Dems say governor's budget may cost CaliforniaWyatt Buchanan,
Chronicle Sacramento BureauSunday, May 16, 2010
(05-16) 04:00 PDT
Sacramento --
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says the state would save billions of dollars if the Legislature adopted his final budget proposal released Friday to help close a $19 billion deficit, but what the administration does not say is how much those cuts would cost Californians in the future.
The governor wants to wipe out almost all state funding for child care services, eliminate California's welfare-to-work program and drastically reduce in-home assistance for the elderly, sick and disabled. Those and other cuts would save the state $12 billion in the fiscal year starting July 1.
But Democratic leaders said those cuts would result in the closure of 50,000 to 100,000 child care centers statewide, increased unemployment, a rising nursing-home population, and jumps in the numbers of homeless families, truants and school dropouts - all of which would cost the state money.
Those costs and the ripple effects on the state's economy are unknown. The In-Home Supportive Services program alone employs 360,000 Californians and Schwarzenegger has proposed significant cuts to the program. .........(more)
The complete piece:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/05/16/BATU1DFBMK.DTL&type=newsbayarea#ixzz0o62oTNxL