Governor Balances Budget on Backs of People at 200% of Poverty Level

New law mandates payments for therapy:

Parents of young children with developmental disabilities, and the families’ insurers, now must help pay for therapy through a state-run program under a bill signed Friday in Jefferson City.

The First Steps program serves about 8,000 developmentally disabled children younger than 3.

Under the legislation Gov. Matt Blunt signed, families with incomes of at least 200 percent of the federal poverty level — $38,700 for a family of four — will pay a monthly participation fee ranging from $5 to $100 beginning Oct. 1.

Charitable organizations could cover from $5 to $100 a month for affected families. Many charitable organizations could switch that amount out of the funds spent lobbying the government to continue the program without cuts, but most charitocrats prefer to buy lunches and hold seminars where they get the benefits of their charitable actions, too.