Monterey, CA $85 Bil. In Budget Cuts Coming, Impacting Low Income, The Unemployed, Senior Programs And Government Workers

by Richard Kuehn on 02/26/13

View From A Non-Profit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California There appears to be almost no chance that an agreement will be reached in Washington D.C. by Friday. That's when $85 billion in budget cuts will automatically kick in, absent a budget agreement.  Unfortunately, once again budget cuts will hit those who can least afford them.  The Monterey Herald today reported that about 2 million long-term unemployed people will see their $300/week checks cut by about $30.  Low-income Americans seeking heating assistance or housing will likely encounter longer waits as government workers are furloughed.  Funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is likely to be cut by 13% this year, and budget cuts to myriad programs could come as early as next week.  The so-called "sequester" could hit the local Area Agency on Aging to the tune of 9% of their budget.  They subsidize grants which help senior citizens under the Older Americans Act and the Older Californians Act.  Thankfully, Social Security and Veterans benefits are exempt from the budget cuts, and Medicare payments are limited to a 2% reduction in payments (still huge at $10 billion) to hospitals and doctors.  Douglas Rice of the Center on Budget and Policy priorities told a reporter that the sequester means that families that leave subsidized housing would be less likely to be replaced with people from waiting lists, and that eventually some families could lose their apartments.  What a sad state our elected officials have left us in without a budget agreement.

 

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.