We have seen a lot of evidence at how lacking in compassion and common decency that Tea Party Republicans and many other Republicans are in this time of insanity in public affairs!
But a new low has been hit by Florida Governor Rick Scott, who makes it clear he is not concerned about public opinion polls and personal popularity!
Scott has ordered an immediate draconian cut in programs for the disabled in the Sunshine State, effective tomorrow morning, affecting thousands of unfortunate individuals who are victims of Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism, and other developmental disorders!
This includes an immediate roll back in payments to group homes and social workers of 15 percent, and this cut to be supplemented by legislative cuts after June 30!
Scott used his emergency powers as Governor to order this immediate cut on the must vulnerable, most victimized group in society, who cannot take care of themselves, and whose safety and health are affected in a dangerous, inhumane manner!
The effect of these massive cuts will be to cause death and harm to people who have no one to protect them, if not for social workers and government, who they have relied on as a safety net to promote a semblance of a decent life!
About 30,000 Floridians are affected, with many of these developmentally disabled people needing assistance to eat, bathe, take medication, and take care of themselves in every other way!
What could be more inhumane, despicable, disgraceful, and reprehensible than to cut off services to the most vulnerable and disabled among us?
Has the state of Florida and the Republican Party and the Tea Party Movement which backs Rick Scott become no better than sinners against common decency?
Is avoiding some extra taxation for those who can afford it more important than the health and safety of the disabled?
This is far worse than state workers having to pay for their pension and health benefits!
This is worse than teachers losing tenure or the danger of being fired based on a state wide test!
This is worse than ANYTHING that could be done by any government against the elderly, the poor, the young, or any other group there is in society!
These are the most disabled among us, who have no ability to help themselves, and now are to be thrown out in the garbage as refuse, without any sense of dignity or humanity!
How could anyone, whether religious or not, see such an action as anything other than a sin against God of any religion, or just common morality and ethics?
How can Rick Scott sleep at night, after having escaped prosecution and prison for his financial dealings with Medicare scams, and now be willing to harm the most severely disabled among us, which he could easily fund from his own ill begotten wealth?
Should not the decent people of Florida, including “good Christians”, stand up in outrage against Rick Scott, march on Tallahassee, and DEMAND the return of humanity and compassion toward the disabled?
This is not a question of politics; it is a question of common decency and humanity and compassion for those among us less fortunate, and remembering that “there but for the grace of God go I!”
If one believes, as most do, that there is a God, then one must believe that “what goes around, comes around!”
One has to hope that there is divine retribution against Rick Scott for the massive crime against humanity that he is perpetrating!
This is what happens when good people allow themselves to be ignorant, uninvolved in public affairs focus, or give in to the sin of greed and selfishness!
Immediate mass action is needed to reverse, in any way possible, this disgraceful action by the most reprehensible excuse for a human being who sits in the Governorship of Florida, and undermines further the horrible reputation of the state of Florida!
Dr. Feinman, what would you have our state law makers do? At this point, we’re living far beyond our means and cannot sustain our current level of spending. No one wants to talk about the cuts that have to be made or what has to be done. The Republicans are being demonized on every front for making cut backs that very simply have to be made. Everyone wants services and no one wants their programs cut but again, something has to be done. I think it’s sad that cuts are being made. I think it’s horrible that people are being negatively impacted. I think that we, as responsible citizens have to face the fact that funding is not limitless and the government is not ultimately responsible for everything. I also think that people need to realize that the programs, spending, etc. are all ultimately paid for by us!
I have a budget and as much as I would like to live beyond it, it is not responsible. How can I in good conscious spend like a fiend, have no intention of paying for it only to expect my kids or grandkids to pick up the tab? We’re mortgaging other people’s futures and are not being held accountable for it! We’re taking from people who don’t have a voice yet because they’re too young to even know what’s happening to them. How can we do that? How can we take so much from the young without them having an option? Simply, we’re stealing from them with every dime spent.
Michelle, did you not see that we are talking about the DISABLED, who cannot take care of themselves? Shall they be thrown out on the street as garbage? If anyone can turn their head at this and not care, he or she is NOT HUMAN!
This state is a low tax state, and with the fourth largest population, and a growing young and old population, we need adequate taxation to deal with education and health care. The wealthy in Florida and in America have not paid a fair share of their wealth and income since the era of Ronald Reagan, and this selfishness and greed on the part of the GOP and their wealthy contributors is going to lead to bloodshed and violence if we do not realize a major responsibility of citizenship is paying taxes and sharing in the financial burden of a society.
How can we call ourselves a democracy when we all just go about our business, thinking only of ourselves, and not the common good? We have become a plutocracy, and that is the perfect environment someday, sadly, for civil war, as extremes of wealth and poverty will plant the seeds of bloodshed and violence!
Ok, I can’t be your only conservative student?
Anyway, I agree that a disproportionate amount of wealth is held by a small percentage of the population. I think that this is unfortunate but it doesn’t mean that we should continue to spend outside of our ability to pay.
I do think that we think of others and the common good. As parent with two children, I have seen people get benefits for lunches, aftercare, tutoring, etc. that is purported to be for the common good. I look at the amount of money taken out of my paycheck each month and feel comfortable that I’m contributing to society as a whole. I work incredibly hard for what I have, accept that I can’t have all my wants, live within my means and expect others to do as much too.
