It didn’t take Sarah Palin long to show her true colors, and to betray those families to whom she had promised to advocate for “special needs.”
During a campaign stop in Colorado today, Palin expressed strong opposition to Amendment 51, a citizens’ initiative aiming to expand developmental disabilities services to those who are currently languishing on the state’s waiting list. That’s more than 12,000 children and adults with developmental disabilities who need support such as in-home assistance, job training, therapies, and other critical services.
These services are designed to enable developmentally disabled people to live more independently and to integrate into their communities. But the “slots” for these services are limited, a major barrier to health, opportunity, and quality of life for those who are still on the waiting list.
Why would Palin oppose such an important measure? In her speech today, she invoked the horror of TAXES! Yes, raising the necessary $186 million will require some taxation. Specifically, Amendment 51 would phase in a sales tax of two-tenths of one percent. For a $10 purchase, that’s two cents — a miniscule amount, considering the value of these services to our whole society. (Gasoline, groceries, prescription drugs, medical services and utilities would NOT be taxed under this proposal.)
But that’s too much tax for Palin’s taste! Instead, Palin says we should fund these services by “prioritizing the dollars that are already there in government.” Does she know something that we don’t know? There is a big pot of cash sitting around in the state coffers, just waiting to be “prioritized”?
To read more about Palin’s opposition to Amendment 51, go to
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=102301&catid=188
To learn more about the importance of Amendment 51, go to
http://endcoloradowaitlist.org/