Special Olympics as Photo Opportunity vs. Special Olympics in Real Life

As we are all aware from the items in the media and the postings here at Blogging Blue, the zombie invasion of the Special Olympics event at the Capitol has drawn a variety of responses from all over the political spectrum.

And of course our courageous governor was very forthright with his view as quoted in the MJS:

“I think it was appalling,” Walker said Thursday. “I can take it – I’m in elected office.” But it was an event about honoring the athletes of Special Olympics, he said. “We shouldn’t be drawing in people who aren’t involved.”

And our Republican State Treasurer Kurt Schuller, whose daughter is a Special Olympian, had this to add:

“To be confronted by protesters, who will never understand the personal challenges that these Special Olympians face, who decided to politicize a nonpolitical event, shows a complete lack of civility when civility is something we should all be working toward,” he said.

But after putting that pretty face on the Special Olympics and decrying the demonstration as appalling and citing the protesters for not understanding the personal challenges the Special Olympians face, this same cabal turns around and slaps the Special Olympians and their families square in the face. And they exhibit no real knowledge of what these people face in real life as they propose a freeze on Family Care and then defend the freeze on Family care.

A key state official is defending a proposed freeze on enrollment in the popular Family Care program for frail elderly and younger adults with disabilities.

Kitty Rhoades, deputy secretary for health services, said a state audit and other data on the program have not provided answers to how much it would cost if a scheduled unfettered enrollment expansion were allowed.

That means costs of allowing more enrollments in Family Care remain unknown, she said Friday. “As it expands, (costs) are a relative unknown quantity,” said Rhoades.

“There’s just going to be nothing for these young people” with disabilities who had been planning to enroll in Family Care when they turn 18, said Barbara Beckert, who manages the Milwaukee office of Disability Rights Wisconsin. “It’s so shortsighted not to let them live independent of their families.”

Geri Lyday, the interim director of human services for Milwaukee County, said the enrollment cap would be devastating for families who had been counting on getting into the program, some after years of waiting. The county has a Family Care waiting list of more than 2,000 people.

Yeah, I get that this program is expensive…and yeah I get that we can’t predict to the penny what the continued expanded enrollment might cost…but I bet if we have a few of our professional actuaries look into it we can get a pretty good idea.

This again is another mean spirited move under the guise that we are broke, to take public funds away from the people who need help and who could be cared for in their own homes, at costs that appear pretty reasonable…and force them into more costly but privately run nursing homes and long term care facilities.

I have always found this chant trite and a little sophomoric…but in this context it seems apropos: SHAME!

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3 thoughts on “Special Olympics as Photo Opportunity vs. Special Olympics in Real Life

  1. Exactly right. To sociopaths like Scott Walker, Special Olympians are to be used as props for their own political gain, but god Forbid they actually do something to HELP THESE PEOPLE.

    This is what I meant earlier by using this incident to turn the tables on these guys. They couldn’t care less about people with developmental disabilities unless it helps their own careers. There is no higher calling with these scumbags, and it’s a huge reason why we have to re-call them.

    How many millions in tax breaks have we given corporations that could have been used to allow people to enroll in Family Care instead? Tells you the values right there.

  2. Ed, thanks for posting this. I just want to make it clear that I’m not saying Gov. Walker and his ilk shouldn’t be criticized for their efforts to gut social safety net programs.

  3. Jake, yours is a fully legitimate point. Alas, the media will not make that point while showing the smiling Scott Walker opening the Special Olympic Games. The media is far behind the curve here in Wisconsin, which translates to mean “bought” by the GOP.

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