On September 2, 2011 The Texas Tribune announced the million-dollar cuts the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services will be making. In an effort to extract savings for Texas and balance the budget, lawmakers agreed in May to put a cap on the services offered to the elderly and disabled. The plan calls for $31 million in cuts. Physical therapy, aquatic and horseback riding therapy programs will feel the greatest strain as they are considered non-essential therapies. Although clients can appeal, it will leave many of the disabled with limited resources and increasingly strenuous living conditions.
This article particularly interests me because I work with disabled youth in the H.E.L.P. Center of Austin, an equestrian program for aiding those suffering with different forms of disabilities, including: muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, autism, and visual impairments. It is important to support the disabled, and with the forthcoming reduction of services it will be a much more difficult task for caregivers. It seems lawmakers targeted the most vulnerable of the population.
It is not a new trend of government to target the weak and generally defenseless first when it comes to spending cuts. I mean they are only acting in their own interests, I say this because there are a whole lot more corporate lobbyists than there are advocates for the elderly and disabled. Those without strong voices are inevitably drowned out of the conversation.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. There are, unfortunately, few disability advocates, thus they will never be the primary concern of the legislators.
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