A California Republican

The Governor released his new plan to balance the state budget. It is cuts, all cuts.

The cuts are not a bad thing. The state will only fund $7000 to UCSF Hastings law school; the bare minimum required under their promise to the Hastings family. The state will cut Cal Grants for new applicants and phase out current grant receivers. This simply means the state won’t give people money for college. There are grants and scholarships and loans from the federal government, and private programs out there. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The Governor plans to cut $1.6 billion from CalWorks, the welfare program which provides subsidies for children. This cut leads to a $4+ billion dollar loss in federal funds. This may seem like a ridiculous cut, but CalWorks is one program which is discretionary. There isn’t a lot of discretionary funding in the state budget, and these are some of the discretionary program where the Governor can cut, and not be in violation of state law.

The state parks would also lose their General Fund money. In a time when people are poorer, the state parks offer cheap vacations that people can afford. The state parks offer cheaper recreation than going to an amusement park of a day, the water slide, or even a movie. It stinks that the parks are going to get their General Fund cut, but it doesn’t mean they get no state support. They still receive money from the cigarrette tax and other Special Funds. It simply means that state parks are going to have to scale back.

There are already law suits. The SEIU has filed in federal court alleging that the state is engaging in discrimination by cutting programs to the elderly and disabled. The state is simply engaging in responsible fiscal spending by requiring that expenditures not exceed income. They aren’t discriminating, they are cutting where possible.

Overall, it is a plan with deep cuts. But it is a plan that is needed.

You can find out more about the plan at www.dof.ca.gov

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