Markell to Children: Drop Dead
Don’t look for gimlet-eyed Jack Markell to lift a finger to assist in the humanitarian crisis at the nation’s borders. Delaware Gov. Markell turned down a request from The US Department of Health & Social Services to even consider making any state resources available to stem the humanitarian crisis. He blames congressional ‘dithering’. As if the kids placed in the middle of this crisis can do anything to overcome congressional dithering.
From today’s News-Journal story:
Markell, who is among a number of the nation’s governors who fielded federal requests for help, said there are no state facilities available that could properly accommodate the children while they await immigration hearings. But he said some Delaware faith-based organizations might be in a position to offer assistance.
“I don’t really see the possibility of any state facilities housing these kids,” Markell said Monday. “I don’t think that exists. If private organizations choose to do so, that’ll be up to them.”
Markell said he would “expect to be notified” if the federal government sends any children to Delaware.
Gotcha. Faith-based networks already pushed beyond the breaking point due to rips in the social safety net should see if there’s any room in their respective basements, but Markell is not going to even look into the possibility of assisting.
“This is a huge issue,” Markell said. “We need to make sure we’re treating these kids humanely.”
By ‘we’, he makes clear that he doesn’t mean Delaware. The Delaware ‘we’ is not going to do anything to help. So says our leader.
This is truly an unprecedented crisis, albeit a temporary one. As governor, Jack Markell has publicly stated that these children from Central America are not worthy of his time or assistance. They can just drop dead.
What’s that, Jack? Sorry, folks, he’s gotta run. Meeting with some casino executives…
Tags: El Somnambulo, Featured, Jack Markell, Steve Tanzer Delaware
Reminds me of a classic Onion headline: Markell responds to request to help kids stranded at the border. “No,” he says.
And with his new haircut, he is looking a bit Lex Luthorish.
Serious Question — what state facilities are available in Delaware that could handle some of these kids?
Are state facilities any less overwhelmed than private faith-based facilities?
That said, it was a stupid public comment for Markell. Instead he should have set one of his crack staff to round up committments from faith-based organizations, and then kick in some kind of support from state resources, however limited.
Whether or not actual state-based facilities are available right now, it was cold and down-right republican of him to dismiss trying to help at all.
If there are truly no state resources, AT ALLL, Markell the man and citizen should be setting a better example than “well, maybe a church or something will help them” .
I’m not shocked. Delaware can’t even house many of the most severely complex disabled children in the state. We ship them out to other states, and think that’s okay. This is a practice that has been going on for ten years. How can we help other countries children when we can’t even help our own?
http://exceptionaldelaware.wordpress.com/2014/07/12/governor-markell-are-casinos-more-important-than-disabled-children-netde-edude-governormarkell-nytimes-washingtonpost-whitehouse_pr/
Maybe our National Guard units could pitch in.
What about the Red Cross?
Lot’s of school buildings are unused in the summer. Get some donated mattresses and sleeping bags and put them in the gym.
Legislative Hall is pretty vacant in July.
There’s a huge campground in Dover that’s used for only four days a year, and it’s owned by some guys who recently got a nice chunk of change that the state found at the last minute.
Lot’s of possibilities.
I agree w/Mediawatch.
If the governor really gives a shit, he can instruct his staff to conduct an inventory and find available room.
Yes, it would take some leadership from our Governor. He’s at several photo ops a day. Maybe he could take some time out from his busy photo op schedule to lend a hand. Hey, maybe it would lead to more/better photo ops.
Unless people band together to help, children will die. It’s not as if anyone’s expecting Delaware to take 57,000 kids. But 200 or so? Really? No room?
Our governor owes more to them than ‘No room at the inn.’
Maybe the casinos have some room with their $9.9 million bailout. I’m sure they could accommodate some of these kids!
Maybe we can put them in all the closed Atlantic City casino hotels. Somebody call Donald Trump! or Chris Christie!
I wonder how many of those kids are trying to rejoin parents or relatives in Delaware.
Governor: Didn’t they teach you this in Hebrew School like they did to me at Beth Shalom?:
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007094
If so, why your utter indifference to the fate of refugees who are refugees through no fault of their own?
Are there any closed catholic elementary schools that can be utilized? I also pass Camp Wright every day going home on Mill Creek Road. Does anyone know what condition that camp is in?
