Posted on 05/26/2009 10:13:15 PM PDT by artichokegrower
Faced with a ballooning deficit and a clear signal that voters won't pay more to fix it, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Tuesday released a budget plan that would eliminate welfare, drop 1 million poor children from health insurance, cut off new grants for college students and shut down 80 percent of state parks.
In a state that long has prided itself on its social safety net, it could well go down in history as the most drastic reduction in social programs ever. And billions in further cuts will be unveiled later this week.
The governor's proposal to whack an additional $5.5 billion from state programs stunned even longtime Capitol-watchers with its blunt force. Ending cash assistance for 1.3 million impoverished state residents, for example, would make California the only state with no welfare program.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
absolutely.
he should lay off all the elected officials and their staffers while we are at it.
This looks like a good start only I dont see firing 1/3 of state workers in this plan.
The Commie Murky News engaging in scaremongering.
Chronic welfare is not a job.
When times get ‘tough’ (ie when governments no longer can spend taxpayer money without restraint) government seems to get rid of all of its ‘take care of me’ programs.
Perhaps they know they are not supposed to be doing the stuff they cut in the first place.
Please do this ASAP.
exactly.
and cut their "allowance" for gas, transportation, business lunches, upteen aides... i do not believe there will be any cuts to welfare recipients...
One can dream, can’t one?
My god, I never thought anybody would have the brass to eliminate socialism.
I get the Governator has brass big enough.
Gee and I thought it a joyous article due for full on celebration :-D. If it only had the letting go of atleast a third to half of government workers being let go and the pensions stopped. That’d make my day. Government should not be a lifetime job either. If it is for too many people it is too damn big.
I remember bitching to my cousin in 1988 when she came to visit Tennessee and hiked the Abrams Falls trail with me in the GSMNP. She was a elementary teacher from San Diego that was surprised we hadn’t paid a dime. Indoctrination aint just a river in Egypt.
Girlyman SchwarzenFraud? Not a chance.
It’s a start.
I don’t believe that Arnold is sincere about these cuts. I believe he’s posturing in order to get federal bailout funds for his state. His incessant a$$ kissing of Nobama is nothing more than a decent actor stroking an egomanic to prepare for the eventual ‘pretty please’ meeting where it’s decided that you and I will make CA solvent. Eliminate welfare in California? No chance that’ll ever happen.
Looks like CA just makes bureaucracy up as it goes:
California Department of Public Health
California Department of Health Services
California Department of Health Care Services
California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development
California Department of Managed Health Care
California Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine
Medical Board Of California
California Board of Registered Nursing
California Medical Assistance Commission
Office of the Patient Advocate
What next?
Office of Police
Office of Cops
Office of guys with guns that enforce the law
Office of blue uniformed law enforcers
Office of gun carrying guys with badges
I think the next round of cuts should include all these superfluous boards and commissions such as the California Coastal Commission.
They would save a lot of money if we would go back to a part-time legislature as well.
DO IT F****T!
I can’t seem to pull up the original article.
But I think the bigger the shock the better.
Financial addicts in the CA legislature(and arnold too)
need to go cold turkey and put up with the withdrawal.
The useless in CA may actually try to work for a living and
the honest, hardworking will continue to contribute to society.
I do think he should somehow disinfranchise the teachers union.
I don’t want to close the state parks. I like them. I’d support raising more revenue through opening up the offshore oil drilling. Also, I liked the idea of dumping the criminals who are illegal aliens on the federal government. That’s a federal problem, and the onus is on the federal government to secure the borders.
Yep. Maybe now we’ll see the backdoor implementation of the Prop. 187 that was so desired by Californians, 15 years ago.
Look out, nearby states with welfare.
So Arnie (and it’s a nice nickname) says that the only way to save the state is to ‘eshew’ public dole?
HEY CALI! LAST CHANCE FOR ECONOMIC SOLVENCY!!!!
Well there is at least one thing that anyone would admit, he tried, he proposed legislation to make said state financially secure,
The latset of this is ‘Arnies’ last effort to regin in what most taxpaying Calis (Depopulating BTW) know to be the truth,
I have respect, not for - or by the truth of what he says, but what he tried to initiate when he took office, in the end of that managed only to show that the populous of Cali were, in the end, an integral part of said problem.
It is a fact that we now have this idiotic policy of being so politically correct that it trancends the general intellect and wisdom of those that are left in the once great state of California? No! if Arnie suggested cutting them off, he was twennty or thirty years too late, and at the same time I respect his position. I seriously doubt that any FReeper would would lay down thier arms in defeat.
Yes Arnie will be defeated by the enemies of those that pretty much think Arnie a dolt, and one can pick thier side on this issue.
If Arnie propossed something that could actually reverse the trend of liberal stupidity, does it really matter that his ideas will be rejected? I propose that they would.
My only contension is that there are those that, in the “Great western state”, that would be heard, if there are any real persons left in Cali, I think that the majority of Californians, had, up until recently, had the power to not succk down the rest of a nation into oblivion...
