Re: Budget Cuts to Get Much Worse >>>>UNITED WE STAND<<<<

[Guest guest]

(We have to unite as a community to stop the

> legislature from cutting the most vulnerable in our society.)

The time has come to actually organize as advocates to get our voices

heard. The FDDC asked me to be an ambassador for inclusion for this

area and build a grassroots organization to educate our legislators

and the general public. We need to protect funding for service to

people with developmental disabilities. I agree with Mr. Sequenzia

when he says The State needs to find more revenue options. We should

also look for a dedicated fund source of funding for DD, just like the

lottery does for education.

There are a lot of us out there are fighting for our kids and young

adults with disabilities. We need to get together as one large group.

A group that is louder than the lobbyists for special interests like

the sports team owners.

Please join me and become a force to be reckoned with before any more

harm is done to our loved ones because of budget cuts. E-mail me and

put grassroots effort in the subject bar if you are ready to fight for

our kids. I will get the ball rolling before the next legislative

secession.

Kathy Buerosse

kbuerosse@...

In sList , vsequenzia@... wrote:

>

> See the link below to an Orlando Sentinel article addressing budget

cuts.

>

> The situation is getting worse. We have to unite as a community to

stop the

> legislature from cutting the most vulnerable in our society. The

adults with

> disabilities are the most at risk and getting the most harmed by

these cuts.

> The state needs to find ways to add more revenue or cut programs

that are

> nonessential. Why not lift the sales tax exemptions for the stadiums

and

> professional sports teams. The owners of the Dolphins, the Majic,

the Heat and other

> teams should be offering to give the commuinty back the millions

that it

> saves in tax exemptions. I know they are in business to make a

profit, but we

> are in a crisis that we have not seen in our generation. You cannot

just sit

> back and allow these things to continue. Where are our priorities?

We cannot

> have the attitude of " As long as it isn't affecting me " . If it isn't

today, it

> will be very soon.

>

> There needs to be an accurate look at all expenditures that the

state has

> and categorize spending by necessity. To ask the following agencies

to cut 10%

> of their budget may not be the best for society: The Dept. of

Children and

> Familes, Agency for Person with Disabilities, Agency for Healthcare

> Administration and the Dept. of Education all have areas that may be

nonessential and

> they should adress those areas (if they haven't already), but there

are many

> other parts of the state budget that are " more " nonessential than

these

> agencies and that is where the Governor and the legislature should

be looking to

> cut.

>

> Here are some suggestions:

>

> Freeze State Employee Raises - private sector is not giving anyone

raises.

> Everyones income is down. Layoffs are happening every day.

>

> Freeze State increases in Health Insurance costs to state and

require state

> employees to pay the increases - the private sector has been doing

this for

> years.

>

> Cut salaries of the top administration staff. Private sector have been

> cutting salaries to deal with the crisis.

>

> Stop increasing the amount put into pensions. Everyone in the

private sector

> has lost 40% of their 401K money, why not state employees too?

>

> None of these will be popular, but the state employees work for the

tax

> payers, not the other way around.

>

>

_http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-spend1708nov17,0,476151.s

> tory_

>

(http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-spend1708nov17,0,476151.sto\

ry)

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[Guest guest]

> Why not (as I duck) the enactment of a state income tax?

>

> Why not?

It would take the passage of a State Constitutional amendment to enact

a State income tax. A 60% + vote would be necessary.