There are a large number of unused rooms over at the state hospital, there is space down at Governor Bacon, Ferris is practically empty…
You can get this going with 3 phone calls: Red Cross, National Guard, and DEMA. Our state emergency management office has all sorts of disaster plans ready to implement, and it surely wouldn’t take much to modify one to handle 200 youthful refugees. Treat it like you would a tropical storm evacuation.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist, but you do have to have a heart.
Camp Wright is not really habitable, although I would argue that it should be preserved and restored and put to use as a day camp before the wood-frame buildings deteriorate further or are torched. The county owns it and last I heard there is a demolition permit for the site, spared only by lack of funds. There is a lot of history in that site connected to the settlement movement in Wilmington.
Thanks Puck . . . I knew it was old but not that old!
I think before we start trying to find room for poor central American refugees, we should be trying to find room to shelter poor Delawareans. Not sure how many of you frequent the areas around Front Street in Wilmington, but my parish feeds and brings clothes to dozens of people who are hungry and live outside in that area. Our shelter system does its best, but there are so many people who fall through the cracks and can’t get a bed at the Salvation Army or the YWCA. While it would be kind and the right thing to do, I couldn’t help but be dismayed if the State bent over backwards to find room for the refugees, but set back and allowed their own to suffer the effects of poverty. If space is found, I would hope that there would be room for all.
I think the anger is misplaced. 108 Delawares can fit inside of Texas. There is more room there than there is here. it makes better sense to keep them in Texas… and then spend whatever we have to spend to make whatever we do, … work…
It’s Markell’s attitude toward people in need. Be they child refugees who are now under threat from armed conservative groups…. or life long Americans who’s bootstraps didnt get trickled on enough. The Governor… the supposedly Democratic Governor…. cares way more about his big bank donors. His dismissal of altruism as an option shows who that guy really is. Eff him.
What happened to all those FEMA camps that Halliburton built for national emergencies? Were they ever actually built? Now it seems like pure CT, but at the time I recall looking up and confirming a real requisition for them.
Bane: Making this an ‘us’ or ‘them’ problem is the easy way out and only amplifies my disgust with Markell (or anyone) for allowing “children” to be used as collateral damage in any situation.
Here’s some blast-from-the-past 2006 quotes about emergency facilities for housing waves of immigrants or other displaced persons. It’s from FOX so take with usual grain of salt, but it has money quotes from GWB and others:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/06/07/critics-fear-emergency-centers-could-be-used-for-immigration-round-ups/
Someone above said that we could have DEMA handle this.
First of all, DEMA cannot be counted on for anything. The sad fact is that DEMA is a dysfunctional, inept, and wholly unreliable agency. Trust me, if they do have disaster plans, they are out of date, but more likely, the plans are not fully studied, so when disaster happens, they have to create the plans from scratch.
Surely, the governor’s office knows this.
Secondly, yes, we have facilities to house these kids, but it will be expensive. We could certainly house them in unused dorms at Delaware State, or in empty schools, but there are two propblems with that.
First, it would be expensive. Not only would we have to buy the kids sleeping bags, cots and all, but in addition, we would have hire people to watch over them, plus feed them, give them medical care, etc.
Second, how long do you think it will take the federal government to get this situation handled? We’re talking about federal employees here. I’m guessing it would be a year or more before these kids are either shipped home or are granted residency status here.
That length of time rules out us using vacant schools.
I hate to be the cold-hearted person, but just wanted to add some facts to the conversation.
If my lot in life was so bad that sending my minor kids alone on a dangerous journey was the best hope for them, I would hope and pray that a parent in that foreign land would help them. It’s that basic.
This ain’t an R or D issue. This is a human issue. A society’s worth is measured by how it treats the most needy. We’re shiting the bed here if we don’t deal humanely with these kids.
Markel could have simply asked Delawareans for help. I have absolutely more than 200 would have offered it
Elwood, you might not trust DEMA, and I’m not sure that I always do, but the last couple times the state has had to deal with evacuations or shelter-in-place because of major weather events, my recollection is that it worked out just fine.
So your objection then boils down to “it’s expensive” and you offer no alternative other than the Markellian “the hell with the kids.”
That’s OK for you, and Jack, and Greg Lavelle.
But some of us are suggesting that spending some money to help a couple hundred starving and homeless kids for the short term (or maybe the not-so-short term) might be a better way of spending our money than bailing out casinos or sending thousands of soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan to fight wars that can’t be won.
