[thunderbear]

Ok here in Kentucky, our financial status has gone to crap. Well they are talking about cutting Medicaid. My husband, me and our son are currently on Medicaid. Alot of people are. The state can't afford to keep Medicaid but the sure can afford to build a new bridge that well honestly we don't need. A pro sports stadium we don't need and honestley no one but the rich and famous of Ky. are going to be able to afford. And the roads we do use daily are so bad that it can knock your car out of alignment. When we go to Tennessee or Indiana the roads there are smooth as glass but as soon as you cross the Ky. line it's bumpy, and imo dangerous when you got 70 mph speed (and people who go faster) and there are potholes and uneven grade on the interstate. not in just one plac eeither. It's that bad all over. From TN line to the IN. line. And now they are going to cut Medicaid. And disability/SS payments. It's really not right. And I had to get that off my chest.

[Naturefreak]

Originally Posted by thunderbear

Ok here in Kentucky, our financial status has gone to crap. Well they are talking about cutting Medicaid. My husband, me and our son are currently on Medicaid. Alot of people are. The state can't afford to keep Medicaid but the sure can afford to build a new bridge that well honestly we don't need. A pro sports stadium we don't need and honestley no one but the rich and famous of Ky. are going to be able to afford. And the roads we do use daily are so bad that it can knock your car out of alignment. When we go to Tennessee or Indiana the roads there are smooth as glass but as soon as you cross the Ky. line it's bumpy, and imo dangerous when you got 70 mph speed (and people who go faster) and there are potholes and uneven grade on the interstate. not in just one plac eeither. It's that bad all over. From TN line to the IN. line. And now they are going to cut Medicaid. And disability/SS payments. It's really not right. And I had to get that off my chest.

T-bear
Welcome to the real world. Not trying to be funny , just know exactly where you're coming from. We have the same pavement on our street for 40 years , they just patch in the potholes every spring.

[eskielover]

Disability/SS, & medicaid are all federal programs which means that the cut will be across the states, not just in KY......the whole country is in a horrible shape. Can't even make my bills each month now because they said there was no cost of living increase this year & there sure was.

Oh, the roads in KY....don't get me started...lol. The street I live on is a numbered highway off 68. It has a double yellow line, but no narrow & the edge drops off very dangerous. We had 2 accidents in the last 3 years just down from my farm & another on a road that I use often to get to where I ride. All because the auto has just barely gone off the road & caught in the ditch. That's beyond all the pot holes that we try to miss or the driver on the other side that has gone over their line to miss the hole in their side of the street. The streets are so narrow that it's hard for a truck to fit in the lane. Then there are the railroad crossings....ugh, they don't even have the crossing arms in place anywhere in the city/county I live in (felt it was unnecessary), but there have been serious accidents & narrow misses because the crossing lights weren't working well. Definitely a backward state compared to what I was used to in California. I love the country & wouldn't leave, but it doesn't mean that I don't notice the things that are wrong though.

I want to add more to your list beside the pro sports stadium.....have you heard about the KY Horse Park. They have sunk millions into new indoor arenas & stabling & redo-ing the whole park for the 2010 World Equestrian Games this fall. They will never get all the money out of the WEG this fall to repay for all the building & changes....the whole world economy is bad, & can guarantee that the attendance will not be good enough to pay back the millions they have put into the park. It used to be beautiful & very peaceful to wander through the park.....it has lost it's old charm & now is only for the "rich & famous" also. No one can afford to go there for almost anything.

I am volunteering for the WEG's....working on the decoration crew for floral arrangements, setting up the plants, etc. I looked at the schedule & prices for the events.....the opening night runs $225-$550 for the tickets & the events run over $100.....who in the world other than the rich can afford those prices? This is the first time that the WEG had been held outside of Europe, so our gracious governor wanted to impress everyone.....or anyone who could possibly afford to come here to show. Will be interested to see just how successful this whole project will really be.

There is a new program for mental health that is being covered by medicaid. I wanted to post about this but haven't had a chance to sit down & put the information together, but it's "peer Support Whole Health". Georgia was the first to get the training & the grant money, & it can be billed to medicaid. They have a training program for people in mental health care to get involved as a "peer specialist". It is being put together to provide peer support services to achieve whole health goals & create centers for people to go to for services. It's a system that helps people with mental health issues focus on whole health issues like quiting smoking, or loosing weight (or in some cases maybe gaining weight?), or whatever health goal they need to have. They started this because it was found that people with mental health issues were dying 25 years earlier than others without mental health issues. Interesting how they are finding more to bill to medicaid, & yet they are wanting to cut it because the money isn't there when we have unemployment high, the money that is being paid into that fund isn't there when there are less people working as that is where at least the disability & SS comes from.......ugh.....how complex everything really is because it's all so interrelated with no simple solution (not intending to start any controversial posting with this comment please).

