Looks like we are all going hungry today.
"Patrick’s budget would cut senior meals; Decry plan for cut in food program" by Martine Powers | Globe Staff, February 11, 2012
Over fish sticks, rice pilaf, steamed vegetables, and diced pineapple, John Malia, 75, performed his usual routine last Wednesday: With his thickest impression of a Boston accent, he recited jokes from the comics section of the newspaper, prompting laughter from his fellow diners.
Brownie reel in that catch?
Marian LeFoy, a chatty 89-year-old with short white hair and a walker, said that these weekday lunches, subsidized by the state’s Elderly Nutrition Program, are the highlight of her day.
“We’re old people, so we need some face-to-face conversation,’’ said LeFoy, laughing.
Governor Deval Patrick last month proposed a state budget that included a $1.5 million cut to the Elderly Nutrition Program, which provides free or subsidized meals to the elderly through home deliveries and communal meals....
Nothing new from him.
See: The Elderly Are Own Their Own in Massachusetts
No Festavus For Massachusetts Elderly
Massachusetts Hates Its Elders
Where your tax money is going:
Massachusetts Lets Hollywood Roll Credits
Biotech Giveaway Was Borrowed Money
Massachusetts' Lost Decade of Jobs
Those Are the (Tax) Breaks in Massachusetts
Massachusetts Sales Tax Swindle
Memory Hole: Massachusetts' State Budget
Mass. State Budget: Screwing Cities and Towns
Nothing much has changed 'round h're.
Yeah, some people are not going hungry for tax loot.
The proposed cutbacks have drawn ire from state advocates for the elderly, who say that reducing meal services to senior citizens - especially communal meals, the most likely to be eliminated - will cause long-term health problems for seniors.
But in announcing his budget proposal, Patrick said the state remains short of cash, forcing stiff cuts in services, and that his funding priorities were education and infrastructure.
This after we have been told FOR YEARS NOW how this state weathered the recession better than others and has come back quicker, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Face it, old folks, WE WERE ALL LIED to by the GOVERNMENT THAT CARES SO MUCH ABOUT YOU!
You ONLY GET THE SCRAPS after BANKS and WELL-CONNECTED, AGENDA-PUSHING CORPORATIONS and INDIVIDUALS get THEIR CUT, and after the lavish political lifestyles of the leaders are funded!
Officials said that the proposed meals cuts, a 24 percent reduction that could mean 240,000 fewer lunches statewide next year, are meant only for seniors who have other options, and that they preserve services for the most needy....
Just ignore that rumble from my belly.
While the Elderly Nutrition Program also receives about $15.2 million this year from the federal government, the state’s cut would be a major blow to the program, lauded for providing nutritional and psychological benefits to elderly people who can no longer cook for themselves.
“Frankly, the cuts are shortsighted and cold-hearted,’’ said Deborah Banda, AARP Massachusetts state director. “If these elders don’t get the proper nutrition, their health is going to suffer, and their medical care is going to cost much more than these meals.’’
Don't worry, Massachusetts is putting them on a diet.
Dale Mitchell, executive director of Ethos, one of three Boston organizations that provide meals to seniors through funding from the Elderly Nutrition Program, said the proposed cutback came as a surprise, because meal delivery programs are considered the sacred cow of elderly services.
There is nothing sacred where government is concerned these days.
They no longer serve the people, if they ever did.
“I was floored,’’ Mitchell said. “Of all the possible areas that I anticipated cuts, elderly nutrition wasn’t even on the list.’’
At this point, the funding cut is just a proposal: In coming months, state legislators will make their own suggestions for budget allocations.
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But it's a good budget!
"Patrick seeks job cuts, new school aid; Budget plan would shut Norfolk prison; A call to add levies to candy and soda" by Noah Bierman and Stephanie Ebbert | Globe Staff, January 25, 2012
Governor Deval Patrick proposed a $32.3 billion annual spending plan yesterday that would eliminate 240,000 free and subsidized lunches for senior citizens, apply the sales tax to candy and soda, and close a prison in Norfolk while boosting spending on education to unprecedented levels.
F*** you and your increased taxes!!!!!
Once you KNOW WHERE THE MONEY GOES in this state you UNDERSTAND WHY I SAY THAT!
His budget would also cut 300 state jobs and slash funding for the Registry of Motor Vehicles by $15 million, a move that elicited assurances from the administration yesterday that lines would not grow.
Yeah, ANYTHING THAT SERVES YOU and MAKES YOUR LIFE just a LITTLE EASIER gets CUT, Bay-Stater!
Though Massachusetts has emerged from the depths of the recession on stronger footing than most other states, Patrick and his budget chief warned that the Bay State is far from flush with cash.
When they KEEP ON PUSHING a LIE what are we to think?
And tight on the cash means THERE NEVER WAS A RECOVERY (unless you were at the top).
Despite a proposed 3 percent growth in spending for the budget year that begins July 1, the state will have to reduce many services because health costs and negotiated union salaries continue to grow at a faster clip than taxes are coming in....
Yeah, blame the unions! And the LACK of TAXES means NO RECOVERY!
Patrick’s budget chief, Jay Gonzalez, would not quantify the budget gap for the coming year, but offered an even bleaker assessment. He said the state will never again be able to pay for the level of services it provided before the recession, citing long-term debts, including $40 billion in unfunded liability for current and future state and municipal retiree health benefits.
There they go again.
Just ignore the hundreds of millions in debt interest payments every month.
“The impacts of the recession have been unprecedented and significant,’’ he said, adding that he has been inundated with requests in recent weeks from service providers who assumed the state was on sounder financial footing. Many left disappointed.
Meaning IT IS NOT OVER, dear fellow citizen! It's what history will record as the GRAND DEPRESSION and the END of the AmeriKan EMPIRE!!!
Still, this year’s spending plan lacked some of the more draconian cuts that have marked budgets in recent years....
Tell that to the elderly person who just had a plate of food ripped away from them.
Related: Patrick's State of the State Speech
See how GREAT TIMES ARE!?
The House and Senate will each propose their own spending plans over the next four months. The chambers must agree on a final product before getting it to Patrick’s desk for a signature in time for the next budget year, which begins July 1.
I'll get back to ya', readers.
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Lunch is over already?
Also see: Chef serves mislabeled fish to China's vice president
At least it is better than nothing.
