California's Budget Woes a Cautionary Tale

Legislature Passes Biggest Cuts to Services and Education the Golden State Has Ever Seen

(CBS)  It was gridlock on a San Francisco freeway after a truck spilled its load and there was no one to clean it up. Workers had to be called in from home because it was Furlough Friday, the day transportation workers are forced to stay home without pay, reports CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes.

It's a sign of things to come. Welcome to the new California. From highways to schools to health clinics, cut backs to balance California's budget are deep and drastic.

"The damage is pretty serious," said Joel Kotkin, a presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University. "This is not just a minor illness that we have. This is pretty deep-seated disease."

Six billion dollars will be cut from kindergarten through community college education. Another $3 billion from state universities. That means fewer classes and 20 percent higher fees. That's $1,000 a year more for students like Whitney Thompson, a California State University senior.

"It brings tears to my eyes in just having to be in major debt and I mean it's really discouraging," Thompson said.

And $226 million cut from the state's in-home care program which reimburses Lisa Laster for caring for her mother Sara, who has Alzheimer's disease. Her fear?

"My mom having to go into a facility, and not getting the care that I know she is getting," Laster said.

The state is raiding $3.6 billion from city and county governments, half borrowed and half just taken.

"It's outrageous," said Zev Yaroslavsky, the L.A. County supervisor. "The problem is they are spending more than they are taking in."

Legislators are still battling over whether to release thousands of prisoners as a way to save more than $1 billion. California's governor tried to cut months of budget tension in a bizarre Twitter video:

"Hey guys, I just want to thank you for the great ideas you're giving me," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But no one here is laughing, especially when considering that these deep cuts might not make up for all the recessionary losses - leaving California short again, in just a few short months.

[eiralinn]

I think the politicians must be quite pleased wih all of the infighting they have created...."republican against democrat", "race against race", etc. It distracts of from the real enemy: Out-of-control Governement! Time for WE THE PEOPLE to clean house.

[eiralinn]

Let the housecleaning begin!

[pcevet4]

Living here in CA is like being thrown in with people who are eternal 13 year olds. We want the services, but don't want to pay for them. Many homeowners voted themselves out of paying taxes (Prop 13), and now expect people who came to the state later than 1987 to foot the bill. I pay full real estate taxes, put up with Section 8 freeloaders next door, and serve my adopted state in a needed public sector veterans services job. Obama is right that the rest of the country should NOT bail out California. We caused this mess; we have to put our hot tubs and wine tasting aside and put our heads together to fix this.

[straightmate]

Well just thank God they didn't legalize weed, jobs and tax revenue while slashing law enforcement spending are not an answer. And don't try anything like using convict labor up north to mine out all that gold, hell no, cut education and social services. Running out the illegals, that would be plain smart, so you know it won't happen.

[sjc_1]

"liberal tax and spend mentality"

As opposed to the conservative Borrow and Waste mentality. Bush had a majority of his own party in the House and a 50/50 + 1 (VP) in the Senate and ran up $5 trillion (1) more debt in only 8 years, setting a new infamous record....and you talk about tax and spend...what a hypocrite.

[platteman]

P.T. Barnum was right. All of them are in CA. They gave away everything they could, Elected the same dolts over and over, Waxman, Boxer, Pelosi, Fienstien and others and will elect them again. No one votes to take away their free lunch. CA will be just the the illegal aliens, they will keep voting and voting for the same old dolts.
next wildfires, hope that there are not firemen to fight them. Why waste the money. The dolts will rebuild in the same place and the same thing will happen. So just let it burn.
CA should enact more give away programs, that way they will go under quicker. I hope everyone sees the writing on the wall. The people with money will leave, go to some other state. Let the sancuary cities run the place.

[dennisall77]

Hmmm, same idiocy from platteman... ignore

[ramos1129]

The genuisus of this debacle started sometime in the late 20th Century when the citizens of CA passed the Jacobs Amendment. This amendment severely limitted CA's ability to raise taxes to keep up with the increasing cost of state services. Additionally, over the years, the various state governments kept adding services. They financed a lot of this via borrowings. Finally, the recession resulted in major deficits in taxes and lenders would either not lend or severely curtailed state lending. Thus CA is in the fiscal mess it is in.

CA could make a major impact by legalizing Marijuana and taxing it. The resulting reduction in costs involved in police work and jail time would be in the billions. And the taxes raised would be in the billions.

[joule18]

California is going the dogs and the illegals because of the liberal ideology, sanctuary cities, and anchor babies. Next, we will attract even more illegals who get paid under the table and don't pay taxes by providing them with Obamacare.

You see where these policies have led California, yet a lot of people will be lemmings and immulate the same failed policies.