Kentucky has much better community mental health care than I saw in California. I have a very high quality psychologist & a T that comes to my home on the weeks I don't see my psychologist. Government funded with grants, they also help out with housing costs for people who are in a bad place & strangely enough, they are paying to make my heat pump system workable & under warranty after all the pain I have gone through with that. I had no idea they had assistance programs like that funded by grant money that is available. When I was in the private mental health care system when I first arrived here, it cost me an arm & a leg & no assistance with anything.....with the community mental health group, they even waved my deductible for medicare & cut my copay to a very low minimum so I can at least afford to go twice a month. All this comes out of government grants however, so when the money isn't there in the government, those programs will be minimized. The state governor is the one who determines the priorities however & the governor here in KY seems to have mental health as a priority (thank heavens).......but that is only seen when involved in the community treatment, not the private mental health treatment.

In Lexington, they have opened what is called the Participation Station which is central Ky's 1st peer -operated recovery center for individuals with mental illness. It has programs for consumer/family support information including presentations on things like Reasons for Symptoms of Mental Illness, Self-Confidence & other topics to provide a program-based environment that educates, empowers, & enjances the lives of people dealing with mental health to aim toward recovery & mental wellness. There are social events too like art sessions & movie nights & yoga.......This is what the peer program is aiming for......to also create a good support group environment to help with that wellness goal.

Hope this takes off throughout the country as that is their aim. Pennsylvania has a good start on their peer training also, so it's spreading slowly as it's becoming known about.

Just hoped to add some hope to the discouraging feelings I know we have here......let a little light shine in the darkness we seem to feel as I am right there with you in understanding the state of affairs here in KY.

[AAAAA]

Everyone is dealing with severe increases in health care costs, living and transportation expenses. I don’t mean to sound unsympathetic, just stating the facts. Where is the money to come from?

It is ironic that you mention the pro sports stadium. Our local team is publicly owned. They recently increased the stadium because if you placed your child’s name on the waiting list for season tickets the day he/she was born their name might come up around their 35th birthday. This expansion comes with a tax hike of about 6% on goods and services. It did not make me happy. However, when the Packers have a game, the local economy can calculate the boost in their economy in the tens of millions in a single day. People come in by the busloads just to watch the game in the sports bars. Exits into Green Bay itself are backed up onto the freeway as far as the eye can see.

We live 45 minutes from Green Bay. The hotels/motels in our little town are booked solid even though they have no amenities. Our restaurants and bars are full, you cannot even get into the grocery store parking lot.

My point is this, because of the boost in revenue during these games, my boss is able to afford to keep more people working in the off season. So even though I can’t afford these luxuries, the fact someone else can feeds my children and pays my bills.

Bailout the bankers and their bonuses with tax dollars from the plebeians, then cut health care benefits for those who already cannot afford them?

Unrepresentative government reigns supreme.

[AAAAA]

I’m not even going to attempt to make sense of the spending decisions recently. I do understand what they where trying to do and why. However isn’t this the way the economy usually balances itself out somewhat? Granted those that are extremely wealthy didn’t even notice a blip on the radar, but I am also irritated that if I make poor financial decisions I’m left to deal with them. But the players and shakers get a mulligan? Those bonuses… well that was just… I cannot even think of a word that describes the lack of appreciation, and blatant audacity

No point in getting mad about things you can't control.The world's just going to crap over the past few years and getting worse.

[bipolarbearV]

Yes, it's bad all over. In Fl where I live the very rich man who used to own the Marlins (back when they won the World Series) of course, used all OUR $$ to fund HIS stadium. Yes he employed people but most at minimum wage. After the first or second year the attendance went down and employees were laid off while the owner kept his profits as well as the savings from not having to pay for his own stadium. I say if these guys are so rich, rich enough to pay their players huge amounts then they are rich enough to either pay for stadiums to be built or arrange financing by anyone BUT the taxpayer.

Look for the Laughter (but not in this post) bipolarbearV

[shezbut]

I understand exactly where you are coming from, thunderbear.

Very frustrating . I am on SSI, and was warned that they were doing away with state assistance that I also receive. Thankfully, I fell into a hole dug for the traumatic brain injury cases in my state. So, I do continue to get the help I need.

It's just so sad and scary to see all of these changes occurring among those people that really need help. The effect is already more people living on the streets. Mentally ill people, unable to get needed medications, because they aren't covered by Medicaid. Very scary!

How are you doing, thunder?