Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Walker's Family Care Falsities

On Monday, Scott Walker, as is his wont, did his usual showboating when he finally signed the Family Care bill, lifting the caps as he was ordered to do by the federal government three months ago.

But even though the federal order is common knowledge, Walker still couldn't resist trying to lie about it:
Walker signed several bills at Independence First in Milwaukee, including lifting the enrollment cap on the long-term care program for the elderly and disabled.

Walker announced plans in December to allocate $72 million to resume enrolling people in Family Care, following an order from the federal government. The legislation he signed on Monday lifted a cap on enrollment.

Flanked by dozens of people with disabilities, Walker praised Family Care.

"It's a great program to help people in need," he said to reporters afterward.

Walker said he was following through on a promise he made last summer to lift the enrollment caps and provide funding.

He said changes were made to make the program sustainable, which he said opened the door to expanding it to other counties. Family Care is now available in 57 of the state's 72 counties.

He later doubled down on the lie with this tweet, claiming he said that it would end before the end of the year:


The truth is that the budget he signed into law said that the cap would be for at least two years, the entire length of the budget.

But even though this is supposed to be a good thing - a correction of a past misdeed done by Walker and the Republicans in the state legislature - it still contains some serious flaws. In other words, they couldn't even implement the correction correctly.

Just getting the bill to the legislature was a challenge that was almost thwarted by Representative Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield) who wanted to add a ten-year residency requirement, which was in complete violation of Medicaid standards, which is six months. The introduction and subsequent withdrawal of this amendment knocked the vote out of the original date.

The law has one major flaw in that any expansion still has to go through the Joint Finance Committee, which is still co-chaired by Representative Robin Vos (R-Trollville), who has repeatedly and explicitly expressed his opposition to Family Care (or anything else that helps people).

But the most sinister aspect of this would-be good deed is that he is looking into cutting into vital health care services for other people, or even the same people that would benefit from the lifting of the cap. Of course, it would be unfathomable for Walker to have his filthy rich profiteering friends, cronies and campaign contributors share in the sacrifice. Just the thought of it would be labeled heresy in Fitzwalkerstan!

How sad of a little man Walker is that he cannot even right a wrong he committed without lying about it, making a fiasco of it and finding a way of actually making it worse.


2 comments:

  1. Centralized document processing unit
    PO box 7190
    Madison, WI 53707 7190

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  2. For Walker to actually have a desire to right a wrong that he has committed; without being forced to do it, that is to say that he would do it willingly, might infer that he has a conscience.

    Walker has shown that he has no remorse and no regrets towards the people that he has harmed while he is pushing forward his agenda.

    This is most disturbing when you consider that he claimed his ethical values being a "preachers kid".

    Makes me wonder what his father was preaching. Sorry, I wandered off track, back to my rant.

    The middle class must be made poor and the poor must be made poorer.

    That is the agenda under the Walker administration.

    Killing or maiming people is acceptable if you didn't really mean to do it. You won't be held accountable. Gee buddy, sorry about you losing your arm. Sorry about that leg, too bad you will never walk again. My cost cutting on workplace safety didn't INTEND for you to lose a limb so it's not my fault or responsibility. More profits for me!

    Go ahead and pollute the air and water if you can create a job or two. We'll even give you a bundle of money to do it. We can just dig into the citizens pockets and send their money to Florida, or wherever your corporate office is located.

    Wisconsin is open for business!

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