Meals On Wheels Programs In Monterey & Salinas At Risk Of Big Budget Cuts

View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

The budget bickering continues in Washington D.C. and I guess that we should be thankful that at least something is being done, although it's unclear how politicians will arrive on a budget consensus given how far apart the Democratic and Republican parties are on ideology.  On Wednesday, Republicans passed legislation in the House which would avoid a looming government shutdown on March 27 which will be caused by automatic budget cuts of $85 billion.  We will all have to suffer through economic problems due to this if no budget agreement is made.  At the same time, President Barack Obama hosted a dinner at a hotel near the White House with a dozen Republican senators to present his view of introducing higher taxes as well as cutting Medicare and other benefit programs.  No one seems optimistic that anything will be done until this summer, however.  Former VP contender Paul Ryan (Republican, Wisconsin), who authored the bill that passed in the House, told a reporter, "I think this whole thing will come to a crescendo this summer, and we're going to have to talk to each other to get to an agreement about how to delay a debt crisis, how to save this country from a fiscal train wreck that's coming."  Why Ryan doesn't believe he can talk to Democrats now and get a deal done before summer is unclear.  Both sides may agree on another stop-gap deal to keep the government operating for a few months, but finding a long-term solution is difficult.  "Instead of closing tax loopholes for corporate jets, they want to cut 4 million meals on wheels," House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco said of Republicans.  Only one-quarter of the democrats in the House voted for the budget bill.  The local Area Agency on Agency (AAA) recently announced that it could face a budget cut of almost 10% if the so-called "sequestrations" (government work furloughs) kick in.  The AAA administers a number of worthwhile programs such as funding for Meals on Wheels and other programs that help the impoverished.  These programs have already suffered enough and it will be sad if we see another round of budget cuts impacting low-income seniors.

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands To Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.