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Definitions of Political Terms
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April 10, 2005
It was plum amazing to me to see the amount of mutual backslapping going on after the recently completed legislative session. It was as if nary a discouraging word could be found from any quarter. As much as I really hate to be a wet blanket of reality, I have news for the legislators and other elected officials…you overlooked significant groups of citizens who really need some help.
There is an inherent responsibility for the legislators to refrain from spending all of their time on Fantasy Island, and for them to connect with the reality of the lives of the every day citizens that they represent. Even if the citizens in question do not have lobbyists, and even if the citizens in need do not call on the phone and beg sufficiently and politely.
There seems to be an underlying attitude amongst many elected officials that an issue must be presented through the proper channels and in the proper format for it to really be worthy of interest. That is the wrong attitude buddy! It is part of the legislating responsibility for the legislating person to develop an accurate view of the many desperate situations that face our fine citizens, and to give some thought to what could be done to assist.
When the state is rolling in the dough, as we are these days, there is no excuse for ignoring the very real needs that exist. Especially when there is the very real possibility of saving money in the long run, as well as helping out those citizens who are entitled to a share of the mineral money that runs this outfit we call Wyoming.
Who are these people you ask? Of course there are many, but I will only focus on a few groups that seem to have been absent from the legislative radar screen.
Brain injuries are a terrible occurrence that can happen to a wide range of people, and can be caused by a variety of causes, including car wrecks, domestic violence, and just slipping on the ice. Recovery from such a traumatic event is a long-range process in the best of circumstances, but we are making it much worse than it has to be by not providing enough funding.
There is a urgency to getting the proper treatment because there is a rule of diminishing returns, if help is not provided within the proper time frame then recovery might not be as complete as it might be otherwise. But within our current system, the injured are being left to fend for themselves before becoming eligible for help. That delay, of course, makes the eventual cost to the system go up and leaves the injured party worse off. How much sense does that make?
Then we have the chronically mentally ill and how do we deal with them? Not near as well as we should for sure. Yes it is a difficult population to help and heal, not at all like mending a broken leg, or giving out a prescription for antibiotics. People without any mental illness are sometimes stubborn and irritating, and some of those who are mentally ill are even more so, but don’t we have a responsibility to create a caring and humane system wherever possible?
Yes, we have that responsibly as a civilized society, but we are falling short. The current approach sometimes seems like that card game ‘Old Maid”. Because of the governmental system that is based more on budgets than people, mentally ill people get passed around from place to place and never receive the comprehensive network of services they deserve. We pay more in the long run.
Then we have the victims of domestic violence who want to do what all of us tell them to do, get away from that battering piece of garbage! So they do, and then they decide to take the next step and get a divorce. Surprise! Contested divorces are expensive, the kids are at stake, and legal aid does not give services to low-income people that are looking for a divorce.
There was a federal program to fund such assistance, but the flow of money has been cut off due to federal budget decisions. If no divorce is possible, and public assistance is difficult to obtain due to welfare reform, and being murdered is a definite possibility, then is it surprising that victims will return to the domestic terrorist?
We could and should help the populations of citizens that I have mentioned here, as well as some others. We have the cash to do it, we would save money in the long run by doing the job right the first time, and most importantly the human suffering that is part of all of this would be minimized.
Remember what my Mom used to say...you can never go wrong by doing the right thing!
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