Posted on 02/19/2007 7:17:48 AM PST by Graybeard58
Connecticut has a multitude of social ills, and Gov. M. Jodi Rell proposes to address one the old-fashioned, liberal Democratic way: throw more money at it. Her 2007-08 budget proposal contains $55 million to pay for or subsidize HUSKY program premiums for babies born to mothers without health insurance.
Her reasoning is that during her administration, 2,800 babies have been born in Connecticut without health insurance: "That number should be zero." But Gov. Rell's proposal proves that demagoguery doesn't make for good public policy. According to data from government and industry sources, mothers who never have been married are six times more likely to be uninsured. So her plan would cater almost exclusively to single mothers.
Not to be outdone, Sen. Toni Harp, D-New Haven, wants the state to pay for disposable diapers for children in poverty. Sen. Edward Meyer, D-Branford, thinks that's a fine idea: "If a baby doesn't have a fresh diaper, it's a form of child abuse." (Child abuse? Call the Poopie Police!)
Sen. Harp's proposal, too, is aimed mostly at single mothers. Children of never-married mothers are five times more likely to be impoverished than children of married women, and the median annual income for woman-headed households with children is roughly one-fourth that of two-parent families.
About a quarter of this year's state budget, nearly $4.3 billion, finances the state's social-service bureaucracy -- "the safety net" -- and much of the money, as well as hundreds of millions more scattered throughout the budget, subsidizes single motherhood and its tragic consequences.
Now Grandma Rell and Huggies Harp want to boost those appropriations, and in the process tell women who already can't afford to take care of themselves that if they make one of the worst life choices possible, the state will pay to deliver their babies, insure them and their out-of-wedlock children indefinitely, and diaper their young ones until they're potty trained. (Of course, there's no chance the single mothers might spend their diaper dollars on cigarettes, alcohol or illegal drugs, and surely they won't feed their benefits into slot machines at the Indian casinos.)
Sen. Harp is a lost cause, but one would think Gov. Rell would understand how marriage boosts financial security and the welfare of children.
So rather than rewarding costly, destructive and immoral behavior, she should be pursuing policies that build barriers to single motherhood and foster lasting familial relationships that benefit everyone.
Doesn't Medicare and Medicaid fall under Health and Human Services budget?
Just asking....
I once went through the STATISTICAL ABSTRACT OF THE UNITED STATES, adding up all the mney in "means-tested, income transfer" programs. It came to an average of over $6000 for every person, man woman, child and infant, below the poverty line. I think it was Walter Williams who once wrote that statistically, we've conquered poverty. If the money spent on those programs actually reached the poor, they'd be middle class.
I find it ironic that we can spend billions to subsidize bastardy and idleness, but can't find enough money to buy equipment for the military.
Freakin' unbelievable... :-(
Connecticut ping!
Now Grandma Rell and Huggies Harp (Sen. Toni Harp, D-New Haven) want to boost those appropriations, and in the process tell women who already can't afford to take care of themselves that if they make one of the worst life choices possible, the state will pay to deliver their babies, insure them and their out-of-wedlock children indefinitely, and diaper their young ones until they're potty trained.
Please Freepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent Connecticut ping list.
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