Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
1. So apparently Musk has gutted AmeriCorps, putting 75% of the employees on leave. Three of my kids were active participants of AmeriCorps. It's a great program that benefits many communities and gives young people a chance to serve in meaningful ways. This is a real shame.

2. Tonight I went to University of Vermont for a Master Gardener meeting. When we got a tour of the helpline office, the director of the program told us that one of the resources that the MGs used to be able to consult for advice and guidance, who happened to be a an agribulstural research scientist, has been let go due to DOGE cuts.

I do not understand the purpose of culling vast numbers of public servants without discerning the value they provide to the social fabric. It is making me sick.

Anything I say as an objective observation about this whole phenomenon will seem like I’m defending it, and I’m not, but I will push forward anyway.

I can’t speak to Americorps. But for the other thing, I would imagine that and many other services like that have been taken over by the federal government. If they’re important to a state, the state needs to fund it. States will say “we can’t afford it. “

The states have been balancing their budget on the back of the federal government. Most of our 50 states have balanced budget requirements. The federal government does not. Look where that’s got us.