Governor Scharzenegger to use Austerity program for California Budget: Remeber, This is what started the riots in Greece
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2010/may2010/cali-m17.shtml
The Austerity Program that the IMF and the Greek PM passed in Greece to "Fix the debt/budget deficit" is what started/caused the rioting to begin in Greece. Well, I guess the Financial Times was right, "California to be the next Greece". Get ready, be prepared. Even if nothing does happen, for if anything does, this will easily top the Rodney King Riots and the Watt's Riots both, easily. I mean look at those freaking numbers 1.4 million people, $750 million in cuts, $532 million in cuts, freezing funds to education facilities..... Damn, this is going to be so freaking crazy.
The Austerity Program that the IMF and the Greek PM passed in Greece to "Fix the debt/budget deficit" is what started/caused the rioting to begin in Greece. Well, I guess the Financial Times was right, "California to be the next Greece". Get ready, be prepared. Even if nothing does happen, for if anything does, this will easily top the Rodney King Riots and the Watt's Riots both, easily. I mean look at those freaking numbers 1.4 million people, $750 million in cuts, $532 million in cuts, freezing funds to education facilities..... Damn, this is going to be so freaking crazy.
On Friday, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger delivered his “May Budget Revise”, setting guidelines for the state legislature to
address the state’s budget deficit prior to the start of the next
fiscal year on July 1.
Schwarzenegger’s plans involve, in his own words, “absolutely terrible cuts” to vulnerable sections of
the poor and working class. The Governor’s proposals include the
complete elimination of the state’s Welfare to Work program, which
provides monthly payments of $694 to unemployed individuals who
participate in job training programs. The program’ss elimination will
affect 1.4 million people, approximately two-thirds of whom are
children.
In addition to the $1.1 billion to be gained through the elimination of CalWorks, Schwarzenegger hopes to make reductions in the following areas:
* $750 million in cuts to the state’s In Home Support Services program (IHSS) which
provides a minimal level of funding to allow poorer residents to take
care of disabled family members.
* $532 million is to be cut from the state’s Medi-Cal program providing health care assistance to
the unemployed and indigent. The funding will be reduced by reducing
eligibility, limiting doctor’s visits to ten per year, reducing funding
for hearing aids and other medical equipment and by increasing co-pays.
* $602 million is to be cut from the state’s Food Stamp Program.
* An overall funding cut of sixty percent to state-provided mental health programs.
* $15 million is to be cut from the Healthy Families program which
provides medical assistance to nearly 700,000 thousand children from
low-income families.
* $1.2 billion from the state’s prison system by cutting funds to inmate health care and shifting a portion of the state inmate population to county, rather than state jails.
* $1.6 billion to be gained through a five percent reduction in the
overall state payroll along with five percent wage cuts for every
individual state worker to pay five percent increases in pension
contributions. The overall 15 percent cut will replace the three unpaid
furlough days per month which workers are currently required to take,
however Schwarzenegger’s ‘s proposal also includes a new
one-day-per-month furlough, raising the overall effective pay cut for
state workers to approximately 20 percent.
* A funding freeze on public education including for K-12, community colleges and universities system.
The Governor ‘s plan, which reduces spending by $12.4 billion, also depends
on the receipt of $3.4 billion in federal funds along with $3.3 billion
from other sources, including the hoped-for sale of 24 state office
buildings and revenues gained through the raiding of various local
funding sources.
Schwarzenegger’s last proposal to deal with the state’s now $19 billion deficit was delivered last January.
The current proposals are very much in line with what Schwarzenegger
promised then. If, the governor said, $6.4 billion of federal aid to
assist with the state’s deficit reduction efforts was not forthcoming,
he would push for the elimination of those programs which are now on
the chopping block, including CalWorks IHSS and the Healthy Families
program. (See: “California Governor Schwarzenegger promises billions more in cuts”)
In contrast to his earlier plan however, the Governor is no longer
proposing the early release of prison inmates incarcerated for
non-violent offenses.
The Obama administration, for its part, has rejected out-of-hand any financial support for the state.
Washington reasons that providing aid to the state, however minimal,
would set a dangerous precedent for all the other states in the country
experiencing massive shortfalls of their own. Similar reasoning,
needless to say, was not employed when the large banks, which
precipitated the collapse of the US and international financial
markets, asked for multi-billion dollar bailouts from the government.
California, however, does hope to gain approximately $3 billion in increased
federal contributions to the state’s Medi-Cal program by waiving
various regulations currently required by law. The increased
contribution, however, is contingent upon federal approval of Medi-Cal
service waivers along with the imposition of quality assurance fees on
hospitals and clinics offering such services.
Aside from the relatively modest federal aid and massive spending cuts, the
Governor’s budget proposals include no meaningful sources of revenue
except for the increased enforcement of traffic violation penalties,
along with plans to modernize and increase participation in the state’s
lottery system. Should the legislature, and later on state voters,
approve the Governor’s lottery plan, his office estimates that it would
bring in an additional $15 billion in revenue over the next three years.
