Maybe because of things like this?

quote Gov. Rick Scott orders immediate cuts to programs for disabled Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered deep cuts Thursday to programs that serve tens of thousands of residents with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and other developmental disabilities. Though a range of state services face cuts from this year's Legislature, the governor invoked his emergency powers to order the state Agency for Persons with Disabilities to immediately roll back payments to group homes and social workers by 15 percent — an amount providers say could put them out of business and threaten their clients' safety. "lt's not like, 'Gee, does this mean I have to skip a vacation this year?'" said Amy Van Bergen, executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida. "Potentially, these cuts have life and death implications for these people." An estimated 30,000 Floridians with severe developmental disabilities receive services that help them live outside of nursing homes — typically with family or in small group homes. Aides help them eat, bathe, take medication and otherwise care for themselves. "No one has gotten any notice," said Linda Cumbie, an Orlando social worker who coordinates services that clients need to live outside of a nursing home — which would be a more expensive arrangement for the state. "We have to find out through the newspapers." Cumbie said funds for the disabled already had been pared back to skeletal levels. She personally is holding a carwash and bake sale to help out one young disabled client so he can attend a daily workshop program. Katie Porta, president of Quest Inc., which operates a series of group homes and programs for those with disabilities, said provider rates in Florida already rank in the bottom 10 percent for all states. "We are almost to the point of impossibility in providing for our clients' basic health and safety needs," she said. "I just fear for our people." at the Threshold Center for Autism in Winter Park, former CEO and current board member Bob Wright said something has to give. Staffers there work with children and adults who are severely impaired and sometimes violent. "If this were any other workplace, you would consider it a war zone," Wright said. "My staff gets bitten, hit, kicked, spat upon, defecated on, urinated on — for $8.23 an hour. And every time we start talking about giving our guys a pay raise, the governor comes along and cuts the rates." The center has not had a rate increase for its services since 2005, and it has had several rounds of cuts since then. At the same time, training requirements for staffers have increased. "The state can cut my rates by 15 percent, but I can't cut my staffing 15 percent or I'll be in violation of staffing ratios," Wright added. "This may break our backs."

BTW, it costs MORE taxpayer money to care for these people in hospitals and prisons.
The "Lets Get To Work" governor continues to put people out of work.....

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Drive safely!

[This message has been edited by NEPTUNE (edited 04-04-2011).]

I am guessing those who booed him are willing to pay for these programs with their own money ionstead of using OPM?

Don, either way, we pay.
Unless we allow them to be shot on sight.
Remember, prisons and hospitals cost MUCH more than halfway/ group homes.
Or maybe you would like to take a couple in yourself?

Are those in support of these programs on record as willing to significantly increase (double/triple) their tax contributions to pay for them? Do they have an viable long term alternative solution to pay for them?

Do you?

We don't have that problem.

Why are people with these conditions wards of the state?

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: Don, either way, we pay. Unless we allow them to be shot on sight. Remember, prisons and hospitals cost MUCH more than halfway/ group homes. Or maybe you would like to take a couple in yourself?

Rick Scott also cut 1,600 jobs from the Correctional Institute. He cut the jobs mostly in administrative, and the union-type jobs which were getting paid heavy wages, with little to no direct affect on the final "product."


Rick Scott is also a friend to Florida wildlife environmentalists, and most recently said he was willing to lift the moratoriums that were created under Christie:

http://www.naplesnews.com/n...l-harbor-rick-scott/

These man-made islands would increase tourism, and also help to preserve our delicate eco-system down here.


The cuts come from the 4.2 billion dollar Medicaid cuts that he recently made in Florida's budget. The article is very misleading... they make it sound like he specifically went out to hurt invalids... he merely cut the budget across the board, and this is the affect it's had on this particular segment of the health care industry. The 15% cuts are meant to force the health care unions (like the SEIU http://www.seiuhealthcarefl.org/), to reduce costs, and employ more people, with less money. The cost reductions for the group homes does kind of suck, but there's a lot of fraud involved in those group homes too (and some corruption as well) and I think he hopes to reduce that as well.

There are a LOT of people who are cared for in these group homes, who's families could easily care for them themselves, but choose not to. I know a lot of people with autistic children who have the money, but choose to let the state take care of them. What this will do is require the group homes to restrict the requirements for getting accepted to those who are simply unable to pay for themselves.


