Today, someone mentioned to me that New York is in a fiscal crisis. They meant
well, but they were mistaken. They were repeating what someone from medicaid
has told them repeatedly. The state workers repeat that to parents ad nauseum.
They do that because it shuts us up. Makes us sound like "takers" and
"moochers" just trying to game the system for our kids. Except for a few
things. One- we are tax payers too. Whether or not you own a business (We used
to and we paid taxes at an incredible rate compared to our take home pay.) or
property (we pay taxes on our home and even if you rent, your money is going
towards property taxes- landlords are not known for renting as a form
of charity.), there are sales taxes, fees, fines and tariffs of all kinds. We
all pay taxes. Unless you are a corporation over a certain size or a
millionaire. Then your chances of paying taxes are almost nil. I am not
kidding, look it up. I'll wait here.
The other problem is this. NEW YORK IS NO LONGER IN A FISCAL
CRISIS. They have a two billion dollar surplus. TWO. BILLION.
DOLLARS. That's where Governor Cuomo wants to get the money to pay for the
property tax caps he has been touting lately. There are those who say this idea
is heavily skewed in favor of downstate. There are those who say it higly
benefits the more well to do. Both are good points and we should be discussing
them. But I want to completely ignore that for a minute. I want to talk about
why they keep repeating 2008's news. Why is the state acting as if we are two
steps away from bankruptcy? Why are they repeating what is simply not true?
Are they not paying attention to their own finances? Or is it a way to keep us
from demanding more? Is it a way to keep us from expecting better for our own
money? Anytime anyone ever wants you to be fearful of anything, it is because
they want to control you. It's offensive and I for one, am no longer buying
it. Others may choose to dwell in fear. But we parents of disabled kid live
with bigger boogeyman on a daily basis. So, do me a favor, everytime someone
tells you the state is in a crisis, ask them to prove it. Tell them you want to
see the books. It's YOUR tax money after all, ask for proof.
And, while we are at it. Ask the businesses who are getting
sweetheart tax breaks, to pony up the jobs they are claiming to be creating. I
have new idea, no new jobs? No new tax breaks. Let's start a real discussion on
who has a sense of entitlement. You know why executives think that the average
person is a taker with a giant sense of entitlement? Because they have a giant
sense of entitlement. You see, tax breaks are based on the idea that the public
gets a benefit in exchange for the reduced taxes. Jobs would be a benefit, so we allow
them the break Fake jobs are a con. Demand proof of what you are already
paying for.
And, the idea of helping out children, disabled or otherwise is
because we benefit as a society from that investment. Better education=more
opportunities =more stable society=less crime. More opportunites= better
advancement in science, medicine,law,technology= better life for all of us. We
all do better when we ALL do better. We are not educating and feeding children
because we are NICE. That would be cool. But it's just not true. We do it
because we want to benefit from their potential. They grow up and become our
lawyers, doctors, scientists, etc. The smarter they are, the better we have
it. Right now, in some elementary school sits the next Bill Gates, Marie Curie,
Jonas Salk. That's WHY we spend tax money on our kids.
Cutting back on spending on disabled kids is just a way of
stating that we don't see the disabled as having anything to offer society, and
that is just stupid. Helen Keller, FDR, Issaac Newton, Christy Brown, Stephen
Hawking, Woodrow Wilson. I could go on all day. How dare anyone try to use
fear to intimidate us and shut us up, so they do not have to right by our
children. With OUR money. How dare you?
No comments:
Post a Comment