Ah. I agree wholeheartedly. New chants. “Shut down unions not parks!” and “Pay our bills—DRILL!”
If they “closed” state parks wouldn’t that mean they wouldn’t have the personnel to keep citizens who still wanted to use them out?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Generally I agree.
But, the extraneous layers of administration for the state parks needs to go too. It ain’t just the rangers that burden the park system. And here in GA, volunteers help keep the parks beautiful. Try that in CA!
Look at the layers of administration for any useful service in CA. Self inflicted wounds over many years if you ask me.
Eliminate welfare? Can you say “riots”? These would make the Rodney King riots look like a day at the beach.
As to whether they'll have police, you bet they will. Most park personnel at both the State and Federill level spend more time learning crowd control and police work than they do learning anything about wildlife or habitat.
So if they close down the state park, there will be police waiting at every entrance during all daylight hours to keep me out?
lol... Terminator Salvation!
“volunteers help keep the parks beautiful”
I’m sure scout troops, etc., already do some of that. Volunteers have been taking up the slack in California public schools for several years now. In my kids’ school, volunteer labor is keeping it afloat. Teachers volunteer doing after school track, dance, chorus and band for free. Parents run the library, the garden, art, English as a Second Language, some beautification, and raise between 60k and 100k per year for computers, p.e. programs, field trips and office supplies not covered by the district. I know not every community does this, but for those of us who do, we’re getting to where we are about maxed out.
Dunno. For certain there will be a locked gate. Most park service bureaucrats despise their customers, so they won't take intrusions kindly.
Are their “customers” the citizens who use the parks, or the farmers who partake of illegal agriculture?
“shut down 80 percent of state parks” OF course! always take it out on the people. I hope we can recall this clown.
Close state parks ? I don’t think state parks are a significant drain on resources. This is retribution and blackmail, plain and simple.
I too am sad about the state parks.
Yosemite is a national park, thank God.
You are pretty much wrong on everything your comment said. Arnold is not proposing this to save anything or because he had an epiphany, he is doing it to scare the crap out of people so he can get a fed bailout."OH, look, 1 million little bitty babies without health care! The sky is falling!".
Arnold has made no serious attempt, even with his first round of props, to fix the budget or anything else.
He is the real girly man. If he were serious about fixing the budget here is what he would propose:
Eliminate the Lt. Governors position, cut the Governors pay in half, cut the legislatures pay in half and return the right to refuse pay raises to the legislature to the people. Reduce legislature sessions to 3 months out of the year, tell the feds to get the frickin' illegals out of CA, stop paying for emergency care of illegals, allow off shore drilling and tell the feds that we will drill our oil and to keep out of our business, make the oil companies pay roalties, allow building of new refineries, tell the EPA to keep their faces out of CA buisness, eliminate most of the enviro laws that have stifled business in CA, eliminate the income tax completely.
Give incentives to businesses to come back to CA through the elimination of aforementioned income tax. Cut the administration staff of schools, as of now they out number the teachers 16 to 1, eliminate public service unions. Make teachers take a test in order to get raises and to keep their jobs.
Granted he couldn't do most of these things by himself but he could propose them, he could make a stand and he could tell the feds no bailout for CA. Simply eliminating the income tax would jump start the economy but his solution, as it is with every politician, is to increase taxes and spending, and somehow that will fix it.
If you really think Arnold has tried to fix the economic mess in CA I feel sorry for you.
That’s hilarious!
The parks are owned by and belong to the PEOPLE. Just because there aren’t enough funds for the state Gestapo to monitor, doesn’t mean they become inaccessible to the rightful owners. Public land is just that, public.
It’s time to shake off the shackles and quit being slaves to big government.
However, it was unnecessary. If Arnold isn't maintaining basic public services including parks, it's a pressure/punitive tactic which used by criminals to blackmail the public.
Arnold is a scumbag for doing this.
This is a ploy to scare the libtards into agreeing to cut ‘other’ costs. He has no intention of cutting these entitlements.
If they try to keep me out of “STATE PARKS” they WILL have
a FIGHT on there hands! All state parks (with lakes) are stocked with fish by the state.
CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 1 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS
Section 25. The people shall have the right to fish upon and from
the public lands of the State and in the waters thereof, excepting
upon lands set aside for fish hatcheries, and no land owned by the
State shall ever be sold or transferred without reserving in the
people the absolute right to fish thereupon; and no law shall ever be
passed making it a crime for the people to enter upon the public
lands within this State for the purpose of fishing in any water
containing fish that have been planted therein by the State;
provided, that the legislature may by statute, provide for the season
when and the conditions under which the different species of fish
may be taken.
Some will riot, some will complain, and some will decide to go to work...even if it is on a farm...
and discover they can’t get that farm field job due to illegal immigrants.
“Eliminate welfare? Can you say riots? “
Televised riots would be a great substitute for car chases.
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