Cuts at Head Start

Sequestration is leading to an even wider divide between the 1% and the rest of us. Sequestration means 57,000 children will be cut from the Head Start Program. For those who think we cannot afford Head Start and other social programs consider how much we (Americans) spend on ice cream each year. We spend $10 billion a year according to statistics provided by the International Ice Cream Association.

I'm not saying we need to give up ice cream. I'm saying our priorities need to change if we want to grow as a country. Giving children living in poverty a chance with programs that help them with their education should be at least as important as an ice cream cone. If you're thinking, there's nothing I can do. It's the government. We are the government.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sec-kathleen-sebelius/the-numbers-are-in-seques_b_3780237.html

There's a lot more on the cuts from a posting by Kathleen Sibelius in the Huffington Post. ( link above)

There Are People Who Care
There are organizations trying to help the poor and other groups in the greater Hartford area. Asylum Hill Congregational Church house a neighborhood daycare in its building. Grace Lutheran Church in Hartford offers a free meal to its neighbors Fridays. Grace Lutheran is struggling too. The congregation is small and the church has been running a deficit. Yet, through alliances with groups like Foodshare, the church is feeding neighbors who are struggling with poverty. I work for FOCUS Center for Autism. We serve children on the Autism Spectrum. We depend on funding from State sources as well as grants and individual donations.

In each of these cases these organizations could be doing more. Other organizations could be joining in to lessen the load. The key is resources. There are not enough available to go around.

There would be if more of us would become involved. The cuts to Head Start this year will be $400 million. That works out to about $1.27 per person in this country. The cost of an ice cream cone is about $2.50.