Sure, it makes more sense to find a place for them in Texas, but it was Delaware that got the request. And, yes, I agree with those who suggest that we shouldn’t let our own poor and needy fall by the wayside, but it’s a copout to say we have to help them first when those who are in a position to do so make it a practice to let them down.
Not only that, but if they are still here in September we have to send them to school.
I can appreciate the enormity of this situation and at best it is overwhelming, yet that does not negate the fact that it HAS to be dealt with. There is an outcry of making sure these children are sent back to where they came from. That can only be done on a humanitarian level since some of these children will qualify for asylum. Regardless, in order to keep them all accounted for and to ensure some semblance of human compassion in returning them, what better way to accomplish both of these than by putting them in statewide facilities. By doing so immigration courts can be outsourced to each state and speedy and swift decisions can be made. It will only be long term care if our inept Congress allows it to be . . . surely Delaware can handle 200 children!
Mediawatch: This is a profound statement you made “And, yes, I agree with those who suggest that we shouldn’t let our own poor and needy fall by the wayside, but it’s a copout to say we have to help them first when those who are in a position to do so make it a practice to let them down.” Awesome!
Umm, I just read an article talking about how many of these kids are sick — like sick with TB and other serious diseases. Not to mention the usual childhood diseases that they haven’t been vaccinated to prevent. Disbursing them all over the country might not be the best solution here. In fact, it could be down right fool hardy. This is a Federal problem. Borders and all that. Congress needs to appropriate the necessary humanitarian funds to deal with it. Including health screening and care for these kids. It is a humanitarian crisis that just happens to be occurring within our own country. Maybe we should apply for UN assistance if the R’s in Congress can’t find the money to help these kids. Markell is right not to give them an easy out. Even if Delaware was in a position to help, which we’re not.
Of course Delaware is in a position to help.
Every state has been asked to help. Instead of, as someone noted, sounding the call for altruism, Markell has taken the opposite approach. Not even worth his time inventorying possible available resources. And he damn sure wants to be alerted if any of these kids dare to find their way here.
Auntie Dem, we know how dysfunctional Congress is now. People’s lives are at stake, we can do something about it, and the person best positioned to do something about it has dismissed assistance as even an option.
This will be part of his diminishing legacy. Death by death by death…he could have helped, but he chose not to.
I read your headline and clicked through for a DL exclusive report on how Jack has handled public education for the last 5 years…
…….and who is going to pay for all these great ideas?
I cannot believe the amount of debate about helping children. Young, innocent, possibly sick children! Of course we should take them in and help them. And, we should all pay for it. Because. They’re. Children.
Sorry, you overspent your allowance on trivial things. The rainy day fund is dry.
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
― Emma Lazarus
With major civil rights legislation signed in Delaware during his tenure as Governor, Jack will forever see himself as our state’s inimitable civil rights leader. It will be a black mark on that legacy to not ensure that Delaware does its best to care for these children — some of the most vulnerable members of society — while they await deportation hearings. On the right side of history for some issues; on the wrong side of history for others.
Now that everyone has dumped on the Gov. for saying we are not equipped to handle this mess, perhaps someone could point out exactly what State Services are being under utilized that could be used to tackle this issue.
Jack should inventory what state government CAN do, put some skin in the game AND use the bully pulpit of the Governors office to catalyze a collaborative effort amongst DE’s FBO’s. To take care of 57,000 children? Infeasible. To ensure safety and well being for 1% of them? Feasible.
^ this.
No one is asking Markell to house all the children at his Governor’s mansion. He doesnt need to worry about that. What I think IS being asked, is that he not go all Ebeneezer Scrooge on behalf of the state of Delaware.
Linda: I’m starting to wonder if Markell would have taken the lead on that civil rights legislation had he determined that it was not good for business.
It seems to be his sole criteria for virtually everything. Like, for example, his insistence on a miserly minimum wage.
So glad that I didn’t vote for this AHOLE
How it’s done. Mayors stepping up to help these kids.
Agreed, El.
From Cassandra’s link. Here’s what LA’s mayor said:
““We’ve already talked to HHS,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, referring to the Department of Health and Human Services, said Tuesday at POLITICO Magazine’s “What Works LA” event in Los Angeles. “Before you get partisan and before you tell me where you are on immigration, these are children … let’s get them someplace safe and secure, let’s get them legal representation which is what this country has always stood for.”
Is that really so difficult?
