Cuts Put Calif. Programs On Life Support

(CBS)  Working families who can't afford health insurance fill the waiting room at the Eisner Pediatric Medical Center. Their medical care is paid through "Healthy Families," a program that serves about a million children state-wide - that may be cut to balance California's budget, reports CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes.

Patricia Munoz's children may now be uninsured.

"I don't know if I would have enough to take everybody to the doctor if it came to that because sometimes one gets sick, the next one gets sick, it's a domino effect," Munoz said. "They go down, down, down."

California is facing an almost $24 billion shortfall. Eliminating "Healthy Families" could save almost $64 million. Other drastic cuts being considered include shutting down the state's main welfare program which would save $1.3 billion, and a 5 percent pay cut for all state employees.

"There is really no way out of this fix," said Jack Pitney, a professor of American Politics at Claremont McKenna College. "There's going to be very unpopular cuts or very unpopular tax increases or some combination of both."

The state's poison control center may also be shut down. The 900 calls it gets every day will go unanswered.

"That number will translate into ER visits and ambulance runs and overburdening our 911 system," said Tom Kearney from state's poison control center.

While the cuts are traumatic, they are necessary. The recession has hit California harder than many states because it relies so heavily on personal income tax to fund the government.

Balancing the budget here is a nightmare. Voters mandate through ballot initiatives, spending and cuts and the legislature can't pass a budget without a two-thirds majority.

But it's not just California's pain

"The economy of California is more than 10 percent of the economy of the country," said Bob Stern of the Center for Governmental Studies. "As California's economy drops the rest of the country is going to feel it."

Back at the Eisner Pediatric Clinic, they're bracing for the worst.

"I don't want to be the guy to stand here and make a prediction about how many people will die or whether people will die," said Carl Coan, the medical center's executive director. "But intuitively, you have to wonder, as people get sicker, what is going to happen?"

It's a question no one seems able to answer - while the recession rages on.

[dwilber971]

The reason the poor working famillies are suffering is that the Republicans in the legislature refuse to increase taxes on the people who can afford it. They prefer to redistribute from the poor to the rich instead of the way it's supposed to be. Government redistributes money. It's just part of what it does. You just want it to be done fairly.

[cydygitt1]

He refuses to listen to the people who predicted this catastrophe like Lyndon Larouche who has tried to warn him over and over again.

Posted by whitemale08
-------------------------------

I don't blame him for not listening to a comically paranoid conspiracy theorist with absolutely no formal economic training whatsoever, or any college education at all.

Actually, larouche sounds like the advisors of the bushies, big egotists but lacking even common sense, that gave us the bush/cheney great recession.

Appears as if some of the companies you continuously rail against, want to start paying back the taxpayers for the bailout money:


JPMorgan, AmEx Seek To Pay Back Bailout
Financial Companies Launch Public Stock Offerings To Prove They No Longer Need Taxpayer Aid

(AP) JPMorgan Chase & Co. and American Express Co. are the latest recipients of federal bailout funds to launch public stock offerings aimed at proving to the Treasury Department that they can raise capital on their own and don't need to keep taxpayer aid.

JPMorgan said Monday it plans to raise $5 billion through a common stock offering as it seeks to repay the $25 billion that the bank was awarded under the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program. American Express also said Monday it will sell $500 million in stock in a public offering to help pay back part of the $3.4 billion in TARP funds it has received.

The Federal Reserve on Monday laid out rules for how the 19 largest financial institutions can wind down their reliance on government support. The banks, which have assets of more than $100 billion, were subjected to "stress tests" to determine their financial strength. They have received a total of $228.6 billion from Treasury's $700 billion financial bailout package.

[number1GI]

Pretty soon I won't have any money because the California politicians take it all and give it to the damned illegals Then where are they going to get more money to give to the damned illegals? HUH?

[whitemale08]

Please, just hop on a plane to D.C. and tell President Obama exactly how to fix our worst economic nightmare since the Great Depression that took decades to create.

Then, hop on another plane to California, and show arnold how to fix the CA bankruptcy!
Posted by cydygitt1 at 5:23 PM : May 31, 2009

It would do no good because President Obama insists on listening to idiots like Larry Summers and Peter Orzag.

He refuses to listen to the people who predicted this catastrophe like Lyndon Larouche who has tried to warn him over and over again.

CALL CONGRESS AND DEMAND AN END TO ALL BAILOUTS AND PUT THE ENTIRE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM INTO RECEIVERSHIP AND BANKRUPTCY RE-ORGANIZATION!

[cydygitt1]

Bottom line is..state is bankrupt...services and jobs will be cut to balance the budget...blaming other people will not solve the problem...the poor and middle class will suffer the most....fact.
Posted by mer16 at 10:54 PM : May 31, 2009
===================================
IF you are attempting to say Mr. Schwartenegger or legislators are NOT responsible for this budget crisis---you are WRONG!

