It's a conundrum. Our Older Blind Program suffers the same fools in
administration. Both of our Program managers have never worked in the
field. They busy themselves drafting up new forms to gather new
information that they believe will justify the Program to the Federal
Government and to the State. But meanwhile the contracts seldom
provide for increases in cost of aids and equipment and pay to the
contractors. Meanwhile we have not had an audit in so many years I'd
need to look up how long ago it was, but at least ten years. For the
past five years we've had no training. We never meet to discuss
Program Direction, or new developments in the Field. Cathy and I are
doing pretty much the same stuff we did 25 years ago. We do include
new information and aids in the Client Packets we provide, but our
budget does not allow us to provide the array of equipment and
services required to assist clients to maintain their independence.
Our older population, and especially our disabled older population, is
getting the shaft. We're growing in numbers but funding is shrinking.
No training for new rehab teachers. Just a requirement that they
haave a bachlor's degree, preferably in Social Services, and a
willingness to work cheap. When I'm not totally down on the program
as it now exists, I think that one day the Feds will move the last of
the money to take care of something else, and no one will notice.
Carl Jarvis
On 1/12/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Here's what I was thinking about this morning. What caused the train of
thought was my latest very disturbing experience with home health aides. I
hear some organizers on the left, talking about how we need to raise the
salaries of the people who care for our children and our elderly, how these
are the people on whom we depend to care for our loved ones while we are,
are what? We are working at good paying jobs to pay mortgages and for our
children's college educations, and for our vacations, and for the style of
life to which we have been taught, we are entitled. Nobody, of course, talks
about what these underpaid people who care for our loved ones are actually
like, or the quality of care that they provide. That would open a whole can
of worms. So I was thinking that a society that truly values its children
and its elderly, would be sure that the people who were responsible for
their care were highly trained professionals, people paid the kind of
salaries that would attract the most intelligent and gifted people. Aren't
those the kind of people who you'd want to care for and educate your
children and to provide care and assistance and companionship to your
elderly? But in reality, those highly intelligent, gifted people are
educated to work in technology, the purpose of which is to augment financial
profit for corporations and to make our war machine more efficient. Other
people who are highly paid are entertainers, sports figures, and news
celebrities. Their purpose is to keep the population diverted and under
control. I suppose that the 1% has access to properly qualified people to
care for their elderly, and we know that the kind of education provided for
their children, is very different from that provided for the majority of
children. I assume that they carefully choose the people who are responsible
for the care of their infants and toddlers. My contact with those families
took place when they were in the adoption process. There were follow up
visits after the children were placed, but the children's caregivers were
never in evidence during those visits because the myth was that the mothers
were caring for them.
Miriam
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2020 1:04 PM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] socialism and the self made man
Sunday morning mumbling.
The Self Made Man! An oft repeated old Fairy Tale that has been peddled to
Americans since the Creation of this Nation. From those days of the "rugged
individual" who pulled himself up by his own boot straps, to the "I'm for Me
First" Libertarians of the 60's, and on to today's "Trumpsters", this myth
persists, despite overwhelming proof that it is simply another tool of the
American Empire's efforts to control the American Working Class. Anyone
holding those archaic beliefs that expressed the, "Me, Myself and I"
philosophy, have been fully taken over by the Empire's propaganda. Stop and
ask yourself how a nation can call itself a nation if all its People look
out only for themselves.
That would not be a nation. We could call it a Mob, but without any concern
for those others in the Land, it could never be called a Nation. We have
become so conditioned to believe that socialism is a dirty word, that we
refuse to accept the fact that socialism is what makes a nation a nation.
We establish rules, laws, regulations. We agree to obey common laws for the
good of the many. We join together, lending our support and giving our
money to support police forces, fire departments, courts, and we select
leaders to represent our needs. All that is socialism, including our postal
system and our public schools. Our churches are based upon socialism.
Those who Believe certain ways, gather together and develop a Theology, and
raise up a Temple or a Church, and support one another in the accepted
Beliefs.
But we Americans have been so brainwashed that we refuse to accept that we
are social in nature, that we depend upon others for our very well being.
And by the way, just what is the difference between Donald Trump, promising
what he will do for the people, and Bernie Sanders promising the People what
he will do for them? Each one is supporting Socialism, whether it is in the
form of tax reduction for the Billionaires, or Single Payer Health Care for
All Americans.
Anyway, I'd like to visit one of those "rugged individuals" one day, and see
where they keep their chickens, cows, and grow their crops. I'd spend the
week watching them slaughter a hog and tan its hide, turning it into shoes
and belts and maybe even a wallet and a matching jacket. Of course they
must also grow a small forest in order to cut down trees, buck them up and
split them for firewood. It's been a very long time since a single
individual could strike out on their own and survive in the Wilderness. So
how does one do it in today's world?
Just wondering.
Carl Jarvis, supporting socialism that is "Of the People, By the People and
for ALL the People".
