Quote Originally Posted by 8182KSKUSH
And.... what's the point? Why should everyone else subsidize an organization like Covenant House. If you are so outraged then write them a check. Don't legislate that everyone else HAS to pay for it.
She should have went 1 step farther and cut funding completely.
Eh I don't agree with this too much. but back to the original poster



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.
Do we know how much the Covenant House of Alaska had in Overhead last year? Was it 5 million? If not then guess what, it is not unusual for businesses to cut departments funding if they do not use the money allotted in their budget. Miss Sarah Palin was a CEO so I'm sure that this was probably a business decision of some sort. (possibly, I obviously don't know what the reason for the cut was).

Also it says she cut funding to the Covenant House, not specifically the Passage House which is responsible for pregnant teens. This is a perfect example of how the media will spin a story to stir up a commotion.

In addition to this having a pregnant teenage daughter and then cutting funding to an organization that helps pregnant teens does not make you a hypocrite. She doesn't believe that the state should have to pay for these young people's mistakes. I feel she's partially right. People are aware that if they mess up there are programs to help them. It's almost like it's ok to be a screw up in this day and age. I'm not that old and even I think that.

Earlier today the Associated Press reported that Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, opposed funding to prevent teen pregnancies, a position that Palin also took as governor. "The explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support," she wrote in a 2006 questionnaire distributed among gubernatorial candidates.
Eh.. to be honest I support sex education, but with a large emphasis on abstinence. I feel that the current sex education programs put too much focus on other forms of birth control. That is almost like saying it's ok for them to go out there and have sex.

This not only creates a problem for the teens but also for the parents who have to care for them. Abstinence prevents so many other issues aside from teen pregnancy that I feel there NEEDS to be a stronger focus on it.

A mother with a pregnant daughter cut spending for an organization like Covenant House?? And opposed funding to more effective sex-ed programs? This is the kind of person we want as our vice president?
I won't judge her cuts until there is much more insight. Alaska isn't a big population state and 5 million is a big budget when considering Alaska has 1770 teenage pregnancies a year (not much) and their teenage pregnancy dropped by 34% in 1992 - 2000.

The data on the website is dated but if the trend holds true then I could see a perfectly logical reason for cutting back funding.