Missouri State Budget - Pending Disaster!

Hey.

In Missouri, the poor may not be able to get health care, but at least we will have cool sports stadiums!

According to figures in the Kansas City Star, TWELVE MILLION dollars from the state of Missouri is going to upgrade professional sports facilities in our state.
And in the meantime, NINETY THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED FOUR people will lose their health insurance thanks to cuts in the state budget.

Now I’m not so naïve as to claim that that $12,000,000 would be sufficient to cover the health insurance cost of those 90,604 people. But Governor Matt Blunt has some ‘splaining to do, Lucy. He told us he had to make some hard decisions about the budget, and decided to reduce social programs for the poor in order to move closer to fiscal responsibility. I was not okay with that, nor were some other folks, but it happened, and here we are.

Now, however, if Missouri gives $12,000,000 to upgrade the state’s sporting facilities, the question our resident compassionate conservative has to answer is, “Where did you get that money, Matt?” I thought we were cutting our budget because we were broke! The way I see it, two things are possible:

1) Missouri is not as broke as Matt Blunt told us. If that is the case, he lied.

2) Missouri would rather upgrade sporting facilities than care for people in need. If that is the case, the values upon which our state government operates are seriously skewed.

My state representative, Trent Skaggs, believes that the budget is a moral document that should reflect the values of the people of the state. He is very concerned with the path the current administration and legislature are taking. What does your state rep think? More important, does your state rep know what you think? Call them! Email them! Let them know! 90,604 people will thank you for it.

To take no action is, in fact, to act.

Grace and Peace,
Andy B.