Martin O’Malley arguing with the Obama Admin over immigration and these kids.
“Jack should inventory what state government CAN do,”
Sounds like a good question for the Gov. and other elected officials.
Or the basis for the another News Journal article.
Maybe if Delaware provided appropriate placements for our own disabled children in our own state instead of out of state, there would be some money for this. I went through Delaware Online Checkbook, and you wouldn’t believe some of the tens of millions of dollars we are spending to other states for our own children. How can we take care of other countries when we do this:
http://exceptionaldelaware.wordpress.com/2014/07/16/delaware-doe-the-eye-of-the-hurricane-in-special-education-part-2-netde-edude-usedgov-delaware_gov/
Arizona protesters blockade a bus of American kids going to the YMCA.
A candidate for Congress decides to talk about the school buses of kids and the reporter tells him it was kids going to the YMCA — seriously, you should see it.
As much as I do not want to go back to Arizona, Mariachi band at the protest? I so want to see that.
Auntie dem, these children come from countries that have universal health care. They have a vaccination rate better than the idiots in TX?
And Nero fiddled as Rome burned.
All the bullshitting around ignores the immediate problem – kids need help now.
Here’s something from the WSJ from Jack on the kids crisis the sheds a very different light on what El Som posted above (not sure if this is behind the WSJ paywall):
One difference is that O’Malley has said that he could find space for children, but not in a ‘warehouse’ situation. Markell has made it clear that we don’t have room for them here.
Here’s what O’Malley said in today’s Washington Post:
“O’Malley said that state officials on Monday began the paperwork process of searching for more foster care providers in Maryland who could care for some of these children. “I will continue to work to alleviate the humanitarian crisis,” O’Malley said. “And I think every governor and every mayor in America, and every American citizen, has some responsibility and role to play here. It’s who we are as a people.”
That’s exactly what I want Markell to say and do.
I changed my mind on this.
Delaware can’t take all of the kids, but we can help some of them.
I suggest that we provide shelter for 285 kids.
This is where I get this specific number:
Delaware has .28 percent of the U.S. population.
There are reportedly 57,000 of these children.
If we do our part, we would take in .28 percent of those kids.
But I suggest that we go above and beyond and essentially double the number. We could take in .5 percent of the kids, which comes out to about 285 kids.
To do this, we could make a public campaign for families that would serve as sort of foster homes. We could certainly find 285 great families for this kids, if the state committed to publicizing this effort.
That’s my idea, anyway.
I just read the statement in the Wall Street Journal which was quite different than what the News Journal printed. I also had the opportunity to read the request that was sent out to the states from HHS and it is actually quite demanding in its requirements. (I’m going to see if I can post a link). It appears Delaware may not be able to provide what they are asking for. All that being said, I wish I knew what is the answer. I would personally take in a couple kids.
Here’s the link http://www.acf.hhs.gov/grants/open/foa/files/HHS-2015-ACF-ORR-ZU-0833_0.htm
Auntie dem…please educate yourself – these children are not spreading disease
They are interviewed and medically checked ……border patrol can hold for 72 hours. Due to crises’ they are being held longer
When turned over the DHSS and ORR they are treated if needed and processed and the attempt to reunify them with their families- if they request asylum that whole process begins.
Remember they have no right to legal representation….this is a crises of epic proportions and to have someone look at CHILDREN as nothing more than disease carriers is disgusting and hateful and beneath contempt frankly….
http://www.vox.com/2014/6/16/5813482/the-child-migrant-crisis
Theses childre ARE here in Delaware , make no mistake about it. That is a fact. With their families , where they should be- question is….will they be able to stay or are we as a nation, a state and a people willing to condemn them to death
The Biden center in cape he loped has lots of dorm rooms, maybe The Vice President can step up to put some pressure on Jack(ass) Markell to chip in to help solve this national problem.
ACQ
Cudos to you.
If people in this State were given the opportunity to help, I am certain beyond any doubt they would take in scores of these kids and do it on their own dime.
Who needs government?????
Well, now that you bring it up- here is a chance for more people to step up- it’s all for real. And many already have- they would just prefer not to have racists protest their homes
Sent: 7/2/2014 11:04:56 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time
Subj: Unaccompanied Children Facilities Information
Hi all – Given that one of the challenges HHS is facing is finding suitable facilities for unaccompanied children I wanted to forward the e-mail from FEMA below to see if you all have folks in your networks that know of suitable facilities in your area. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks.