California is not taking the the needed tax revenue because they are very unfriendly toward businesses who are moving out of state. A nanny state who punishes productive people to give to moochers deserves to fail. The legislature here has been dominated by Democrates for decades despite having an occasional Republican governor. Perhaps the right mix is to be socially liberal while being fiscally conservative. Boxer, Pelosi, Waxman, Feinstien, et all represent this failing state for us in Washington. They are failing us and the U.S.

[searingtruth]

"Nothing for the poor.
Because they have been negligent and irresponsible.

Everything for the billionaires.
Because they have been negligent and irresponsible."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[garyl615]

Tax cuts to the rich....You see what it brings..NOw all these repuke greedy bastards have move to my state... Tennessee

[garyl615]

Tax cuts to the rich....You see what it brings..NOw all these repuke greedy bastards have move to my state... Tennessee

[dwilson59]

Garyl615

I like Tennessee it is a great state with much less tax then CA. It would be a good move to go to Tennessee.

[garciagar]

Well, isn't that what Californians wanted when they got rid of the old Governor and brought in Schwazenegger? Just because he was movie star? Arnold has done to California what Bush did to America. Except the war. Such a beatiful state. Such stupid people.

[searingtruth]

Not all of us voted for him fellow citizen, although I loved the second Terminator movie.

I wish he would have made the final movies in the series rather than destroying California though.

It would have been so much better for him, and us.
ST


"I wanted only a freedom for all that I had coveted for myself."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[sjc_1]

I have posted two comments about Prop 13 on here and both have been removed.

[searingtruth]

Unless they contain personal threats or other illegal content comments on Proposition 13 are certainly relevant to this discussion and should not be censored.
ST


"I did not like them. I did not like what they said. I did not like the way they said it.
But I let them speak anyway, and offered protection against those who would have them silenced."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[sjc_1]

They were cordial and on point, they just stated that revenue was lower because property taxes were capped in 1979, the schools suffered and the state went into the red. I guess the truth can not be seen here if the editors do not like it.

[searingtruth]

"A government of the people, by the people, and for the people, destroyed by those elected to protect it at all cost."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[mutnauq4842]

"A government of the people, by the people, and for the people, destroyed by those elected to protect it at all cost."
SearingTruth

Searing, you are "quoting" yourself? Do you have any idea what kind of moron that makes you?

[drivelphobe]

California deserves what it gets, the end of civilized society and financial ruin.

The citizenry have been ignored by the politicians. We have begged for an end to entitlements, for border closure, enforcement of immigration laws, the end of sanctuary cities and anchor babies, English only, budgeted spending, and on and on. There are so many ridiculous departments spending with both hands that are special interest and a secret from the public, but when money is tight, they fire teachers, make hardworking people take unpaid leave, and yet the ER rooms are full of illegals and our law enforcement people are hogtied from arresting these criminals. Mayor Villar gave $1 million to Jalesco Mexico under some sort of cultural exchange program for a library while we fight to save social programs and jobs. It's over.

I relish the thought of chaos and civil unrest because I am prepared. The price for Nancy Pelosi, Dianne Feinstein, and Boxer and their ilk, the liberals in San Francisco who detest our military and love queers, and all politicians who have arrogantly ignored the will of the people and the rules of common sense, is coming due. California is no longer salvageable. If you must remain, it is important to be armed, financially set and ready for lawlessness.

I recommend leaving California to the maggots that have come to suck the teat of the entitlement programs and the worthless, non-working, homeless and drug addicts and bums that proliferate daily on our streets. I have had it with the hordes of non-assimilating illegals who act like they own this place, and in fact, probably do now with the help of politicians on both sides of the fence. It is time for hardworking, taxpaying citizens to leave. What was will never be and a new, third world community is being born.

[ibsteve2u]

"I relish the thought of chaos and civil unrest because I am prepared."

lollll...gotta love anarchists.

[norcal441]

California's leaders and CEOs are a bunch of thieving, lying criminals who have robbed the state blind and now the only way they can think of to try to fix things is to again think like criminals and plunge the state into profiting from illegal drug dealing. Most of the profits from pot come from the pockets of kids. The State of California is about to join the drug dealers in poisoning kids for the billions in profits.

I hope the state never starts thinking how much it could make off of child porn or kidnapping.

[searingtruth]

And on top of all the health care cuts so that the rich don't have to sell a yacht or fourth home, a pandemic flue has arrived.

Reality is rearing its ugly head, and our class will mean nothing.

