Unbelievable.

[conuly]

The tens of thousands of cops, firefighters, construction workers and others who survived the worst terrorist assault in U.S. history and risked their lives in its wake will soon be informed that their names must be run through the FBI’s terrorism watch list, according to a letter obtained by HuffPost.

Any of the responders who are not compared to the database of suspected terrorists would be barred from getting treatment for the numerous, worsening ailments that the James Zadroga 9/11 Health And Compensation Law was passed to address.

It’s a requirement that was tacked onto the law during the bitter debates over it last year.

In other news, this jerk in Michigan wants to require that foster care kid only get their clothing used. Because right now they're living the high life with designer clothes at the extravagant cost of $107 a year. (You'll see people in the comments talking about an $80 limit, but I don't know where they got that number. I got mine directly off the Michigan foster care website.) $107 is juuuuuust barely enough to buy school uniforms for one child - assuming you plan on the kid rewearing the clothes at least once between washings. (If your kid is likely to play in the mud, paint in school, or squirt ketchup on that shirt during lunch? Tough luck. You want to do a midweek laundry day?) It doesn't pay for a coat and shoes as well. Of course, your hypothetical foster kid might not go to a school with a uniform policy. Great - you only have to buy one set of clothes... and now everybody will know if he or she wears the same shirt twice in a week!

Of course, that's buying clothes new. That's not driving all around town in the hopes that you'll be able to find enough thrift store clothes in the kid's size to make a full wardrobe. Undoubtedly foster kids in Michigan already have some of their clothing from thrift stores, as I can't work out any other way to make it work, but why not, novel idea, why not let the kids and/or their foster parents determine the best, thriftiest way to spend that clothing money?

Comments

[marveen.livejournal.com]

Depending on the age of the child (and the area of the country; remember, costs vary) $107 is indeed parsimonius for any kid old enough to GO to school.

(As I pointed out to Grey, when I was seventeen my mother gave me $100 to buy clothes for school. I got one blouse, one skirt, one pair of slacks, and some socks and my money was gone. And that was in 1988. I'd hate to try buying clothes for an older kid NOW with that money--thrift stores would be your ONLY alternative.)

[conuly]

If you hit up the after-season sales (again, an iffy proposition with foster kids) you can get some good, cheap stuff for next year out of Children's Place. It'll be less fashionable than this year's stuff, and it only works until they outgrow TCP, but it's good quality clothes at an actually affordable price.

Nothing nice, though, not even at their sale prices, just play things and everyday.

[leora.livejournal.com]

So, I take it we just don't believe in clothing foster kids who have difficult sizes? I hadn't realized the government was being so hard on the kids. I don't see a reason to make things tougher.

[jedirita.livejournal.com]

Oi! That's the way this country is going to balance the budget! On the backs of kids that can't vote! Those worthless, "But I'm a dependent" whining no-good kids. Get a job! *shakes fist*

As for foster kids, everybody knows they made up a story about how they were abused when really they got their TV privileges revoked for playing too much Wii. Freeloaders!

/sarcasm

In almost totally unrelated news, I hope you would be pleased by the rant I gave to my parents tonight as we were watching some panel on autism on PBS. I hope I did you proud.

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

When I was in the group home we got 150$ every three months for clothing, and 45$ every three months for "grooming supplies". The kids in Michigan are being stolen from. :(

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

Oh, and a 90$ coat-and-boot allowance as well in the winter.