Moreover, Schwarzenegger has made it clear that whatever new revenues are to be
gained through these mechanisms will not be used to restore funding to
social programs but instead will be placed into a “rainy day” fund. The
has pledged that the measure would help the state avoid what is being
called a “feast or famine cycle” wherein the state supposedly spends
irresponsibly on social programs and infrastructure during years of
budget surplus and thus finds it necessary to eliminate or cut from
these programs once the economy sours.
What the imposition of a rainy day fund represents, therefore, is an attempt to establish the permanence of budget cuts and austerity.
While Schwarzenegger has publicly lamented having to make cuts to social
programs, he has repeatedly claimed that such cutting is required for
the state to “live within its means.”
The Governor reiterated his position in a question and answer session last Friday in the following exchange with a reporter.
Question: “Governor, you said you would be seeking additional cuts in Health and
Human Services. And I’m wondering, how do you justify that when the
economy is not doing well and the demand for government programs is
going up?”
Schwarzenegger replied: “Well, I think that you said it. Because the economy is not doing well and because we have
a broken budget system we don’t have more money. We have to live within
our means. That’s what I need to do in my business, that’s what I need
to do in my family We have to live within our means.”
For Schwarzenegger, living within his means apparently involves commuting to work every morning in his own private jet.
The Governor continued, “Everyone has to tighten their belts. Local
government has to tighten their belts, we have to tighten our belts. We
have to recognize there’s only so much money.”
Schwarzenegger also likened the situation facing California to that facing Greece,
Ireland Spain and other countries enacting austerity measures. “You see
what is happening in Greece, you see what is happening in Ireland, you
see what is happening in Spain now. And everyone has to go and look at
it and say we’ve got to go and come to the realization that we can’t
continue spending money and promise people things that we can’t keep.
That’s all the revenues we have.”
As in Greece, Ireland and Spain, working people in California are being made to suffer for a
crisis which is not of their making. Also, as in those countries, the
wealth of the richest one percent of the population is to remain
completely inviolate.
The Democrats in Sacramento, for their part, have made use of the absence of actual budget negotiations
to denounce the Schwarzenegger ‘s plans, using oppositional-sounding
rhetoric which costs them nothing. According to State Senate President
Darrel Steinberg, “The cuts are absolutely unacceptable.” Senator
Denise Ducheny of San Diego said that under the Governor’s plan,
“children have no value, but corporate tax breaks that do not exist
today have greater value than the children of California.”
There can be no doubt however, that the state Democrats will, in the end,
fully agree to massive austerity measures in one form or another. The
Democrats, no less than the Republicans, represent the interests of the
financial elite who demand further sacrifice from the broad masses of
the population.
Whatever the outcome of the budget negotiations this summer, the measures ultimately passed will involve massive attacks on their living standards will not be reversed.
The most urgent and pressing task facing the working people in California
is the formation of their own independent organizations to fight these
cutbacks and unite their struggles with those of workers across the US
and internationally. The Socialist Equality Party calls for the
independent political mobilization of working people to oppose wage
cuts, layoffs and the on-going decimation of social services. Above
all, workers should contact the Socialist Equality Party to begin the
process of fighting back against these austerity measures.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by 7R33SandR0P3S on
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Let's rub a few brain cells together,together.
Colliefornya is a state with water on one side and Arizona and Nevada on the other.
Greece is a country, partly islands, water on one side and countries, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey on the opposite sides
The first to feel the Arno cuts will be those on Cal-Works and social services. Back before I left Fullerton, Ca (1990), most receiving social services were Hispanics. (many non-citizen).
When the free services are cut off where will they go? Arizona? Back to Mexico?
New invaders from the south will choose neither CA or AZ.
The influx will mainly be felt in NM and TX.
Rick Perry, like Arno, encourages open borders to ignite racial unrest in order to put troops on the streets.
The long time citizens will feel the crunch a little later. But those who can read the writing on the wall will pack up and flee before the burrito hits the fan.
Crime will increase. Gangs will rule the streets as police forces shrink.
Get ready folks, here we go.
Colliefornya is doomed. Time is NOT on their side.
Pelosi go home and have a happy town hall meeting.
We need to watch closely how the WMF (the FED/Goldman Sachs etc.) handle Greece, Iceland, California. And,,,,how the people handle their Government Officials.
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Permalink Reply by Localtarian on
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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/crime/la-me-0514-homeboy-industri... Well, this just adds insult to injury. Homeboy Industries is a NGO that was used to keep gang members off the streets and out of gangs. And now they're laying off 75% of their staff due to budget cuts. So now there will be a bunch of Gang member released back out onto the streets, during probably the worst time possible to do something like that.
7R33SandR0P3S said:Let's rub a few brain cells together,together.
Colliefornya is a state with water on one side and Arizona and Nevada on the other.
Greece is a country, partly islands, water on one side and countries, Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Turkey on the opposite sides
The first to feel the Arno cuts will be those on Cal-Works and social services. Back before I left Fullerton, Ca (1990), most receiving social services were Hispanics. (many non-citizen).
