California: Courts quash cuts, add to state's budget woes

SF Chronicle ^ | May 22, 2010 | Marisa Lagos

[Oldeconomybuyer]

Sacramento - -- Courts in recent years have crushed attempts by California to cut spending by billions of dollars and have forced the state to spend hundreds of millions more than planned.

Designated cuts to health and human services that were rejected by federal courts alone have resulted in $4.5 billion in lost savings over the past three years, according to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration.

Prison health care costs have doubled to more than $1.9 billion since 2006, when a federal judge ordered a federal receiver to take control of prison health services.

"The judicial branch is now a full player in the budget because the decisions they are making have an impact on what the governor and Legislature can or cannot do," said H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the Department of Finance. "The judiciary does not have to deal with the fiscal consequence of the rulings - they say you can't do a spending reduction, but we have to come up with another $100 million in cuts somewhere else."

Numerous court cases are still pending, including more than two dozen lawsuits challenging Schwarzenegger's furloughs of more than 200,000 state workers. Those cases threaten to punch even bigger holes in the state budget in the future

[Oldeconomybuyer]

California = Greece

[pogo101]

Ouzos all ‘round! Put it on someone else’s tab, though. Germany’s, yeah.

[x_plus_one]

We are going to pay for the California bailout. The courts know this and are immune from accountability. Too bad..

[Daveinyork]

The states should tell the federal courts that they have no jurisdiction over the state budgets, which, imo, they don’t

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Courts make “policy” now days. Flatters the judges opinion of himself. The only problem being the court as an institution is not equiped to initiate and.or implement “policy.” Courts as an institution are fit only to render judgement under well drafted laws. Since they are unfit for “policy” mongering one gets the type of mess these federal judges have helped create.

[Navy Patriot]

Bankruptcy and receivership for the state.

Federal court will preside, state courts lose all power. All contracts with the state voided.

Unions lose everything.

All that's needed is a governor with balls. Oh, well.

[David Isaac]

One idea would be to severely cut the budget of the Court system.

[eyeamok]

If Governor Shriver wasn’t such a wuss, he would have ordered the immediate seizure of this Judge’s Assets, Arrested him for Usurping the Rights of a Free and Independent State. Unfortunately Governor Shriver is a wuss, just ask anyone that knows him personally, they will all agree in private

[depressed in 06]

Al Gore just bought a $9 million house in California. He can afford a 1000% tax on it for living in California.

[RC one]

there’s only one way out California, stop voting for GD democrats.

[Brilliant]

Cut the courts’ budget.

[I am Richard Brandon]

Turn Marin County and the Bay Area into a land fill then resettle all the illegals there.

[RC one]

good luck. The bottom line is we can’t let the federal government bail them out, not when they have refused to make the same cuts that everyone else has had to make.

[Temujinshordes]

“Lost savings”??? Only a government entity can estimate they are going to spend $10 billion and then come up with cuts or savings of $5 billion, and then spend $9.5 billion, and call it a “lost savings” of $4.5 billion.

[SkyPilot]

The courts (read: liberal appointees in black robes) always do this. They have been doing it for years.

Take New Jersey. Our state is in fiscal meltdown.

Gov Christ Christie is fighting the public employee unions (including the teacher's union, the NJEA) to try and prevent NJ from becoming Athens on the Atlantic shore.

Property taxes in NJ have risen 70% in just nine and a half years.

At root of this problem is a 1985 court decision years ago called the "Abbott Decision."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbott_District

Schools are locally funded in NJ. So, the inner city and other hell hole cities in NJ demanded to get their hands on the tax money of other communities where people worked hard, built lives, and raised their families as best as they could.

Because of these "Abbott Districts", billions upon billions of dollars get funneled straight into the pockets of corrupt Democrats, "minority leaders," and "community organizers."

The schools and communities are still hell holes.

But, there are alot of "administrators" and corrupt "community organizers" who now have beach houses on the Jersey shore.

Meanwhile, all these years, the local townships have to pay for their own schools as well, and on top of that, the teachers union demanded the doubling of their salaries, with ZERO contribution to their own health insurance.

This toxic recipe has corrupted the inner city districts even more, forced homeowners in overly taxed areas to have to sell their homes because of the high taxes, and enriched the public unions and their bosses.

These people should all be in jail. And the judges who issue ridiculous rulings like this should join them in prison.

[Neoliberalnot]

The time is coming when the court shysters will be susceptible to punishment—these little tyrants think they are insulated from accountability but as the destruction rolls on, The People must not forget the crooked judges and the anti-Americans, many of whom hold these positions like mideval nobles.

[DManA]

Some state is just going to have to defy them.

[twistedwrench]

Cali doesn't have to change anything while Daddy Obama is in charge.

32 States Have Borrowed from the Federal Government to Make Unemployment Payments; California Has Borrowed $7 Billion

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2010/05/32-states-have-borrowed-from-treasury.html

Chains you can believe in

[DB]

Forget furloughs. Start laying off public employees.

Furloughs magically assume state revenue is going to return to pre-bubble levels soon. They are not.

Cut spending. Cut it now.

[chris_bdba]

I have an idea how about cutting judges pay to the equivalent of what minimum wage for 40 hours would be? That way they could go on TV and do a “well we have to cut somewhere and since the judges won’t allow any other cuts we had to settle on this.....let the judges explain where the money will come from if they don’t allow this cut”.