Really, these are the kinds of cuts that we need.


I'll tell you one thing... everyone is mad at Rick Scott, because he's cutting costs left and right, from both... the left and the right programs. He's a businessman, and that's what we elected, and he's cost-cutting like a businessman would. He doesn't care what your interests are, he's cutting costs across the board.

The example with the speed trains (for example), he has eliminated the speed train program, which would have required Florida to pay a significant amount up-front in addition to the total amount given by the Federal government. The speed train would have become a liability, and incurred regular costs, not an income. Like a true businessman, he took the money that we would have otherwise have used for the speed train, and used it for the Port Authority. This will increase the size of the ports in Miami which will improve tourism, as well as import / export from Miami. It will also improve security, and reduce the traffic and delays in and around the port authority. So in essense, he has eliminated a program that would have COST money, and funded a program that will EARN money.


That's what we elected him for, and that's what he's doing... that's why people are angry with him, but in the end, we'll be better off for it.

Boo your reps! YES!! Freedom of speech! YES!! How old were the boo-ers? Florida means old people, right? So, Up with Old People's rights! YES!!

He was booed, but not as loudly as the last time or by as many people. Maybe some people are begining to realize they can't stop him from making cuts.

[This message has been edited by avengador1 (edited 04-04-2011).]

quote Originally posted by Isolde: Boo your reps! YES!! Freedom of speech! YES!! How old were the boo-ers? Florida means old people, right? So, Up with Old People's rights! YES!!

It used to be that way, but not so much anymore. Most of them have all moved to Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona. When I lived in Virginia, I used to think Florida was just old people, but that's not really the case anymore. South Beach, during the time of Miami Vice, all of those famous hotels were nursing homes (imagine that). Now they're all really exclusive beach hotels, and restaurants, by one of the most exclusive and trendy places in the US.

Linda and I live in FL. We aren't THAT old.

The only places I have seen many old people in Florida is at the amusement parks and big box stores. They usually are hard at work there.

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: BTW, it costs MORE taxpayer money to care for these people in hospitals and prisons. The "Lets Get To Work" governor continues to put people out of work.....

What should a state do when it doesn't have the money?

What do YOU do when you don't have the money?

quote Originally posted by jaskispyder: Why are people with these conditions wards of the state?

Because we are a (mostly)civilized society.
We don't send our sick and disabled out into the desert to die.
(So far, at least)
Some things are a little more important than the almighty dollar.
Hence the booing.

quote We don't send our sick and disabled out into the desert to die.

We don't because we don't have a desert in Florida.

quote Some things are a little more important than the almighty dollar. Hence the booing.

Like a prime union job will all the benefits and pay?

[This message has been edited by avengador1 (edited 04-04-2011).]

Do these people not have parents, who brought them into this world? This is part of being a parent... if you bring a child into this world, then you better be prepared to take care if it, through the good times and bad.

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: Because we are a (mostly)civilized society. We don't send our sick and disabled out into the desert to die. (So far, at least) Some things are a little more important than the almighty dollar. Hence the booing.

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: [ but there's a lot of fraud involved in those group homes too (and some corruption as well) and I think he hopes to reduce that as well.

[PROOF???]

quote There are a LOT of people who are cared for in these group homes, who's families could easily care for them themselves, but choose not to. I know a lot of people with autistic children who have the money, but choose to let the state take care of them.

May I respectfully call on that?

Just how many people do you personally know who have autistic children, who also have tons of money?
Just how many of them are able to fool the system by claiming poverty, year after year?
Why are you hanging around with people like that, anyway?

Keep in mind that Christine is head bookeeper for a PRIVATE, NON PROFIT chain of group homes and assisted living facilities, so I hear every day about how they have to scrape to keep qualified staff (at the LAVISH salary of $8.25 per hour), have yard sales to buy clothes and food, and occasionally have to get a client out of jail for running away and screaming at traffic or stealing a car.

So you want the homes closed and the mentally and physically disabled turned loose on society so you can save a dollar on your taxes?
There are other sources of untapped revenue in the state, but they contribute big bucks to politicians.
The so called "retarded" people don't.
Who loses here?
We all do.

[This message has been edited by NEPTUNE (edited 04-04-2011).]

