- Joined
- Sep 14, 2007
- Messages
- 617
Is this the deal to save California — or shrivel it? Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders announced a budget deal on July 20 that closes the state`s staggering $26.3 billion budget shortfall with just as staggering cuts that will profoundly reduce state government and a broad array of programs. "We have come to a basic agreement that, of course, has to be ratified by the legislature," said Schwarzenegger, a Republican, who volunteered that Monday`s five-hour negotiations were "like a suspense movie." But Democratic senate leader Darrell Steinberg was mournful: "This is a sober time. We have cut and we have cut in many areas that matter to real people."
Indeed, the cuts will be severe, and the Golden State that Governors Earl Warren and Pat Brown built in the middle of the past century will be further damaged. Local community governments, already hard-pressed by the recession and lower revenues, will now lose at least $2 billion to the state with the promise to repay when the fiscal situation improves. The higher-education system, including the University of California, is being hit by $2 billion in cuts. The public schools, already struggling with large class sizes and less technical and support services, must cut an additional $9.5 billion and will lose thousands of teachers and staff. Tens of thousands of seniors and children will lose access to health care at a time when the national government is debating universal health coverage. The entire state workforce, except forest-fire crews and the California Highway Patrol, is on a mandatory three-day furlough each month.
If you have to.....read more here
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,...1911862,00.html
Indeed, the cuts will be severe, and the Golden State that Governors Earl Warren and Pat Brown built in the middle of the past century will be further damaged. Local community governments, already hard-pressed by the recession and lower revenues, will now lose at least $2 billion to the state with the promise to repay when the fiscal situation improves. The higher-education system, including the University of California, is being hit by $2 billion in cuts. The public schools, already struggling with large class sizes and less technical and support services, must cut an additional $9.5 billion and will lose thousands of teachers and staff. Tens of thousands of seniors and children will lose access to health care at a time when the national government is debating universal health coverage. The entire state workforce, except forest-fire crews and the California Highway Patrol, is on a mandatory three-day furlough each month.
If you have to.....read more here
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,...1911862,00.html