More shutdowns.
01 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment
in political laboratory Tags: frustration, government services, self-sufficiency
It seems like recently government shutdowns are so passé and a day doesn’t go by without someone uttering the words “budget deficit.” I read yesterday after a few facebook updates that my homestate of Minnesota is indeed closing as well. Starting today, July 1. It means (temporary?!) lay offs for some employees, closed state parks, rest stops, and no licensing for new teachers among other things. However, government shutdowns can also mean increased hardship for those who are already facing difficulties economically.
For example (taken from FAQ on the potential Minnesota Government Shutdown):
Q: I get government support to pay for child care for my kids. Now what?
A: Federal funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which includes some child care assistance, will continue to be administered throughout a government shutdown. But state-run child care assistance will not.
In her ruling, Gearin wrote that,
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“the Court is aware that not funding non-TANF child care assistance may cause extreme hardship to low income working parents, increase the public assistance rolls because some of these people will have to leave the workforce in order to care for their children, and may lessen the opportunities for low income children to success in school.”
Extreme hardship.
So now unfortunately, families who were relying on subsidized daycare could potentially lose their jobs and be set back in their journeys to self-sufficiency. It really stinks how much the people lose out on things when government continues to play partisan political games, especially the people that are already at a disadvantage.