But most importantly, I don’t want my kids to pay for something that they had no vote in. To pay for a large government, social programs and other pet projects that will minimize their quality of life when they’re my age.
I am not saying, Michelle, that you are not paying a fair share of taxes, but the fact is that wealthier people are NOT paying a fair share because the GOP, in cooperation with the rich and the corporations, is creating an unbelievable maldistribution of wealth, and does not care how the rest of us survive.
In Florida, we have a Governor who should be in federal prison on Medicare fraud, and is going to make Florida a third world nation, where the rich rip us off, and even disabled people are going to be thrown to the side of the road. That is unconscionable, and we MUST deal with the health care and educational needs of 18 million people by RAISING taxes on corporations and the wealthy!
But Dr. Feinman, how does this translate? When taxes are increased, it’s me that’s paying for them and not the wealthy. I don’t mean to be callus, but I am tired of picking up the tab for everyone who is considered “needy” or “disadvantaged”. I am not opposed to helping the disabled and in fact am more inclined to help them than any other group; however, I don’t select who gets the help.
I think that this every growing group of “disadvantaged” really needs to be evaluated and trimmed down. I am sorry that people have a hard time but this is how life goes for everyone. When I have a hard time, I buckle down and find solutions. I think that everyone else should too.
Michelle, the fact is that corporations and the wealthy in this state and nationally have been getting a “free ride” with massive tax cuts since the Reagan Administration, and that we have had GOP leaders such as George W. Bush, who have financed two wars and a prescription drug plan on borrowed money, rather than taxing as one goes, as in the past.
Most of the national debt is due to GOP Presidents and Congresses, as despite the propaganda you hear from the Republican Party, over SEVEN TRILLION of the first TEN TRILLION debt was created to the end of the term of George W Bush! The GOP is excellent at exploiting fear, lies, and prejudice to get people like you to vote for them in the state and nationally, and then they continue their agenda of a reverse Robin Hood–stealing from the poor and middle class and enriching the upper class, to such a point that the bottom 200 million Americans have almost no assets at all!
One does not take away from the disabled, such as my son, as I mentioned in an entry earlier today, and also the lower classes who have problems keeping a roof over their head and food in their stomachs, and say there are any ethics or morality by allowing those who are fortunate to keep their money and lobby to put in power Republicans who have no concern over the future of anyone but the rich!
Failure to realize this on your part and others is a blindness that will lead to civil war in this country if we do not recognize that ALL OF US, not just the middle class but also THE EXTREMELY WEALTHY, have a responsibility to pay our FAIR share of taxes, which the upper class has not done in THIRTY YEARS, and will perpetuate itself if the GOP and their so called “conservative values” continue to gain and retain their power base from ordinary Americans who do not realize they are being exploited and bilked!
OMG, how insensitive can he be? It appears that we are living under a dictator who sees his decisions as the only alternative. Looks like Florida is becoming a branch of Cuban Dictatorship! SHAME ON YOU MR. SCOTT!
I just ran across your article on Rick Scott. Thank you for the article – it is wonderful.
It is horrifying to watch Scott and so many of the other radical conservative governors looking at only one thing: money (greed). Compassion, care, and concern for people is the most important thing in life. Rick doesn’t care about what happens to the people in Florida, he is out for only one person: RICK.
Even when there is nothing or very little, it is immoral and unethical to turn our backs on our community. We must be there for each other – even if it means giving up something for ourselves to help each other out.
When Rick was running for governor, he had commercials with his mother in them. I wonder if Rick knew his mother would be the recipient of cuts that would leave her homeless, without medical care, with no income, and just living in the woods behind her local Target store; whether he would make the decisions he makes today. He should be ashamed of himself.
People under 40 need to acquaint themselves with what America was like in the Depression era, pre-Medicare, pre-Social Security, pre-Medicaid, during the times of debtor prisons and poorhouses. I don’t think a lot of people even know these existed. This is what Scott is doing to Florida, its what Walker is doing in Wisconsin, its what Ryan wants for all of America. To turn their back on those that are not well-off; aloof and arrogant, while the disabled, sick, poor, less fortunate, and middle-class workers waste and subsequently drop dead. Rick and the others, will say, “oh ta ta, poor guy, sorry he died, but, the budget (I mean my billion dollar bank account) is more important than his stupid little life.”
Scott is by far, one of the most reprehensible politicians to get into public office.
Doctor, you were a lot more patient with “your conservative student” than I would have been. I cannot understand how people who are educated (I am assuming she is educated)can be so blind to what is going on with the Tea Party Terrorists and to the way the world works. Blind to the fact that the extremely rich, corporations and big oil do not pay taxes, or very little. And they are getting subsidies and benefits on top of that. This accounts for billions of billions of dollars that would keep regular folks from having to pay for everything. Has Ms Consevative Student thought about what would happen to her if she lost her job, could not pay her bills, cannot pay for doctors or food for her children. Or not being able to get assistance for abusive spouses or rape because all the programs has been abolished by the Tea Party, either for rediculous religious reasons or lack of money. Do her grandparents get SS or Medicare? Or is she so rich that she doesn’t have to worry about what the future may bring?
I’d like to add…I cannot believe how many of these so called politicians have no idea about American history and the Constitution, which they regularly mis-quote and their constituants believe them without question. It reminds me of a cult.