Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Palin Vetoed Funding for Homeless Teen Moms

Wow.

ST. PAUL -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee who revealed Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, earlier this year used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.

After the legislature passed a spending bill in April, Palin went through the measure reducing and eliminating funds for programs she opposed. Inking her initials on the legislation -- "SP" -- Palin reduced funding for Covenant House Alaska by more than 20 percent, cutting funds from $5 million to $3.9 million. Covenant House is a mix of programs and shelters for troubled youths, including Passage House, which is a transitional home for teenage mothers.

According to Passage House's web site, its purpose is to provide "young mothers a place to live with their babies for up to eighteen months while they gain the necessary skills and resources to change their lives" and help teen moms "become productive, successful, independent adults who create and provide a stable environment for themselves and their families."


I've got nothing to add.

7 comments:

Orthoprax said...

JA,

What's your problem? Are you in favor of faith-based government aid now?

http://www.covenanthouseak.org/

In any case, a drop of 20% ($1.1 million) on the large CH program could have had zero effect on the finances of Passage House, which is only a small part of the whole. Especially since in 2007, CH was given a $3 million building which came with an independent revenue stream from rent.

http://covenanthouseak.org/financials.html

http://www.catholicanchor.org/archive06/archive12-01-06.html

As far as I can tell, the cut was clearly a mark of fiscal responsibility - not giving a charity more money than it needs. But DailyKos clearly prefers twisting things as far as they are politically favorable.

It's amazing to me how politics can make even the most hardened religious skeptics lose their edge.

Comrade Kevin said...

I guess so long as they're not her child.

Jewish Atheist said...

ortho:

I'll admit I haven't read up on it. I didn't get it from Kos though, I don't read Kos.

Orthoprax said...

Heck, no, I take it back. Not only wasn't it even a cut at all, according to the financial statements in the link I sent you - the government grants in 2007 to CH in Alaska was just $1.3 million dollars. A 2008 grant of $3.9 million doesn't represent a cut, it's a 3x increase!

And that's plus the building they were given, which saves them $700,000+ in rent per year which they no longer have to pay. (I'm not sure if they get any direct revenue from the building.)

Oh, and I take back the DailyKos thing (though that's where I first saw this story). This is just the Washington Times acting like a political blog.

G said...

I've got nothing to add.

That works out well as you haven't said anything.

asher said...

Oh you ain't seen nothing yet.
Tomorrow the National Inquirer is going to release a factual report saying the Gov of Alaska had an affair with her husband's business partner. Watch for it.

Have you ever seen the media go on an all out freeding frenzy on this woman? They haven't been this delighted since Dan Qualyle couldn't spell potato.

Remember, she's an unknown and she's mediocre. And being on the left means you can have it both ways.

The thing most hated by those on the left are males on the right. Above that are conservative blacks (Clarence Thomas) or a female conservative. At least we can see how fair and balanced the news media is.

Ezzie said...

What Orthoprax said. It's amazing what the left is throwing out there this week that stretches from misleading to amazingly false.