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: Keep in mind that Christine is head bookeeper for a PRIVATE, NON PROFIT chain of group homes and assisted living facilities, so I hear every day about how they have to scrape to keep qualified staff (at the LAVISH salary of $8.25 per hour), have yard sales to buy clothes and food, ...

Cry me a river. Private non profit corporations make big bucks.

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: May I respectfully call on that? Keep in mind that Christine is head bookeeper for a PRIVATE, NON PROFIT chain of group homes and assisted living facilities, so I hear every day about how they have to scrape to keep qualified staff (at the LAVISH salary of $8.25 per hour), have yard sales to buy clothes and food, and occasionally have to get a client out of jail for running away amd screaming at traffic or stealing a car. So you want the homes closed and the mentally and physically disabled turned loose on society so you can save a dollar on your taxes? There are other sources of untapped revenue in the state, but they contribute big bucks to politicians. The so called "retarded" people don't. Who loses here? We all do.

I have to agree with Neptune on this one. Im all for budget cuts to eliminate wasted spending ect.. But this governer should have dug deeper into the programs he planned to cut.. You state he just cut them all across the board, as if thats a fair thing to do.. When all he had to do was take the time and do some reading and get more specific in is spending cuts.. But then again asking any politician to read anything seems to be too much.. They dont even read the damn bills they sign into law!

Iv never understood why people think some big buisness man is the right person to run a state/country.. Buisness men think in terms of money and profit, not people.. Maby if these big buisness's who we seem to be getting more and more politicians from these days would actually pay taxes, states might not have to do so many spending cuts. I mean hell GE made a profit of $14 Billion dollars in 2010, and didnt pay any taxes on it.. Hell they got a $3 Billion rebate from the IRS.. And that was only the money they has here in the US.. As most of their profits, they send overseas so they dont have to pay taxes on it.. Imagine what how much our country could get done if they paid their taxes like everyone else..

[This message has been edited by Jonesy (edited 04-04-2011).]

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: So you want the homes closed and the mentally and physically disabled turned loose on society so you can save a dollar on your taxes? There are other sources of untapped revenue in the state, but they contribute big bucks to politicians.

Always the leftist solution...just raise taxes...especially on the wealthy. The thing is, they propose this EVERY TIME they need money. What happens when you can't tax people any more? When do you stop spending?

Examples:
http://ps.psychiatryonline....ent/full/ps;56/6/642

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-b...03/31/MNP21INRMH.DTL

Really? They don't have parents? I guess they were test tube babies then.

I hate to say it, but if you don't have the resources, maybe creating a family shouldn't be something you do.

Raising a disabled child is hard, yes, but my cousin was mentally handicapped, but his parents didn't seek out help from the government. They said that if God gave them this challenge, they would step up to meet it.

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: Many of them don't. Gawd, use your brain OK? They wouldn't be in these facilities if their family had any resources. And NO ONE plans to have a disabled child.

quote Originally posted by Jonesy: I have to agree with Neptune on this one. Im all for budget cuts to eliminate wasted spending ect.. But this governer should have dug deeper into the programs he planned to cut.. You state he just cut them all across the board, as if thats a fair thing to do.. When all he had to do was take the time and do some reading and get more specific in is spending cuts.. But then again asking any politician to read anything seems to be too much.. They dont even read the damn bills they sign into law! Iv never understood why people think some big buisness man is the right person to run a state/country.. Buisness men think in terms of money and profit, not people.. Maby if these big buisness's who we seem to be getting more and more politicians from these days would actually pay taxes, states might not have to do so many spending cuts. I mean hell GE made a profit of $14 Billion dollars in 2010, and didnt pay any taxes on it.. Hell they got a $3 Billion rebate from the IRS.. And that was only the money they has here in the US.. As most of their profits, they send overseas so they dont have to pay taxes on it.. Imagine what how much our country could get done if they paid their taxes like everyone else..

The problem is every single program run by the government can justify its existence, whether it should be funded by taxpayers or not.

I've got a hunch that if everyone in the country started receiving 20 or 30% of their tax dollars back from the government at the expense of countless social programs, the people who benefit from those programs will still be taken care of by charitable donations from the citizenry.

Why is it the government's responsibility to take care of every little thing in everyone's lives?

I agree Wards of the State need to be cared for, but by whom?

Should our tax dollars go towards the mentally infirm? The elderly? The union worker's pension? The public school system? The countless buearocracies built around monitoring everything we do? Where does it end? At what point is the money I earn MINE and not the government's?

