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Everyone protested Corbett today in Harrisburg
Busloads of people throughout the Commonwealth descended on Harrisburg to take part in two separate protests against the policies of Gov. Tom Corbett and Republican legislators: for immigrant rights and against the complete elimination of cash welfare assistance.
Everyone protested Corbett today in Harrisburg
On Monday, busloads of people from Philadelphia and from towns and cities throughout the Commonwealth descended on Harrisburg to take part in two separate protests against the policies of Gov. Tom Corbett and Republican legislators: for immigrant rights and against the complete elimination of cash welfare assistance.
Corbett is not a big fan of protests: police once again took the (previously) unprecedented step of closing off access to the Capitol Rotunda to some demonstrators. Earlier this year, they allegedly singled out people in wheelchairs protesting cuts to disability services and barred them taking the elevator to the governor's office.
Protest one: Juntos and other immigrant rights groups demonstrated against anti-immigrant legislation, much of it introduced by the very, very right-wing state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler), who City Paper described in a July 2011 profile as the “the gun-toting, gay-bashing, tea-partying state rep who's taking over Harrisburg.”
Proposals include denying undocumented immigrants public benefits, and, in a copycat of Arizona's controversial law, requiring local police to enforce federal immigration laws. One Metcalfe bill would require employers to use the Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify database to check workers' Social Security numbers―an interesting call for the expansion of federal power coming from a politician with long-standing associations with the paranoid Obama-is-planning-on-rounding-up-dissidents-into-FEMA camps militiaman fringe right-wing.
Speaking of the fringe right-wing: Corbett's austerity budget proposes, along with 20 percent across-the-board social services cuts, eliminating the $205-a-month General Assistance program that aids the most vulnerable―including 34,843 Philadelphian with disabilities, survivors of domestic violence, children being taken care of by non-parents, and recovering drug addicts. That's an $87.5 million cut to Philly residents on General Assistance, on top of $170.3 million cuts to the related Medical Assistance program, and $41 million in across the board cuts.
As City Paper reported in a March story on the city's drug recovery houses, the elimination of General Assistance could send thousands of addicts onto Philly streets. According to protest organizers PA Cares for All, the cuts would “increase demand for homeless shelters, emergency room services, fire and police – all at significantly greater cost to the Commonwealth.”
A third group of conservative protesters called for property taxes to be replaced by increased income and sales taxes. There's a progressive silver lining here: the state's unequal funding of school districts, which requires municipalities rich and poor alike to try make up the shortfall through property taxes, has been greatly exacerbated by Corbett's $1 billion cut to education: an estimated 27 percent of districts have passed extraordinary property tax increases to fund their schools.
Some good news: state tax collections are up above predictions, and some cuts could be restored. Much of the talk in Harrisburg indicates that higher education (which faces 20 percent and 30 percent cuts to, respectively, the state's System of Higher Education and state-related universities) and county programs that service groups like the disabled could benefit―and perhaps not General Assistance. Welfare recipients, much like immigrants, are made the scapegoat for so many of our society's problems. Monday's protesters hoped to change that.
Follow Daniel Denvir on Twitter: @DanielDenvir
According to any reliable record tracking deportation it could be concluded that "the very, very right-wing state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler), who City Paper described in a July 2011 profile as the “the gun-toting, gay-bashing, tea-partying state rep who's taking over Harrisburg." has deported ZERO immigrants BUT President Obama has proudly deported 1.7 Million in less than 3 year. A historical number of deportations, even more than the other racist GOP leader, BUSH. So what will Latinos call Obama during the 2012 Election Campaign?— Su Dinero- Unfortunately, the homeless shelters in Philadelphia have already lost hundreds of beds. This is the seventh straight year of funding cuts to human service programs. Please, understand how high the stakes are. Aside from people who will be (and those who already have) lost their access to care, hundreds of workers are losing their jobs and the next step for many is the street. Oh, that's right, the shelters are not there either.— Anne Smith
- Unfortunately, the homeless shelters in Philadelphia have already lost hundreds of beds. This is the seventh straight year of funding cuts to human service programs. Please, understand how high the stakes are. Aside from people who will be (and those who already have) lost their access to care, hundreds of workers are losing their jobs and the next step for many is the street. Oh, that's right, the shelters are not there either.— Anne Smith
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