FROM FEMA:
Thank you to the Congressional, state, local and faith-based partners who have offered resources in support of the humanitarian effort to assist the unaccompanied children crossing into the United States on the Southwest border. As you are aware, there has been an increase in the number of very young children making this journey. This is an unprecedented event that requires unique approaches to temporarily house children until they can be discharged to a sponsor while awaiting judicial proceedings.
Your suggestions and offers of emergency shelter options in states and communities throughout the United States are appreciated. To facilitate these offers of assistance, we have created a central e-mail account to manage such requests. Please send offers of potential specific facilities to
FEMA-UAC-Shelter-TF@fema.dhs.gov.
Please provide as much information as possible, with your submission, including:
· name, address and city or town of the facility or resource;
· owner and whether private, public or non-profit;
· type of facility;
· square footage;
· utilities;
· any possible mitigating factors;
· other information you feel is important to know; and,
· point of contact to gather more information.
Upon receipt of the information, the multi-agency facility task force led by the Department of Health and Human Services, will assess offers of assistance to determine if they meet the required criteria and may reach out to the identified points of contact for more information.
Thank you again for working with us to identify appropriate sheltering options for these children.
Julie Chavez Rodriguez
Deputy Director
White House | Office of Public Engagement
During the offseason, a shit ton of Sussex County beach town homes sit unoccupied. Provide tax incentives to the owners to provide shelter and hire caretakers.
Everyone,
Can we structure this similar to how we house foster children? I think that is the most feasible solution here.
One agency in Delaware serves as the clearing house for families who are willing to take in a child.
The child is then placed in a home that has been inspected and approved. The child lives with the family, while also receiving support like Medicare for medical needs, and a stipend to the family to help pay for clothes, food school supplies, footballs, etc.
The agency in Delaware that would oversee this program doesn’t even have to be DHSS. Perhaps, if FEMA agrees, the program could be overseen by a NGO like LaRed, or something, but they use the same guidelines and procedures for inspecting and certifying that homes are safe and appropriate for the kids.
We could show the rest of the country how it can be done.
If we do this, and publicize it well, I’m sure we could find homes for 200 or 300 kids.
To open a facility like the Biden Center actually would be much more expensive per child because you would have to hire many full-time staff to work and live at the facility, plus, you have to spend money on improving the facility, etc. Plus, you would still have the expenses like medical care, buying the kids clothes, food. That’s why we don’t do orphanages any more. It’s too expensive.
Can we do this?
1. The children don’t qualify for aid or benefite until they get a final grant for asylum- that process can take years
2- the state agencies are neither culturally not linguistically ready to house them- who would communicate with them and how
3- if individuals stepped up and the Rs allowed the aid package to pass that would helps greatest
4 – you would also have to realize that besides school etx … You have to take them to all their immigration hearings in Philly, Baltimore or DC…. And there are LOTS!!!
5- I’m not saying don’t. Just be aware of what you are doing – these children are scared and not used to English nor what we have in our homes- that said, they are children and adaptable with patience and love
They will probably hate our food….and school will be tough- if the other kids are nasty- so cultural awareness is very important!’m
There are ways, but I wonder of we will be used to use then????
Send every illegal to the door steps of every politician who created the crisis.
A woman named Sonia Nazario gave in interesting interview on NPR this AM where she summarized some of the situation in Honduras these kids are fleeing and said that she was going to testify in Congress today that we should set up refugee centers for these kids. Places where they can get care, where they can stay and where the immigration apparatus can come to them to sort out the status of these kids. That made sense to me.
She also has a harrowing account of what these kids are running from in last Sunday’s NYT.
So, who pays?
In the end, that’s what your Governor has to be concerned about, because while you are worrying about the poor, poor kids piling up around the border, he has to worry about the poor, poor taxpayers of the First State.
If Delaware takes some of these kids, then either other programs that the state (and local) governments have been funding will have to be cut, or taxes will have to be increased on the citizens, citizens! of Delaware, something more taken away from the already overtaxed working men and women, to pay for housing and feeding and educating these children.
AQC wrote:
OK, then, you first: tell us how much more you, personally, are going to pony up to pay to take care of them. Then, write the check, and send it to the state treasury, marked as an additional, voluntary tax that you are willing to pay to take care of these kids.
you are an IDIOT Dana – what part of they DONT QUALIFY for benefits sis you miss??
they are eligible for ONLY – education and Emergency medical care……
try educating yourself on the actual law…many non-profits can take then due to PRIVATE funds and the average stay is 30-35 days… until family steps up and the vetting process is over.
get over yourself – we took communist refugees from Cuba and Vietnamese and Hmong and Cambodian, what makes these kids different????