And for Neptune, I'll repost Don's question. What would you do, Sir? If you needed to balance Florida's budget, and there was a multi-billion dollar deficit, what gets the axe? Public roads? Public schools? I'm guessing you'd say less tax breaks for the businesses in your state. That works for a year, but what do you do next year when all those businesses have relocated to more accomodating states?

I don't have all the answers either, but I know from my own life that when I lost my job and times were tough, my wife and I made sacrifices to make ends meet. In these economic times, EVERYONE needs to sacrifice, not just the "wealthy" small business owners who drive our economy and get screwed in the process.

Another reason why sports fans (AKA Rabid Liberals ) may want to boo Rick Scott:

quote Lynn Dos Santos remembers the time she walked into a nursing home in Sarasota and spotted a forlorn woman slouched in a wheelchair, her hair a tangled mess. "How are you?" Dos Santos asked. "Not good," the stroke victim responded. "My hair hasn't been washed in a few weeks. And I don't think my teeth have been brushed in a month." Brian Lee recalled the time he walked into the pantry of an elder-care facility — and found an infestation. "I opened up the pantry, and there were bugs crawling all over and in the food," he said. "Rodent droppings everywhere. Bugs climbing over their dining tables." Dos Santos was able to get the wheelchair-bound woman the hygiene help she needed. And Lee summoned the health department to clean up the vermin-filled facility. Neither of them would've been there to help if not for Florida's Long Term Care Ombudsman program — a largely volunteer effort that looks after and sticks up for the neglected, forgotten and even abused elderly. The goal is noble. And yet this program is under assault from Gov. Rick Scott and state legislators. They want to weaken the program, make it harder for volunteers to access the records and to eliminate the need for yearly site visits. We're talking about regulations that are meant to give men and women dignity. You can't even make a straight-faced argument that gutting this program would save money — because it's probably the most cost-effective program Florida runs. There are nearly 400 ombudsmen who visit long-term care facilities — all of whom are volunteers. Their biggest cost to taxpayers: mileage reimbursement. http://www.orlandosentinel....402,0,3880093.column

Shoot the old people, too.
Then we won't have to pay mileage reimbursement to volunteers.
Because THATS whats killing job creation. VOLUNTEERS.
Or maybe Gov Scotts former business, the corrupt HCA that stole millions from taxpayers, wants a piece of this action....

[This message has been edited by NEPTUNE (edited 04-04-2011).]

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: Or maybe he's being booed because he wants to line his skinflint pockets by requiring state employees to be drug tested quarterly by his wife's company, Solantic, and he stands to gain BILLIONS doing it. .

I'm ALL FOR that. I think anyone who gets their income from a check signed by the gvt should be regularly drug tested. (yes, that includes welfare)

[This message has been edited by CoryFiero (edited 04-04-2011).]

Some people think the government is the ONLY solution to EVERY problem. Oh, my... how did we ever deal with these things before the government got big enough to be expected to do it for us?

You sound like a public school employee who thinks all their problems are solved by throwing money at them... when it's proven time & again that it never helps anything, and the problems only get worse.

I will agree, however, that "across the board" cuts is wrong. Cutting spending has got to be done more carefully than that. And if the lady was correct in saying they got no warning and learned about it in the newspaper, that's wrong too. And cruel.

I think a lot off booing was by state government employees who don't want certain salary/benefit cuts. Although I like Scott for the most part, I'm one of them. He should first go after fraud, then waste, and then cut salary/benefits for people making the big bucks - not targeting the poor schmucks like me who just make peanuts already. If any more comes out of my paycheck, I'll have to decide when it's no longer worth using that paycheck just for the gas to go to work. I could be spending my 8 hours a day at home growing a vegetable garden.

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: This in a Republican controlled state, with nearly the lowest taxes in the US and school funding in the bottom three of states.

I live in California, a DEMOCRATIC controlled state. California is among the highest taxing states, but never seems to have enough money. Throwing more money at the problem never seems to work, but that doesn't keep politicians from trying.

I would like to thank everyone who posted comments on this thread.
Even those who didn't watch the video or read the articles.
It has been an interesting and informative day, and I think I have gained a little insight into a very different way of looking at the world, thanks to you.
And thank you all for refraining from childish name calling this time!

