finally merited.

We now face statewide budget cuts that will decimate services essential to seniors like me. There are thousands of seniors in our community who rely upon the services threatened by these cuts that are unable to leave their homes to lobby for themselves. That's why it's up to us to do it for them.

Last month, members of C.A.R.A. were among more than 1,500 seniors who attended a rally in the state capital. They gathered to send a message to state legislators and to make their voices heard at committee hearings on the major cuts proposed for In-Home Support Services and Supplemental Security Income.

At the rally, the crowd heard from politicians and state officials.

The most eloquent speakers, however, held no titles and needed assistance to finish their speeches.

Two individuals suffering from Alzheimer's disease came forward to tell their stories. They spoke of the changes their lives had undergone since their diagnoses and the aid that programs like In-Home Support had provided them. These are the voices infrequently heard, and even less frequently considered by policymakers.
If the budget passes in its current form, the services on which these and many elderly Californians rely will see a dramatic loss of funding.

MediCal recipients will no longer have access to critical services such as dentistry, optometry and psychology. In-Home Support Services will be slashed by $336.6 million, including a loss of $14.4 million for San Bernardino County. Low-income seniors and people with disabilities rely upon these programs to help them maintain an independent lifestyle in which many take pride.

The elimination of programs essential to seniors is evidence of a culture that increasingly marginalizes the elderly and disabled. Gov. Schwarzenegger's budget sends a message that we aren't considered valuable members of society; that we are castoffs, no longer of use. In a state where the over-65 population is expected to triple by the year 2050, this is not a perspective we can afford to support.

I stand opposed to the current budget, not simply to defend those programs that affect me directly, but to speak for those who can't speak for themselves. And it's not just about issues facing seniors. Children are losing health care coverage, teachers being laid off, and state parks closed.

These cuts affect all Californians and unless something is done, we will feel their impact for decades to come. The consequences of the current cuts-only budget will be dire and far-reaching. New sources of revenue must be sought out if we are to protect those things we as a state hold dear: education, health, and safety.

This is a pivotal moment in California's history and we have the opportunity to change its course for the better.

I have contacted our state legislators to ask them to look around our community to understand the scope of the impact from these proposed budget cuts and what it means to cut programs for those least able to sacrifice and most likely to suffer.

I ask you to imagine yourself doing the same.

Shirley Harlan, a San Bernardino resident, is a member of the California Alliance for Retired Americans.

http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_9198818

Our children and Senior citizens are the most vulnerable during this crisis and have to be shielded as much as possible

This is truly a sad day in America

This almost the same as Obama’s National plan for getting “all people in Americaâ€

Every day I read something else that supports that America is on a race to the bottom,becoming more and more like a third world country every day.

And the elected officials and the corporations can not wait to reduce us to working for two dollars a week like the countries that these illegals come from,at that point it is game over.

What can we do to wake Americans up ? What will it take ?