Newsom Favors Illegal Aliens Over Needy Citizens

by Andy Caldwell

CalMatters.org is a non-profit left-leaning media site focusing on California politics and policies. Recently, it ran two separate stories having to do with new policies affecting federal and state-funded healthcare programs.

Regarding the federal program, the House of Representatives advanced a budget bill that includes a requirement that certain able-bodied adults — largely, those under 65 without children or a disability — meet work reporting rules in order to qualify to receive Medicaid.

Specifically, the current version of the bill requires certain adults to log at least 80 hours a month of “community engagement,” which could be employment, school, or volunteer work. As proposed, the rule would pertain specifically to adults ages 19 to 64. Pregnant women, parents and caregivers of young children, and people with mental and physical disabilities would be exempt.

So, who could have a problem with that? Well, CalMatters didn’t bat an eye when they mentioned that one group of people who could be affected are those who get paid in cash!

Huh?

That’s right; the very same people who don’t pay into the tax funds that pay for the program. We are supposed to feel sorry for them? These people who are part of the so-called “underground economy” are a huge problem in California.

As the California State Department of Industrial Relations states, “The underground economy affects all Californians. While the actual impact is difficult to measure, the effects are costly and evident. An estimated $8.5 billion in corporate, personal, and sales and use taxes go uncollected in California each year. This is due in large part to businesses operating off-the-books. This puts more of a burden on taxpayers and hurts the state's ability to provide crucial services.

“Compliant businesses cannot compete against those who have gained an unfair advantage by evading their responsibilities. Workers employed in the underground economy are denied correct wages for an honest day's work, put at risk in unsafe work environments, and excluded from social insurance programs such as workers' compensation, disability insurance, and social security. Additionally, all Californians feel the effects of the shortfall in tax revenue receipts, and taxpayers are further burdened by the increased costs of social insurance.”

Somehow, CalMatters missed all that in its report.

Hurting the Most Helpless

Regardless of the rhetoric that the federal proposal is going to present a hardship on a number of people, even CalMatters was taken aback by one component of Gavin Newsom’s plan to recover from our state’s budget deficit after he had spent upwards of $10 billion giving Medicaid coverage to illegal aliens. To cover the resulting budget deficit, our heartless despicable governor is proposing to cut the deficit by reducing homecare medical benefits for seniors with disabilities if they have a measly $2,000 in assets, including those who need 24-hours-a-day care because they are completely incapacitated, such as quadriplegics. In essence, Newsom has been willing to give illegal aliens and participants in the underground economy benefits they are not paying for, but now he wants to apply a means test to the neediest American citizens?

What’s worse is the homecare Newsom wants to cut averages $25,400 dollars per year. However, if these people lose their homecare benefit, they will end up in nursing homes, which will cost the state over $114,000. Or they will end up on the street adding to our homeless population, which has cost the state some $24 billion, while accomplishing virtually nothing.

Kicking these vulnerable seniors into expensive nursing homes or onto the street means the medical and societal costs will exceed any savings proposed by Newsom, which is no surprise. That is par for the course for the worst governor in state history. That is, great leaders throughout human history have observed the fact that a society's character and moral standing are best revealed through its treatment of those who are most vulnerable.

Andy Caldwell, Executive Director, COLAB

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