Compassionless State

Let's consider two news articles from this week.

First, as Congress considers extending unemployment benefits, and temporarily increasing Medicaid and food stamp funding, Texas' only governor Rick Perry spoke out.

He said that this aid is not needed, and that Congress should "learn from states that are coming up with solutions that work."  He said that the "federal government would only step in for that which states cannot do themselves."

That brings me to the second article.

Texas has more mentally disabled patients in institutions than any other state, and the federal government has concluded that the state's care system is stubbornly out of step with modern mental health practices.

For the third time in three years, the Justice Department accused Texas of violating residents' constitutional rights to proper care.

In Texas, officials verified 465 incidents of abuse or neglect against mentally disabled people in state care in fiscal year 2007.

One mother said her son spent three months in the Austin State School, which she described as a place of "dingy yellow floors and patients running around without any clothes on." During his time there, he refused to leave his bed and often languished in his own excrement.

To add to the insult, in Texas, government entities are all but immune from lawsuits.

So you are wrong Mr. Perry in saying that the "federal government should stop believing it has all the answers."  Sometimes, in partnership we can find answers better than we do individually.

What I am certain of is that we do not need more of the same compassionless conservatism as is provided to our state's most disadvantaged citizens.