When the free services are cut off where will they go? Arizona? Back to Mexico?
New invaders from the south will choose neither CA or AZ.
The influx will mainly be felt in NM and TX.
Rick Perry, like Arno, encourages open borders to ignite racial unrest in order to put troops on the streets.
The long time citizens will feel the crunch a little later. But those who can read the writing on the wall will pack up and flee before the burrito hits the fan.
Crime will increase. Gangs will rule the streets as police forces shrink.
Get ready folks, here we go.
Colliefornya is doomed. Time is NOT on their side.
Pelosi go home and have a happy town hall meeting.
We need to watch closely how the WMF (the FED/Goldman Sachs etc.) handle Greece, Iceland, California. And,,,,how the people handle their Government Officials.
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But how could this be happening in the USA?
Especially in California, the land of opportunity, the "Golden State"?
Greed maybe...
In an Article from: California Independant Voter Network
How bad is California’s financial situation?
Well, as of May 11, 2010, California was in the top ten for highest government default probabilities in the world, just below Latvia and ahead of Sicily, and had a 20% probability of defaulting. The spread on California Credit Default Swaps (CDS) was at 254, which is going into Red Alert territory. CDS are a form of semi-insurance used by deep pocket speculators and hedgers to essentially make bets on the probability of an entity defaulting. The higher the spread, the more the implied risk is. These spreads can influence interest rates for bonds, so this is not theoretical at all.
Let me explain. Wikipedia gives an example of Risky Corp. having a spread of 50, implying this is high. Yet the California spread of 254 means someone buying $10 million of default protection on California debt for five years would have to pay $254,000 in premiums each year to the seller. With non-risky debt, this might be just $25,000 a year.
So, if things are so dire, then California should just default, file for bankruptcy, and let the courts sort it out, right? Wrong. Under federal law, states are not allowed to file for bankruptcy. We are in uncharted waters here.
' />
The California budget assumes $6.9 billion in federal funds. If the entire amount is not received, then an all-or-nothing trigger will force several billion in further cuts. So far, the federal government has only guaranteed about $3 billion.
The governor said on Friday, “California has no low-hanging fruit left.” All the easy budget cuts, and many hard ones, have already been made. What’s coming will be Draconian. Hopefully, badly needed reform will emerge out of the coming difficult times for California.
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Yeah it is very strange indeed. Especially since California is responsible for 30% of the domestic (inside the US) technology production and importing. This state is also responsible for about 35% of the countries Agriculture production and distribution. So yes, it is strange to see this happen in a state that still has the highest production economy in the US, to be defaulting on itself. I too have come to the conclusion that it's just pure larceny and fraud driven, but what isn't these days.
7R33SandR0P3S said:But how could this be happening in the USA?
Especially in California, the land of opportunity, the "Golden State"? Greed maybe...
In an Article from: California Independant Voter Network
How bad is California’s financial situation?
Well, as of May 11, 2010, California was in the top ten for highest government default probabilities in the world, just below Latvia and ahead of Sicily, and had a 20% probability of defaulting. The spread on California Credit Default Swaps (CDS) was at 254, which is going into Red Alert territory. CDS are a form of semi-insurance used by deep pocket speculators and hedgers to essentially make bets on the probability of an entity defaulting. The higher the spread, the more the implied risk is. These spreads can influence interest rates for bonds, so this is not theoretical at all.
Let me explain. Wikipedia gives an example of Risky Corp. having a spread of 50, implying this is high. Yet the California spread of 254 means someone buying $10 million of default protection on California debt for five years would have to pay $254,000 in premiums each year to the seller. With non-risky debt, this might be just $25,000 a year.
So, if things are so dire, then California should just default, file for bankruptcy, and let the courts sort it out, right? Wrong. Under federal law, states are not allowed to file for bankruptcy. We are in uncharted waters here.
' />
The California budget assumes $6.9 billion in federal funds. If the entire amount is not received, then an all-or-nothing trigger will force several billion in further cuts. So far, the federal government has only guaranteed about $3 billion.
The governor said on Friday, “California has no low-hanging fruit left.” All the easy budget cuts, and many hard ones, have already been made. What’s coming will be Draconian. Hopefully, badly needed reform will emerge out of the coming difficult times for California.
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Police Stage Terror Attack Exercise in Long Beach
Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet.com
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
If you live in Long Beach, California, you may think the city is under attack by terrorists today.
FULL STORY
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Thanks for the heads up 7R33SandR0P3S, thankfully I don't live in Long Beach. There's quite a few drills involving NLE going on in California this week. One in Vacaville one in Fresno and the one in Long Beach. They're gearing up for the reaction to the Austerity Measures more than likely.
7R33SandR0P3S said:Police Stage Terror Attack Exercise in Long Beach
Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet.com
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
If you live in Long Beach, California, you may think the city is under attack by terrorists today.
FULL STORY
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