Thoughts on Loss of All Federal Funding for Legal Aid

[Mercy&Grace]

State budgets are going to be more important to everyone than they have ever been before with all of the cuts in federal funds coming.

[cdwjava]

State budgets are going to be more important to everyone than they have ever been before with all of the cuts in federal funds coming.

I think a great many people overestimate the impact of federal funds on their state budgets. Aside from Social Services programs, the feds don't have all that great an impact on most budget categories.

[geek]

That was a very ignorant post. Emotional yes, but with knowledge on how deals and budgets on capital hill are struck, no. You have no clue. You are living in a bubble if you think that Atlas Shrugged has any bearing on reality.

People are not the bargaining chips, the programs are. If you don't know the difference, you should keep quiet.

No need to resort to insults just because you and I don't see things the same way.

If you know anything about Paul Ryan, you'd know that he has shaped his philosophy on the writings of Ayn Rand and that's not hyperbole. It's by his own admission. He's been very vocal in his desires to cast people off of what he believes to be welfare. He leads a party which would like to eventually end the New Deal.

As far as the budget goes, I know how a budget makes its way through the process before it ends up on the President's desk. I wasn't born a week ago.

What I'm saying is that people ultimately pay for the decisions made above their paygrade. So it ultimately is about people and if you can't figure that out. maybe you're the one who should keep quiet.

I think a great many people overestimate the impact of federal funds on their state budgets. Aside from Social Services programs, the feds don't have all that great an impact on most budget categories.

That's going to vary by state. You live in what is probably the wealthiest state in the union.

[cdwjava]

That's going to vary by state. You live in what is probably the wealthiest state in the union.

Yet, we are always in the red, raising taxes, and impeding economic growth ... go figure.

[geek]

Yet, we are always in the red, raising taxes, and impeding economic growth ... go figure.

Maybe it's time to CalExit. You guys pay out more in federal dollars than you take back.

[cdwjava]

Maybe it's time to CalExit. You guys pay out more in federal dollars than you take back.

That would be a further disaster. My part of the state would definitely like to exit CA as the liberal centers are out of touch with the interior and the north.

As soon as I retire again (in 3 and 2/3 years) we will almost certainly make our own CA exit. I can barely afford to live here on 100% of my income, much less a portion of that! And with taxes and assorted fees and assessments going up with monotonous predictability, who can afford it? Ah, regulation ... my city creates a state of the art water treatment facility far exceeding all state and federal regulations, and then the state decides to raise the bar placing it and most other facilities out of compliance thus compelling many, many millions in additional assessments to further upgrade! Ah, gotta love the green laws!

[geek]

That would be a further disaster. My part of the state would definitely like to exit CA as the liberal centers are out of touch with the interior and the north.

As soon as I retire again (in 3 and 2/3 years) we will almost certainly make our own CA exit. I can barely afford to live here on 100% of my income, much less a portion of that! And with taxes and assorted fees and assessments going up with monotonous predictability, who can afford it? Ah, regulation ... my city creates a state of the art water treatment facility far exceeding all state and federal regulations, and then the state decides to raise the bar placing it and most other facilities out of compliance thus compelling many, many millions in additional assessments to further upgrade! Ah, gotta love the green laws!

Well, going solo would sure teach California a lesson in thrift at any rate. If you make it out of there, check out the south...just avoid the large cities and you can find a lot of house for surprisingly little money. I like the Fl panhandle myself and will retire there.

[cdwjava]

Well, going solo would sure teach California a lesson in thrift at any rate. If you make it out of there, check out the south...just avoid the large cities and you can find a lot of house for surprisingly little money. I like the Fl panhandle myself and will retire there.

They couldn't float it. They'd not only have to add all the federal welfare payments to their own roles, they'd have to fund a military, buy all the federal land, etc. There have been a number of good articles articulating why CA couldn't afford to go its own way - not to mention the fact that Congress would no more let that happen than Sacramento would let the north state split off. So, we'll have to continue to waste billions on high speed rail to nowhere (and with no track) while our roads and waterways collapse.

I have a great many friends in Idaho and Montana, and elsewhere, but my wife and I fell in love with West Virginia about 15 years ago, and we've been back a few times. We're looking at WV, or, maybe, someplace out of the country ... though, medical care might be an issue as an expat.

[Mercy&Grace]

States in the south are going to be the hardest hit. Only a few of them expanded Medicaid. But, that's just part of what they will lose.

It's going to get interesting as more and more people are negatively impacted that voted for this administration.

[cdwjava]

So far, really nothing has happened. Lots of chatter, but little real action. And, of course, we can't continue to run the path of government largesse we've been on, anyway. The only question that has yet to be answered is which party will be in charge when it comes time to pay the piper? Perhaps the painful road to austerity is about to begin. More than likely, though, it won't. Politicians are career animals, and they are not at all likely to acquiesce to solutions that might be fiscally sound but politically contentious. Therefore, I suspect little will change other than money shifting from one hand to another and being re-prioritized ... as has so often been the case.