The federal and state governments are cutting their spending. Hooray!
….while sort of.
The needs and problems aren’t going away simply because the programs are being cut. They still exist and the burden for dealing with them is being shifted to the local level. More state roads are being turned to counties and cities for them to maintain. Environmental regulation is being shifted more to the local level—that is unless it’s fertilizer.
While the state and feds battle over health care, Escambia County sees its uninsured numbers increase–Sacred Heart, the safety net for the poor, sees its Medicaid funding cut $9 million. We have become a community with excellent health care facilities and limited access—which results in “Third World Country” health issues—higher rates of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, teenage pregnancies, HIV/AIDS and STDs.
We haven’t made a dent in the illiteracy issues. The private sector –ECARE (Every Child A Reader Escambia)–had to retool its goals after showing little measurable progress after five years. Our public school budget is being cut over $500 per student – about $21 million. Our education system is behind the rest of the state and won’t get better with fewer dollars.
Our largest employers are state and local government workers. They will have their take-home pay cut by 3 percent for their contribution to their retirements—the savings goes to balance state budget not our local ones. This means less money for locals to spend with local businesses. For a poor community like ours, the impact of those dollars lost ripple through the economy.
So while the state and federal politicians brag about their budget cuts, remember we are still stuck with them problems and the bills.