Is it pennywise but pound foolish for Pennsylvania to slash services?
The waiting lists for Pennsylvania’s human service programs all have a beginning, but, it seems, none has an end. With Gov. Ed Rendell and legislators unable to agree on how to fill a multibillion-dollar deficit, the fortunes of many state programs are up in the air. But the plunge in state tax collections does not bode well for people waiting their turn for everything from preschool to placements in group homes for mentally disabled adults. “It’s never been easy for people on a waiting list,” said Sheila Stasko, the mother of a 33-year-old mentally disabled son in Lehigh County who runs the Web site www.pawaitinglistcampaign.org. “It seems like in good times there’s never enough money and in bad times they’re the first ones to get kicked out.” The waiting lists are routinely cited in the debate over the state budget as the spending stalemate drags through its seventh week. Here are examples: — More than 280,000 for adultBasic, the state’s low-cost health insurance program for lower-i
