Posted on 05/30/2009 5:38:02 PM PDT by Steelfish
Deep Cuts Could Reshape California
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER May 30, 2009
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger did not get the election results he sought. Now he seems determined to show California voters the consequences.
Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press
In a special election on May 19, voters rejected a batch of measures on increasing taxes, borrowing funds and reapportioning state money that were designed to close a multibillion-dollar budget gap.
The cuts Mr. Schwarzenegger has proposed to make up the difference, if enacted by the Legislature, would turn California into a place that in some ways would be unrecognizable in modern America: poor children would have no health insurance, prisoners would be released by the thousands and state parks would be closed.
Nearly all of the billions of dollars in cuts the administration has proposed would affect programs for poor Californians, although prisons and schools would take hits, as well.
“Government doesn’t provide services to rich people,” Mike Genest, the state’s finance director, said on a conference call with reporters on Friday. “It doesn’t even really provide services to the middle class.” He added: “You have to cut where the money is.”
In less than two weeks, the administration has gone from warning residents that a vote against the budget measures would send the state — some $24 billion in the red — into utter turmoil to sanguine acceptance that “the people have spoken” and that the government must move on.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
You do not want to miss this.
“Government doesn’t provide services to rich people,” Mike Genest, the state’s finance director, said on a conference call with reporters on Friday. “It doesn’t even really provide services to the middle class.” He added: “You have to cut where the money is.”
The root problem with CA, is the pay and retirement packages of Government workers, at all levels. They have stolen the wealth of productive Californians and now will take it out on the poor.
California must not cut important “green” programs that will save the world from “global warming”, and certainly, embryonic stem cell research MUST continue until it finally yields something useful.
Yep! Except it should be “2020” instead of 2080.
Actually, someone submitted a bill to limit the pay for the members of all of those useless boards to just the hours actually worked. Of course, most of those board members are either termed-out legislators or their family members. So the brave souls in the Assembly Appropriations Committee have shelved the bill. This accomplishes two things - one, the board members still get their $100k salaries for meeting once a month and two, no one in the legislature actually has to be seen voting to continue this wasteful practice. Some great courage they have...
Eventually the Feds, perhaps the Obamanation administration, is going to extend this paradigm to social security. It will only be for the poor.
Welfare and freebies are going to have to go.
Six-figure saleries are very common for state (and city) workers in Calif. When govt workers retire, they can get a pension that is something like 98% of their prior salary PLUS they can go back to work and essentially get a double salary.
The state needs to go bankrupt.
High level CA officials have told me that this budget was made to alarm people. It is pure manipulation by threatening the 2/3 federal subsidy on child healthcare, and closing all state parks.
The journalist is falling for the manipulation, hook and line.
Ah yes, greenie stuff and embryonic stem cell research - they’d go under the heading of “Over-rated scams of interest mainly to those getting lots of government funding in return for political contributions to those giving the funding” - they should go to the top of the “Out of Here” list.......
Then everything that runs on that money will just have to make do and let the cards fall where they have to.
Too simplistic I suppose.
I work in the private sector and I got laid off 2 weeks ago with 18 years with the company.
People will vote smarter next time.
Oh, that's what the politicians are afraid of!
The protected groups-police, fire, and prison unions won’t accept this.
Yeah, I know they vote.
I wonder what would Reagan would do?
If/when the states/cities actually declare bankruptcy, can we modify the pension plans of existing retire'es like they (judges/arbitrators ?) do to the normal retired folks with pensions who were employed by private firms in bankruptcy?
How about cutting the gold plated retirements of public employees? In what other industry do you get to retire after 20 years and collect your full salary for life? It's not sustainable.
I just sniffed around for that blood in the post above yours. Normal firms break contracts through bankruptcy, can a referendum declare a state bankrupt? Sharks circling.
I haven't even heard them mentioned yet in all this talk of "cuts"....
Make some real cuts, your proposals are just nibbeling around the edges!!!
Eliminate 90% of the commissions, fire 50% or more of the State workers, cut the rest of the workers pay by 30% or more, remove the excessive taxes on oil and open up all offshore drilling, and cut school funding for starters.
So Texans will be running Del Norte then?...
(no, that’s not sarcasm)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.