Alternet - The incoming Trump administration understandably frightens liberals, but right-wing successes at a state level would have moved forward regardless of who won the election. Only four states currently have a Democratic governor and a Democratic state legislature. What's more, bipartisan support for policies of austerity and neo-liberalism have led to vast social spending cuts across the country regardless of political affiliation.
Here are five proposed budget cuts that should have progressives up in arms.
1. Maine's Tea Party Governor Wants to Kick Thousand of People Off Medicaid and Block a Tax Increase for the State's Richest Citizens
2. Texas Is Cutting Disabled Kids' Therapy Service: Texas' GOP-controlled state legislature recently cut its Medicaid program by $350 million. Critics warn that the cuts could be particularly devastating for disabled children in the state, as it drastically reduces the amount of money paid toward therapists who assist vulnerable kids.
A group of citizens attempted to block the cuts through a lawsuit, but the Texas Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Stephanie Rubin, CEO of an advocacy group called Texans Care for Children, sent the Texas Tribune an email about the potential impact of the cuts:
"This is terrible news for Texas kids with disabilities and developmental delays and their families. Kids with autism, speech delays, Down syndrome, and other disabilities and delays rely on these therapies to learn to walk, communicate with their families, get ready for school, and meet other goals."
3. Massachusetts Is Cutting $12 Million in Education
4. Connecticut Is Cutting $50 Million in School and Municipal Funding
5. New Mexico Is Cutting Take-Home Pay For State Workers and Teachers
Details
2 comments:
It's their own fault for having abandoned interest in all districts not considered 'in play' at the national level.
Their negligence has fostered the shift of once bell weather states firmly into the lunatic red zone.
For over three decades the Democrats have been AWOL and now they must face the results.
It's a dead party, beyond resuscitation.
Piece in Politico gets it.
It's point we've labored to make here many times in the past.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/01/democrats-trump-administration-wilderness-comeback-revival-214650
"What happened the next night shocked even the most pessimistic Democrats. But in another sense, it was the reckoning the party had been expecting for years. They were counting on a Clinton win to paper over a deeper rot they’ve been worrying about—and to buy them some time to start coming up with answers. In other words, it wasn’t just Donald Trump. Or the Russians. Or James Comey. Or all the problems with how Clinton and her aides ran the campaign. Win or lose, Democrats were facing an existential crisis in the years ahead—the result of years of complacency, ignoring the withering of the grass roots and the state parties, sitting by as Republicans racked up local win after local win.
“The patient,” says Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, “was clearly already sick.”"
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