Vote for leaders who will stand up for caregivers and our clients!
By this time in an election year, you’ve probably had your fill of politics: the commercials, the mailers, the phone calls. Most of us just want to turn the other way and ignore it.
The problem with ignoring it, though, is that elections decide who will be our lawmakers. And our lawmakers decide what happens to programs like IHSS. So, tuning out the people running for office means tuning out the people who could improve our home care program—or destroy it.
And it’s not just IHSS that’s at stake. As caregivers, the well-being of ourselves, our clients and our families is affected by many decisions made by elected officials. Our clients’ health care and long-term care are funded by government programs. Our own ability to get—or not get—health care is decided by the government. And how much money is spent on the affordable housing, transportation, and social services we need to do our jobs and take care of our families is decided by the government.
Caregivers need to make sure the government hears from us, not just the wealthy and big corporations who have no idea what our lives are really like.
WHAT’S AT STAKE FOR US THIS ELECTION
IHSS is funded from federal, state and local money, so from County Supervisors to State Senators, pretty much every person we vote for has some say in the future of the home care program and how much caregivers get paid. But there are other issues at stake this year that could affect our care:
- Cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security
IHSS is partially funded by Medicaid, and that’s where a lot of us and our clients get our health care, too. Last year Congress passed a huge tax cut for the wealthy that created a big deficit. That deficit now will need to be paid for by cutting programs. We need to make sure we have people in
office that understand how critical programs like Medicaid and IHSS are to people like us and our clients and loved ones.
- Legislation that discriminates against seniors and people with disabilities
As caregivers, we are advocates of the people we care for. So we know that legislation like HR 620, a bill currently in Congress that would weaken the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), can harm our clients and loved ones. We need to know that any member of Congress we vote for would keep doors open for people with disabilities—not slam them in their faces.
- Anti-worker court appointments
Elected officials don’t just make the laws, they appoint judges who interpret those laws. Recent anti-worker decisions, like 2014’s Harris v. Quinn and 2018’s Janus v. AFSCME, have come from a Supreme Court that has been stacked by lawmakers who favor wealthy corporations over working people. We can change that by electing people who understand that the constitution is supposed to be about protecting everyone, not just people who make a lot of money.
- And many, many other issues that affect whether we and our loved ones will be safe and cared for or left to struggle with skyrocketing housing and health care costs, failing public services, and rising inequality.
CAREGIVERS VOTE!
There is too much to lose, so don’t let other people speak for you. Vote, and make caregivers’ voices heard!
To see a list of candidates who are committed to caregiver issues, check out UDW’s endorsements at www.udw.org/election-2018.