Oh, they are BROWN!!! horrors/
“OK, then, you first: tell us how much more you, personally, are going to pony up to pay to take care of them. Then, write the check, and send it to the state treasury, marked as an additional, voluntary tax that you are willing to pay to take care of these kids.”
I am taking the governor’s advice and directing my contributions to faith-based organizations. How much do you think it’s going to cost? Why is the cost always your first reaction? Don’t you ever get tired of being a money-grubbing, gun-and-Bible-clutching dunce?
What part of government by the people don’t you get? You don’t get to opt in or out of contributing your share. You don’t get a line-item veto. You dopes trot this argument out every fucking time, and it never gets less stupid. Fucking grow up.
“Why is the cost always your first reaction?”
Uhm, because things cost money……?
At some point in any discussion, cost is going to be part of the dialogue. Even faith based organizations have to deal with it. It might not be first, but it will be there.
Aoine wrote:
Oh, you’re going to bring them to Delaware and then not feed them? You’re going to house them in Delaware, but have no water or electricity or sewer service?
In fact, if they “DONT QUALIFY for benefits,” what you are actually saying is that they don’t qualify for federal benefits, which means that the costs will fall upon the state and localities. Unlike the federal government, most states can’t run deficits, which means that the state will have to cut spending elsewhere.
Maybe you don’t think that the money is important, but responsible governors can’t forget that part.
The voice of conservative christians:
Mr Geezer wrote:
Government by the people also means that the people get to voice their opinions against additional government spending, not just for more spending, against higher taxes, and not just for higher taxes.
But I was urging AQC to lead by example, to show us how much he was willing to spend in this proposed endeavor. You said that you were making ” contributions to faith-based organizations,” something I absolutely support and applaud on your part, but such are voluntary; not everyone would like to — or can — spare the extra money.
Mr Aoine wrote:
Uhhh, and the “refugees from Cuba and Vietnamese and Hmong and Cambodian” were lily white? Your complaint seems pretty silly to me.
As it happens, I’ve worked with a lot of Vietnamese and Cambodians; they aren’t Caucasians. They were, however, top-notch workers.
Too bad all of these bigots yell the loudest about taking care of our own and have not done a fucking thing to take care of them up to date! Pathetic that you choose a humanitarian crisis to decide to get on your high horse to demand accountability of how our taxes are being spent.
Demanding to know how much I’m contributing isn’t voicing your political opinion. It’s voicing the selfish opinion that you shouldn’t pay anything toward their welfare because you can’t spare the pocket change per voter helping them would cost.
“We can’t afford it” is a political opinion. “I can’t afford it” is not, because nobody is talking about raising Dana’s taxes to help out here.
@Sussex Anon: As you yourself noted, I pointed out that Dana brings it up first thing. Of course everything costs money. Dana knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.
If it costs $1 million, that’s about $1 per capita. Whittle that down to per taxpayer and it’s about $3 per household, on average of course. That’s annually. It’s an amount most of us lose in the sofa cushions.
And now we see another governor, and another Democrat, saying that yes, we’ve got to take care of these poor children . . . but Governor Martin O’Malley (D-MD), very much a liberal, doesn’t want them sent to his state!
Mr Geezer wrote:
Really? If we take on these children, it will cost money; even a liberal can see that. And that means that either taxes will have to be raised, the deficit increased, or other program will have to be cut; those are the only three options.
Unfortunately, that’s the kind of argument my friends on the left seem to make about everything; it’s just a few pennies! Trouble is, that argument has been made on so many, many things that those pennies have added up to dollars, to lots of dollars. They have added up to so many dollars that we’ve had to raise taxes very high, and we’re still borrowing half a trillion dollars a year, a good sized chunk of it from overseas.
At some point, we have to stop spending more and more money.
Yes, and the place to stop spending it is on trillion-dollar weapons programs like the F-35.
Your penny-pinching, dollar-burning priorities are the problem.
The “good chunk” of overseas purchases of T-bills are about 10% of our debt.
Instead of wasting our time, why don’t you research your own deeply held but shallowly understood beliefs? That way you could debunk your own bullshit and leave us out of it entirely.
