Report shows legislators’ hypocrisy
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Editor,
Here are some highlights from The Policy Institute report of March 11, entitled "Profiles in Hypocrisy." The title seems apropos when we consider the following information.
As a result of the recent election cycle, the electorate made their mandate clear that they wanted their legislators to go to Helena to act on beliefs such as, “Government is bad, the worst level of which is the federal government. Spending money on government programs is bad; federal mandates, regulations and safety laws are bad. Worst of all, federal money is bad.”
Okay, we get it; they don’t want government in their business, yeah? Once in Helena, the Republican diatribe more clearly stated that federal power is unconstitutional.
So far, this has translated into proposed cuts that used to fund programs for the most vulnerable Montanans among us. On the chopping block were Meals on Wheels, prescription assistance for seniors, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, foster care benefits and family planning services, to list a few.
This antigovernment rhetoric is clearly selective. Note that only six members of the Montana legislature declined their health insurance coverage. The Montana legislative agency responsible for compensation to its members refused to print names of those who chose to receive health insurance benefits or monthly cash benefits. It is not limited to this issue.
Those Montana legislators who received farm subsidy program payments include 90.9 percent Republicans and 9.1 percent Democrats. This majority in the legislature wants to cut programs for the needy, and yet, from 1995 to 2009, those subsidies amounted to $7,055,618. Our own Rep. Janna Taylor has received $1,017,491, whereas most of her colleagues have received less than half to one-fourth of that amount.
I thought we wanted the government to stay out of our business.
Sheila Bell
Polson