Best Regards, NEPTUNE

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Drive safely!

[This message has been edited by NEPTUNE (edited 04-04-2011).]

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: I would like to thank everyone who posted comments on this thread. Even those who didn't watch the video or read the articles. It has been an interesting and informative day, and I think I have gained a little insight into a very different way of looking at the world, thanks to you. And thank you all for refraining from childish name calling this time! Best Regards, NEPTUNE

I generally don't name call, and don't like it when others do. You get to have your own opinion, and I learn more about the world when I talk to people that I don't always see eye to eye with than the ones I do. To quote a song: "It seems like everywhere I go, the more I see the less I know."

quote Originally posted by NEPTUNE: ... I think I have gained a little insight into a very different way of looking at the world, thanks to you.

Thanks to you, we have not.

quote Originally posted by Flamberge: I generally don't name call, and don't like it when others do. You get to have your own opinion, and I learn more about the world when I talk to people that I don't always see eye to eye with than the ones I do. To quote a song: "It seems like everywhere I go, the more I see the less I know."

"But I i know one thing that I love you"

-Joe

I considered buying a ticket just to boo him.

The man just gave his old alma matter (rather, his old corrupt company, Solantic) a nice big contract with the state. AFAIK, they're still in the middle of a Medicare fraud scandal.

This is why he is getting booed.
Florida’s Gov. Scott: We Can’t Just Print Money
http://www.newsmax.com/Insi...al&promo_code=C05A-1

quote Florida’s financial straits mirror those at the federal level in many ways, with one key difference, Gov. Rick Scott says. “We just don’t have a printing press to keep printing money,” the Republican governor told attendees at an economic conference in West Palm Beach this afternoon. Lacking that money-printing black hole, Scott said, the nation’s governors are using other means to demonstrate fiscal leadership to the federal government. One goal in Florida is to make the Sunshine State the top spot in the country for businesses, he said. When Newsmax.TV’s Kathleen Walter asked about criticism of severe budget cuts Scott has proposed to bring the state budget under control, he acknowledged that the state provides a safety net for the poor and needy. But it also must be accountable for the money it spends, he said. “We have to make sure we're efficient with the dollars,” he said. As he spoke inside the Palm Beach County Convention Center, protesters marched outside as part of a national day of union-organized rallies marking the anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. The “We Are One” rallies focused primarily on measures to limit or end collective bargaining rights for public employees in Wisconsin and Ohio.

!

quote Originally posted by Cheever3000: Some people think the government is the ONLY solution to EVERY problem. Oh, my... how did we ever deal with these things before the government got big enough to be expected to do it for us?.

Answer:.. We didn't!

quote Originally posted by Jonesy: Answer:.. We didn't!

So you're saying the disabled & mentally ill really did end up on the street? I don't think so. Their care was made possible by relatives, by churches, by friends & neighbors, and sometimes by the community. That's how things were done in the old days... we took care of each other. None of this depending on the government for everything.

quote Originally posted by Cheever3000: So you're saying the disabled & mentally ill really did end up on the street? I don't think so. Their care was made possible by relatives, by churches, by friends & neighbors, and sometimes by the community. That's how things were done in the old days... we took care of each other. None of this depending on the government for everything.

lol - in fairy tales
but - I do agree with much of the sentiment

in the "old days", there was also frontiers for these unwanteds to disappear into.
but - not sure how this fits with the topic.....

quote Originally posted by avengador1: This is why he is getting booed. Florida’s Gov. Scott: We Can’t Just Print Money http://www.newsmax.com/Insi...al&promo_code=C05A-1 !

Bullsh**.

He's getting booed by teachers for creating performance pay (based on test scores) and eliminating tenure.
He's getting booed by people who think his medicaid fraud-ridden company shouldn't be receiving state funds, as a HUGE conflict of interest.
He's getting booed by people angry that he turned down federal funding for a high speed rail project linking two huge metropolitan areas - Orlando and Tampa - one of the few places in the US high speed rail would work.

But he's also getting booed by me.

The first law of politics is be careful what you wish for, because you just may get it.

The people in 2010 wanted cuts in goverment spending. In fact they were demanding "change" They "Hoped" for it voted for it and got it.

Now they are upset because the elected officials are doing just what they wanted...

The people have to learn they can't have it both ways, not in todays economy.