Even Arnold's helicopter will not spare his children the fate he intended only for our own.
ST


"Desperation. And desperate crimes. Always together."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[jetranger7]

Of Course everybody wants to Blame those who currently hold office - but whats not Realized is this problem started many many years ago, and progressed to where it is now, some of it from political ignorance and stupidity - and a hell of a loit of it comes from Corporate GREED, meaning just think of all the production plants and Manufacturing facilities that have closed up and shut down and moved to CHINA & MEXICO, leaving many cities across california and else where across the united states, with a major loss in Tax Revenue, both property taxes, employee pay roll taxes and corporate taxes as well, and sales taxes from those that purchase goods. These same Corportations want to sell their goods and products to us here, and make a profit, yet, I have yet to see and drastic reduction in price since their made with Cheap foreign labor in another country. With all the companies thats moved to foreign countries, its no wonder this is happening, it took years for this to blow-up into a full scale problem that has come back to bite everyone in the keaster, they were warned years ago, about this and what would happen,, but no-one would listen, only come up with excuses and false rhetoric as to why it was good for this country and the economy ,,, well,,, just how good is it now, politicians who were so sold on OUTSOURCING - AMERICAN Jobs overseas to foreign countries, when you now have vacant plants sitting around your cities and towns, communities, NOT generating any Tax Revenue, with weeds growing up around the building,, and the many layed off workers, who have cut back on buying anything, and not generating as much sales tax revenue needed for public services- looks as if all this junk pouring in from CHINA & MEXICO, didn't workout quite like you were told it would, altho it made a few investors and wall street penguins richer, in the process, its left many of you cities and towns in great despair, and in deep trouble financially,, NOW maybe you'll listen to the people and take their advice and NOT those on Wall Street and those over-educated dumber than snot Investment so-called Advisors on Wall Street, whos only real intent was lining their portfoilios and getting richer off your backs at your expense, while you fell for their game of B.S. ~!!!

[ludvig1-2009]

The paper today said there were about 400 county retirees in Contra Costa county with pensions in excess of $100,000 with fire chief's pensions as high as $240,000. It's easy to see what the problem is.

[dennisall77]

Oh yeah, right! Give them $hit for pensions when houses cost over a million for two bedrooms. Greedy conservs are responsible for choking off revenue in fear that a black person might actually get some of it

[WiseWidget]

That's right! No one else seems to want to talk about the super big pension elephants who have hogged California into bankruptcy. All of the state workers have been promised that they will become multimillionaires from their retirement benefits alone. And who is going to pay for all of that?

[tautomer]

CA is a wonderful testament to the Liberal mindset. Anti-business, Anti-profit, Anti-innovation....Pro-Freloader, Pro-Illegal Alien. That's good old CA. Pelosi, Waxman, Feinstein - land. LMAO

Even now, they cut Education rather than ending services to illegals, closing needle exchanges and AIDS clinics etc. Then they steal funds from communities that have been fiscally responsible!!!

CA the "Land of a Billion Free Lunches"....until now.

[jumkey]

Yeah like the free lunch the oil companies get by having no surcharge on drilling in California - unlike the 25% surcharge Sarah Palin put on oil taken out of the ground in Alaska.

You're just another know-nothing conservative.

[mjvwsr]

by jumkey July 25, 2009 11:59 PM EDT
Yeah like the free lunch the oil companies get by having no surcharge on drilling in California - unlike the 25% surcharge Sarah Palin put on oil taken out of the ground in Alaska.

You're just another know-nothing conservative.

You whine about what Alaska does and what California doesn't. Tack your surcharge on and another industry will leave your miserable state. Quit whining and do it.

[tautomer]

All the loudmouth Liberals who bled CA with their excessive social spending are now whining. Fortunately, the good kids are in private schools and won't suffer.

[searingtruth]

As our people become more and more hungry, and desperate, no ones children will be safe.

A lesson that has been learned by the poor and rich alike throughout history.
ST


"Our children's blood looks the same upon the ground."
SearingTruth

A Future of the Brave

[kevboom]

Unfortunately the "bad" kids will get worse because they have a crappy public education, no after-school programs, and uneducated parents who can't get a job in what we call a "vicious cycle." Guess who else is part of that cycle--you and your "untouchable" private school kids who may be the next victims when crime spirals out of control in those shimmering west coast cities. The piety of Republicans is palatable, criticizing million-dollar social programs for the poor as a culprit, imagining in their perfect little world that they had nothing to do with the fiscal crisis by electing the likes of Bush who wasted enough in Iraq every 8 months to balance the entire California economy, to say nothing of famous no-bid contracts and deregulation of greedy industries. But go ahead and blame the poor, Mr. Perfect.

[mutnauq4842]

"Our children's blood looks the same upon the ground."
SearingTruth

Searing, you and your delusion of self-importance are so full of crap.
Do you realize how stupid it is for you to put quotation marks around your own comments? You are attempting to give your comments validity with by quoting yourself. Get help you ignorant phony.