Friday, April 03, 2009

Millions for Bucks BB: Elderly, Disabled Most Hurt

Sounds like a parody?

Hardly.

If the Governor's budget is approved, state tax dollars will, for the first time ever, flow to the Milwaukee Bucks in the form of $5 million in bonding over ten years for the Bradley Center

Yah, we heard.

At the same time the taxpayer spigot is turned on for the Bucks, the eight non-profit Independent Living Centers in Wisconsin, which do tremendous work helping our disabled citizens, will face a 56% permanent cut in general state support. This amounts to a $552,900 annual cut and a $5,529,000 cut over ten years.

In the Milwaukee and Waukesha area, that means IndependenceFirst will be facing serious cuts, and centers statewide will lose funding roughly equal to the amount of money the Bradley Center is receiving. When you combine those moves along with the Governor's proposed increase in the nursing home bed tax (from $75 per bed to $170 -- raising a total of $26,000,000 additional state tax dollars from the pockets of the elderly) and a 27% fee increase for Assisted Living Facilities, you truly wonder how the Governor is setting his priorities.


(Source: Zipperer newsletter)

Actually, Rich, we don't wonder in the least. First comes Three-Card-Monte's re-election campaign fund.

Somewhere around 59th are elderly, nursing-home residents, and disabled folks. (Hint: they don't make big contributions...)

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