A hyper-partisan press has put the spotlight on Meals on Wheels as a way to battle President Trump's proposed skinny budget.
Actually, the press makes President Trump's case, just as it did with cutting off Planned Parenthood's money.
From the New York Times:
Meals on Wheels has been delivering food to older people in the United States since the 1950s. Last year it served 2.4 million people. This week, after President Trump released his budget proposal, a furor erupted over the program’s future and effectiveness. Let’s look at the evidence.
Mr. Trump’s budget proposes big cuts to discretionary spending. In a news conference on Thursday, his budget director, Mick Mulvaney, defended cuts to the Community Development Block Grant program by arguing that it was “just not showing any results.” (Some states give a portion of that block grant money to Meals on Wheels.)This is an Eisenhower Era program that works.
Can it survive a budget cut?
Sure.
From that Times story:
Despite expressions of alarm on social media, killing the community block grant program would most likely not kill Meals on Wheels. The financial statements from 2015 show that such grants amounted to just under $250,000, or about 3 percent of the total revenue for the program’s national resource center. More than 85 percent came from corporate, foundation and personal donations. Clearly, federal funding for the national program office isn’t the linchpin for its success.Indeed, Meals on Wheels will thrive without federal funding as people realize this is not some federal program run by set-for-life GS-17s.
From Yahoo:
Donations and volunteer sign-ups to Meals on Wheels surged, the group said Friday, in the hours after President Trump’s administration pointed to the public-private partnership as an example of government spending it can no longer defend.
“We received 50 times the normal amount of donations yesterday,” said Jenny Bertolette, vice president of communications at Meals on Wheels. These were donations to the national group, Meals on Wheels America. “Local programs fundraise individually, and we can assume that there was likely a groundswell of local support, as well,” she said.
The group also “saw an almost 500 percent jump in volunteer sign-ups through our AmericaLetsDoLunch.org Ad Council website,” Bertolette said.So what is the problem?
The same with Planned Parenthood. Republicans plan to defund it. Its donations are up. Planned Parenthood does not need the money.
We are nearly $20 trillion in the hole.
We cannot afford this.
Good programs will survive as charities.
Hopefully, Planned Parenthood will sink like a stone.
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I used to work in local government -- I can vouch for the fact that CDBG grants don't provide the results they were supposed to and the sums of money spent for the paltry results is out of this world. And let me clarify -- it's not that these grants don't have *any* results, but mainly its a way to get money to "favored" contractors (i.e., those who donated to the local politicians).
ReplyDeleteDoing work that is not needed.
DeleteAnd all along, my wife cooked food and donated it to meals on wheels, and volunteers delivered it and I thought it was needed charitable work. Now I find out it is a subsidized boondoggle. Guess it's true - gubment officials are very generous with our money.
ReplyDeleteIf states want to prioritize federal block grants and give some of it to MoW, let them. The Feds should not micromanage the states over the small details. Instead, it should periodically review and evaluate each state on how effectively it uses its entire allocation of federal funding and it should also look critically at block grant programs from the perspective of zero based budgeting. The goal should be to reduce such intergovernmental transfers of funds until the states are weened off the federal teat.
ReplyDeleteThe World Is ENDING!!!11111!!!
ReplyDeleteWomen, children, and seniors hardest hit!
With the world ending, this would be a good time to buy a new Vette on credit?
DeleteGo big...buy a Bugatti Chiron or a Pagani Huayra.
DeleteIt is ingrained human nature that most people would rather give voluntarily to charities than be forced by the government to pay taxes for distribution to charities. - Elric
ReplyDeleteRight on schedule this monring's AJC had a story in it about the local Meals on Wheels and how they had a waiting list, boo hoo, Yada yada yada. Gummint was not supposed to do charity. That's what churches and other local groups are for.
ReplyDelete