Advocacy Groups Tap Taxpayers
Jails (not to be confused with prisons) exist for two purposes. One is to house those people who by dint of their anti-social proclivities alienate themselves from society. The second, less commonly understood, is to house those people who find themselves unable to cope normally with society, yet do not commit anti-social actions. We generally describe the first group as criminal, the second group as mentally ill. For the taxpayer, the short-term purpose is the same: to house these people in places where they cannot harm society or themselves. Yet advocates for the mentally ill, such as Disability Rights North Carolina, say this is not enough.
Advocates for the mentally ill, just as advocates for every special interest group, want the taxpayers to spend more. In this case they would like individual care, in some cases 24 hours per day, just so individuals might stay at home. It is a nice thought, too expensive by far, and is in complete conflict with what taxpayers, by way of government, should be doing for this, or any, group of people.
Many of the mentally ill are housed in what are called “adult care homes.” These are privately run businesses whose function is to provide housing and food, and physical, hygienic and minor medical assistance to those unable to provide these things for themselves. Their funding comes from a variety of sources, which is reflected in the type of operations and services they are able to provide. Taxpayers provide a minimal amount, usually enough to meet state and national standards, but nothing more, and herein lies part of the problem.
Over the years, the mentally ill, due in large part to the uncompromising insistence of groups such as Disability Rights North Carolina, have pushed the state to close state institutions for the mentally ill, saying the mentally ill should be treated differently. They want better services and better housing, all at higher expense for the taxpayer. The mentally ill often ended up in adult care homes. This was not by design, but by the ability of the adult care homes to offer the satisfactory care some of the mentally ill needed, combined with the fact they were already operating and had room. This is not good enough for Disability Rights North Carolina, so they seek support from the federal government in forcing the taxpayers of North Carolina to pay for more expensive housing for their special interest group. It seems they want individual care, 24 hours per day, seven days per week, in a private home, in a suburban neighborhood, with a yard. One can only suppose they want individual chauffeured limousines as well, and woe be unto those who oppose them: their vituperativeness is legend.
So now, Disability Rights North Carolina, after years of pushing the national agency – the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS; yes, that is correct) – has convinced it to interfere in how North Carolina handles the mentally ill. In fact the advocates want CMS to dictate to North Carolina how the mentally ill must be treated and housed, and so dictate how much money state taxpayers must spend on this special interest group. First one must ask: where in the US Constitution does CMS finds its right to exist? Second: where do they get the right to dictate to North Carolina, or any state for that matter, how to handle a state issue?
Yet this is their intent: to disrupt a program that is currently working where the only people satisfied will be the advocates at Disability Rights North Carolina. The question then becomes: where is the money for the limousines to come from? Where is the money to pay for the five aids and nurses per person per week, which the advocates seek?
Let us be clear, nothing is perfect. But the fact is North Carolina taxpayers spend hundreds of million of dollars each year on the mentally ill. Things could be done better, so could they in almost every case. But this is a case of a problem needing minor modifications, not the indiscriminate bulldozer of an immoderate federal agency.
This is just one example of how a persistent, self-serving special interest group pushes government agencies and elected representatives to spend money excessively in their behalf, without regard to reason or consideration of the taxpayers. It is a perfect example of how our government becomes too expensive.
Disability Rights North Carolina – just another special interest advocacy group seeking to increase taxes for their personal use.
We need your help! If you like PunditHouse, please consider donating to us. Even $5 a month can make a difference!
Short URL: https://pundithouse.com/?p=7097
