Schwarzenegger details cutbacks

Sac Bee ^ | 11/25/03 | John Hill

[NormsRevenge]

Welfare-to-work grants, therapy for developmentally disabled people and projects to relieve traffic congestion would all take cuts under a proposal that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to submit to the Legislature today.

Overall, the Republican governor's proposal would save the state $1.9 billion this year and about the same amount in the following fiscal year.

[NormsRevenge]

.

[Callahan]

Cutbacks? Impossible. Every dollar the government spends goes to some incredibly vital cause.

[AD from SpringBay]

I wasn't a big fan of Arnold's during the election - but anybody who tries to shrink a state government can't be all bad.

[Mo1]

Seems Arnold is on a roll

[woodyinscc]

Seems Arnold is on a roll

Yes, and State employee's might even have to do the work they are paid to do. Davis lied to the people on his hiring freeze, and Arnold will stop the people bumping into each other, on their way to the water cooler.!!

[KellyAdmirer]

The legislators quoted don't seem to understand the meaning of the phrase "fiscal emergency." Sure, find something else to cut, always something else, what you picked on is just too vital to cut. Always too vital, and the next thing will be too vital, too.

Some were saying Arnold showed no signs of wanting to cut anything, well, the Arnold doubters are proven wrong once again - though of course they will say "this isn't enough" and all the other nonsense that critics come up with when they don't get precisely what they demand, immediately.

[NormsRevenge]

Me thinks this is just the beginning of cuts. Long overdue, imo.

For years, another fellow (the other T-guy) has been working in much the same vein that we now find Gub Arnie is now jumped into with both feet.

My one hope is that the $15 billion bond idea never sees the light of the voting booth.

We Don't Need New Debt!! It is nothing more than re-fi'ing the old debt that is the result of the excesses of the previous administrations

. We Need Responsible Fiscal Policy to be Implemented and those who think otherwise can go take a hike.

I am not speaking as a critic, but as a taxpayer, plain and simple.

[NormsRevenge]

Thanks to Rush who just gave the art therapy costs a mention!

Maybe Etch-a-Sketches could be considered as a cheap replacement for state-sponsored art therapy classes.

[tubebender]

This bonds for debt thing smacks of the Federal Budget deficits. Spend, spent, spend and just charge it to the credit card. I can't believe it passes the balanced budget provision of the state constitution...

[tubebender]

Holy Moly Batman, Jonh R put up a spell checker... :-))

[TheSpottedOwl]

Agree about that bond issue. The last thing we need is more debt.

[goldstategop]

The Democrats and special interest groups are squealing. They want higher taxes to cover the shortfall. Listen - here we have a RINO who is acting like a fiscal conservative while our compassionate conservative President is increasing spending! I just don't get the negative reaction of some Freepers to Arnold while they back almost everything President Bush does.

[Uncle Hal]

Cut it more. $1.9 billion is not enough.

[Bush2000]

"It illustrates the difficulty of translating general talk about cuts into specifics," said Assemblyman Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.

Translation: "We [the legislature] are a bunch of pussies without any backbone."

[FairOpinion]

Here it is in a "list format":

Schwarzenegger's three-prong fiscal reform plan
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/11/25/state2038EST0145.DTL

Tuesday, November 25, 2003
(11-25) 17:38 PST (AP) --

Here's a look at new Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's three-prong plan for breaking California's boom-bust spending cycle:

= Immediately cut spending by about $1.9 billion. Use executive orders and new budget-cutting powers to trim as much as an additional $2 billion from current spending. Present additional cuts during his Jan. 10 budget address.

Among the $1.9 billion in cuts he proposed to legislators:

-Postpone transportation projects. Savings: $530 million.

-Cut higher education. Savings: $160 million.

-Reduce Medi-Cal provider rates 10 percent. Savings: $152 million.

-Eliminating state wage assistance to the staff of long-term care facilities. Savings: $46 million.

-End respite care and recreational activities for the developmentally disabled. Savings: $69 million.

-Postpone vehicle license fee reimbursements to local governments: Savings: $475 million.

-Postpone flood control reimbursements to local governments. Savings: $105 million.

= Persuade voters to borrow $15 billion to replace about $13 billion worth of bonds approved by the Legislature in the current budget, but which face court challenges. The administration says the remainder also would replace unspecified current borrowing.

= Change the Constitution to cap spending at the rate of inflation and population growth. The governor could spend the resulting "rainy day" fund in a fiscal emergency, and could trim spending midyear unless two-thirds of lawmakers approved an alternative.

[ladyinred]

Thanks Governor Arnie!

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

You Said: "...

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

You Said: "...Arnold will stop the people bumping into each other, on their way to the water cooler.!!"

Comment: What a silly remark! You assume that they even show up to work!