Your vote tomorrow is for the future of your special needs kids…

On Sunday, I read an article on the front page of the New York Times and while it wasn’t specifically about the election, it was.  And, it scared me to my core…

For the first time, I really understand the severity of the banking crisis; why it happened, whom it’s affecting and what is probably going to happen in the next year.  What saddened and scared me the most was WHOM it’s affecting.

Get this: A group of Wisconsin School Districts needs to plug a hole in their teachers retirement plan, so they borrow money from an over seas bank and use the money to invest in “hedge fund” investments, most of which are based on the housing market.  The housing market fails, and the banks over seas (and in the US) fail.  Now the Wisconsin Schools are on the brink of losing their money, facing huge layoffs, and these teachers are without their retirement funds!

This is just one example of situations like these happening all over the country, as indicated by the drop in the markets and the collapse of the banking industry.  I am convinced that we have just seen the tip of the iceberg; this country is facing huge unemployment in the next year.

What does this have to do with the future of your special needs kids?  Everything.  If these Wisconsin School districts are concerned they might not be able to buy pencils next year, how are they going to pay to fund programs for special needs kids?  Remember, while these are federally mandated programs, currently the Federal government pays  only 14% of the 40% promised.  Additional monies come from states and local districts.

In one of my blogs, I talked about the need for health care and insurance reform and a woman from California posted this response:


I am in California. And here we get all the services we need from the school district and the state. So, it would be a problem for our family if services were to be shifted onto the health insurance. We have 2 sons with Autism. And there's no way we could afford the copayments for what they are getting now. I'd like to see each state step up to the plate, like California, and pay for services, free and clear, to all children with Autism.

So would I, but in this economic climate it’s more than likely that many of these services are going to be drastically cut in the next year.  In October, California almost had to shut down because it could not borrow enough money to keep government operations running.  I think it is naive to believe that these seemingly “free” services will continue unless something big happens tomorrow and we elect a person who has the vision to see us through these tough economic times.

And, while Sarah Palin and John McCain have promised to make special needs a focal point of their administration, I’ve yet to read anything they say that isn’t also naïve. This article is more to the point: article  Up until this point, what McCain says is that the only way to help our economy is to put into place a spending freeze and begin cutting “ear marks.”  You need to understand that special needs programs are  “ear marks.”  How is it going to work?  I find both McCain and Palin’s words to be hollow and misleading.  This election is about the economy…it’s that simple.

The only person I feel has the vision, the smarts and the passion to help us overcome the issues we face in the next 4 years is Barack Obama .   I don’t need to hear him talk specifically about special needs right now – Obama’s position on this is well defined Obama’s position.  First, I need to know what he’s going to do about this economy, and on that he’s been very clear and very specific. I like what I hear.

Vote for Barack Obama, the future care for our special needs kids depends on it…

Best,
Jenifer
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