The New York Times
January 10, 2004
Governor Seeks Big Cuts in California’s Spending Plan
By John M. Broder
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger presented his first budget on Friday, a $76 billion spending plan for the state of California that includes significant cuts in health care, public education and payments to local governments.
Mr. Schwarzenegger acknowledged that the reductions would be painful to many
of the poorest Californians but said that he was forced by “irresponsible”
spending under Gov. Gray Davis and the Democratic-dominated Legislature
to make those cuts.
“We will not raise taxes,” Mr. Schwarzenegger said. “Higher taxes will punish working families. It will kill jobs and drive businesses away. It will stall the recovery we need to pay for essential programs.”
The governor’s plan cuts spending by more than $4.6 billion, with the largest reduction, roughly $2.7 billion, coming from health and human services programs. The proposal limits the number of new children enrolled in health programs. It also raises deductibles and co-payments for recipients of Medi-Cal, the state’s name for the Medicaid program, and cuts payments to medical providers.
Anthony Wright, executive director of Health Access California, a consumer group, said: “Under this proposal, hundreds of thousands of children and others would be denied basic care, and millions of Californians would have to pay more to get basic health services. The governor is putting the burden of this crisis on low- and moderate-income families, rather than restoring the tax brackets for himself and other wealthy Californians, so they can share in the solution.”
For the Health and Human Services portion of the California state budget: http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/Budgt04-05/BudgetSum04/HHS_w.pdf (If you elect to read this document, please equip yourself with a box of Kleenex… No, two boxes.)
Comment: Instead of cutting spending for essential health and human services programs for the most vulnerable (and cuts in education, and local services such as police, fire, and trauma centers), why doesn’t Gov.
Schwarzenegger eliminate the “irresponsible” spending of Gov. Davis and the Democrats? Although he hasn’t changed the rhetoric that helped to elect him, it appears that the “irresponsible” spending was, in fact, a fiction.
Is it really more responsible to continue to protect Gov. Reagan’s tax cuts for the rich, rationalizing it by the discredited Laffer curve? Is this what the voters really asked for? I hope not, but I’m no longer certain.
Don