Well DANA- here is a conservative taking these kids
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/18/immigration-border-crisis-cities-welcome-children/12836993/
Making OUR governor look bad in the process
And BTW- if they don’t qualify for FEDERAL AID- they also don’t qualify for pass thru funding for states aid either – DUH
and the families that have taken them in have done it on their own dime- food, weather , clothes etc
You have now proven yourself to be a greedy money hungry soulless shell of humanity- you do nothing for our own who need except say- get a job
Have you ever stopped to think how lucky you are to be able to be so judgmental??? I hope someday that what you have out out there comes back to you three-fold
You could not be more deserving …..
Also, our “very high” taxes are among the lowest in the industrialized world. Again, do some research once in a while instead of repeating what you heard in conservative media.
Mr Geezer wrote:
A very poor comparison, since most of the others include medical care coverage, while our medical care is primarily paid through private insurance; add our taxes plus our insurance, and it’s very high. In addition to that, when you consider our total tax burden, from federal, state, county, municipal and school districts, along with sales taxes, excise taxes and the like, we pay too much. Then, on top of that, we are paying the “hidden” corporate taxes, which businesses simply pass down to consumers, in the prices for their goods.
But even without that note, our taxes are too fornicating high! We should pay less, and spend less, and, yes, get less, from government.
Mr Aoine wrote:
So, then, if you haul them to Delaware — or any place else — you’re not going to feed them, not going to house them, not going to educate them?
It doesn’t matter what particular forms of aid you think they are or are not qualified for; we’re still going to have to support them, somehow.
The best thing that we can do, as far as the American taxpayer is concerned, is not let them in the country, and the ones who are here, ship them back to Guatemala or to whatever other country they came from, immediately, no questions asked.
Dear Governor Markell
Below is a lesson in leadership- and humanitarianism – please take notes
Sincerely
One constituent
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5600843
Watch the video- impressive – but especially after 12:00…..
Thanks
I rather ship your ass to the Ulktaine or a beach is Gaza – Dana
And I’ll pay for any children I take in – thank you – the average stay is 35 days – before we sent them back to die
Death row criminals get better treatment than these innocent kids
And Dana. Remember in Gaza you will FULLY receive the full benefits of what your tax dollars have paid for
Israeli bombs ….. With U.S. GUIDANCE SYSTEMS. – ENJOY!
At some point, we have to stop spending more and more money.
Let that point be when the next overseas military adventure is suggested.
An article posted to Bill Moyers’ place reminds us that child migrants have been coming alone to the US since Ellis Island.
And we as a nation will never overcome this stain on our history
But here we are repeating it???? And our Governor is JEWISH??? Wow!!! How soon we forget …..
http://ww2.nationalpost.com/m/wp/blog.html?b=news.nationalpost.com/2011/01/17/none-is-too-many-memorial-for-jews-turned-away-from-canada
“Then, on top of that, we are paying the “hidden” corporate taxes”
Well, the corporate taxes aren’t exactly hidden. It’s more like they don’t exist. Since corporations are people too, perhaps the tax code could be rewritten to tax them like the people they are.
How little you understand, grasshopper.
The extra layers of taxes are the result of the federalism you love so much. And if we eliminated for-profit insurance, our prices would drop. The reason other countries pay less is that they have eliminated the profit motive.
You also don’t seem to understand that companies pay taxes out of profits. They don’t have to pass on a cost to consumers unless they make a profit, and unless consumers will pay it. That’s why you raise taxes on products like alcohol and cigarettes — to deter some people from buying them.
For those here that are worried about the cost of treating children in a humane way we can always get the money by having judge Sue Robinson toss oue the law suit by that robber Nigel Sykes thus saving us tax payers money or revoke the Governor’s gift to the casinos
“We have rescued Irish children from famine, Russian and Ukrainian children from religious persecution, Cambodian children from genocide, Haitian children from earthquakes, Sudanese children from civil war, and New Orleans children from Hurricane Katrina. Once, in 1939, we turned our backs on Jewish children fleeing the Nazis, and it remains a blight on our national reputation. The point is that this good Nation is great when we open our doors and our hearts to needy children, and diminished when we don’t. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick
Just out of curiosity, how many of you are willing to take in these children into your own homes? Say just 3 or 4 children right from the border. All you need to do is take a few children and agree to assume all financial and health responsibilities for them, I think that would make you good people.