Glass House

I’ve been thinking often lately about an article I read in the paper a few weeks ago. It was about another harebrained idea for balancing the California State Budget. The scary thing about this harebrained idea was that it came from Governor Arnie. In a nutshell, Arnie proposed requiring all MediCal recipients to complete re-qualifying paperwork every three months instead of the every 6 months that is currently required. This would double the paperwork burden for the agencies that administer MediCal too, such as the Department of Employment and Social Services. Which already works like a well-oiled machine, right?
Now I happen to have a job working with people who are mentally ill. Who I like a lot. And who I’ve watched struggle with the paperwork that we require of them.
Some of these are folks who can not read or write, often because their mental illnesses began in childhood and interfered with their ability to learn. Or sometimes because their tweaking crank addict parents were too busy starving them and exposing them to toxic fumes to have the opportunity to help them with their homework. Some of them are survivors of wars in their home countries and grew up speaking another language that does not have a written form, thus they are not so good at writing. Some of them have to spend their days listening to internal voices while navigating our complex world.
And Arnie, with all of his counterfeit compassion, knows that by requiring more paperwork of these tormented souls, that many of them will simply give up and forfeit their MediCal coverage, stop taking their psych meds and slip into an even worse state of body and mind. But it will save the state some money! Arnie thinks it’s a marvelous idea to balance his budget on the backs of these folks. Because he’s too chicken, I’d guess, to do the real work of governing. Which involves making considered, difficult choices and implementing them.