Bottomline: THEY are responsible for the budget planning, if there's a $24 billion dollar deficit, THEY are responsible for it! Blame---can and should---be properly assigned! THEY need to do their jobs! IF they were, then you wouldn't have this deficit!
Posted by stn_sage
-------------------------

Sorry, but it is a much more complex problem than what you portray, and has been going on for years, much like the federal government's deficit spending with much less revenue coming in particularly due to the economic tsunami. It is not only the governor and legislators responsible for this debacle, but many other factors that have been reasonably discussed here without you pointing fingers at the few you wish to blame.

It certainly seems that warren buffet had it correct back in 2003, by proposing a re-write of Prop 13 that has stagnated property taxes for many, and cut an estimated $528 Billion in state revenue over its 30 year existence. By just re-writing Prop 13 in order to recoup only half of the lost revenue, California would have been financially sound in this recession.

If we had addressed the health care debacle back in the 90's, instead of watching the for-profit insurance companies rape and plunder Americans, California would have saved billions of dollars per year spent on health care for just state employees. Arnold vetoed the one proposed state health care plan for all, which like the federal HR676, would finally address the spiraling health care costs we have been enduring for years, while adding billions to the pockets of the for-profit insurance companies.

It's not only spending that is the problem here like on the federal level, but having efficient government and not choking-off revenue with "feel-good" schemes like Prop 13 or taxcuts for the wealthiest, and getting health care under control with SP-UHC.

[american_11-2009]

The problem with the Democrats Socialism is that eventually you run out of other peoples money!

[cydygitt1]

We shouldn't forget that CA pays into the Federal gov't a dollar, and gets back from the Federal gov't 60 cents, while other states (mostly Red states) get back a buck-fifty to $2.50.

That may be a big reason CA is bankrupt.
Posted by ubrew12
------------------------

Good point......and certainly debunks one poster ignorantly saying that all the wealthy taxpayers had left the state of CA.

[american_11-2009]

California the Golden state, is fast becoming the poster child for an bankrupt third world State!

An unholy alliance of Socialist Democrat politicians, Unions, and Illegal Aliens supporters are feasting at the trough of tax payers paid benefits while taxing & regulating business and the tax paying public into poverty.

The pandering of Left Wing Democrat Politicians to their constituency of Illegal Aliens, open border supporters, and unions are driving business and citizens to other states & countries, while leaving the parasites & welfare leeches in an increasing bankrupt, crime ridden, dysfunctional state!

For years California has ignored economics 101 and imported poverty, Criminals and uneducated Peons from Mexico, which increased Medical, Welfare, Crime, Prison, etc. & adding a estimated 16 billion per year to Calif. State expense to provide for the invading horde of Illegal Aliens while exporting business and educated working tax payers.

Like all Socialist & Marxist States the results have been a astronomical increase in social welfare cost, schooling, prison cost etc. and a lowing of living standards, tax receipts & finally bankruptcy.

Failure to abide by our Constitution against invasion & enforce our Immigration laws and constraints on wages and benefits for public employees will result in turning the Golden State into MexiCalif and the end of the California dream!

The policies of Obama and Wash. DC Democrats are intent on following Calif. policies and are resulting in the same creeping socialist process across American.

Amnesty & Citizenship as a reward for their invasion of the USA, will result in the rest of the USA turned into a Spanish speaking third world cesspool, modeled on Mexico and follow California into a polluted, over populated, Spanish speaking third world Nation of Crime, Corruption, Poverty, & Misery!

This will result in a population depending on Welfare and the Democrat party, thus assuring the lock on power for the Socialist Democrat party of the United States of Mexico!

[SusanStoHelit]

The low level jobs - the ones that students do, the ones that high school dropouts do, the ones that high school graduates do, the blue collar jobs like construction, meatcutting, etc. that have supported many a whole family in the past - they are lost to illegals, who work cheap because they live illegally - no need to buy car insurance, follow housing laws, etc.

We could cut our welfare rolls so much, if we enforced our laws against hiring illegals - go after the companies.

[stn_sage]

Bottom line is..state is bankrupt...services and jobs will be cut to balance the budget...blaming other people will not solve the problem...the poor and middle class will suffer the most....fact.
Posted by mer16 at 10:54 PM : May 31, 2009
===================================
IF you are attempting to say Mr. Schwartenegger or legislators are NOT responsible for this budget crisis---you are WRONG!

Bottomline: THEY are responsible for the budget planning, if there's a $24 billion dollar deficit, THEY are responsible for it! Blame---can and should---be properly assigned! THEY need to do their jobs! IF they were, then you wouldn't have this deficit!