Posted on 01/10/2005 7:59:20 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to balance the next state budget depends heavily on spending cuts in health and welfare programs and higher health care costs for 550,000 low-income Californians.
The Republican governor Monday proposed cutting spending by $1.2 billion for health and welfare to help eliminate a $9 billion deficit for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
His plan includes a 6.5 percent cut in welfare grants, elimination of automatic annual cost-of-living increases in welfare benefits, a benefit freeze for the elderly poor and disabled, and a $1,000 annual limit on dental care for low-income adults in the Medi-Cal program.
Schwarzenegger also proposed that Medi-Cal recipients with incomes above the poverty level - and senior citizens and the disabled who make more than SSI-SSP benefits - be required to pay monthly premiums for health care.
The premiums would total $10 for adults and $4 for each child up to a maximum of $27 a month per family.
Kim Belshe, Schwarzenegger's health and human services secretary, said that proposal would affect about 550,000 Californians.
The governor's plan would also reduce the amount of outside income that welfare recipients could receive before their benefits were reduced, a step critics said would discourage the recipients from getting into the work force.
Despite the spending reductions, Schwarzenegger's plan would still increase overall health and welfare spending by 4.6 percent, administration officials said.
"Given the nature of the state's overall fiscal crisis, I believe the governor's structured a reasonable and responsible balance," Belshe said.
But Sen. Joe Simitian, the Palo Alto Democrat who chairs the Senate Human Services Committee, said Schwarzenegger's plan would be a "real pop in the snout to people of modest means. It's not a budget I can support."
It costs more to live in California, he said, and the state officials should take that into account in setting health and welfare benefits.
The administration should be proposing a combination of spending cuts and tax increases to eliminate the state's red ink, Simitian added.
Michael Herald, a lobbyist for the Western Center on Law and Poverty, an advocacy group for the poor, also said the governor should be proposing tax increases, saying recent tax cuts contributed to the state's budget problems.
But Tom Campbell, Schwarzenegger's finance director, contended that raising taxes would encourage more state spending.
Herald said Schwarzenegger's 6.5 percent cut in welfare benefits would reduce the monthly grant for a family of three from $723 to $676, a loss of $47.
"Forty-seven dollars a month probably means your light bill doesn't get paid and you can't keep milk in the refrigerator when your food stamps run out," he said.
Administration officials said that even with the reduction proposed by the governor, California welfare benefits would be the fourth highest in the country.
Marty Omoto, director of the California Disability Community Action Network, an advocacy group for seniors and the disabled, said there would be a "major fight" against Schwarzenegger's proposals.
"The governor last week said he expected major protests by the special interests...," Omoto said. "Perhaps he was referring to the Chamber of Commerce or some other group. We are people with special needs, not special interests."
Schwarzenegger also:
_ Proposed a cutback in state subsidies to support salaries and benefits for in-home supportive services workers who care for homebound elderly and disabled. The state currently provides up to $10.10 per hour. The governor's plan would limit state support to $6.75 an hour, the minimum wage.
_ Called for expand use of HMO-like managed care programs to help hold down Medi-Cal costs.
_ Asked lawmakers to approve $6 million to develop an obesity prevention program to help hold down health care costs.
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On the Net: www.dof.ca.gov
"Forty-seven dollars a month probably means your light bill doesn't get paid and you can't keep milk in the refrigerator when your food stamps run out," he said. "
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Actually it means that they need to cancel their cable TV.
That's fine, just don't touch the smokes and beer money.
Mr. Lawrence apparently neglected to read the budget proposal before writing the article. There is a spending increase proposed by Schwarzenegger in the Health and Human Services section of the budget.
Michael Herald, a lobbyist for the Western Center on Law and Poverty, an advocacy group for the poor, also said the governor should be proposing tax increases
Bright bulbs like Simitian and Herald are the reason 100's of thousands (myself included) of former California taxpayers now reside in other states. I doubt it will ever dawn on them that their tax-base is dissolving, leaving them with a black hole of society-dependant citizens that will continue to be an ever larger percentage of the population at large.
Good luck to all you souls that still remain in the once Golden State.
To a California liberal, a reduction in a future spending increase is a spending cut. Go figure that their state is sinking in a sea of red ink.
What was cut?
Bah. Wake me up when real changes take place in Sacramento.
"Schwarzenegger's plan would increase overall health and welfare spending by 4.6 percent."
Dang, the way the media was reporting I was salivating at the profiles in courage for the 'real deep cuts'.
"you can't keep milk in the refrigerator when your food stamps run out," he said. "
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Then drink it! Geez.
Last year's budget was $105 billion.
So, with the cuts, what is the amount of this year's budget?
I didn't see the figure mentioned in the article.
"you can't keep milk in the refrigerator when your food stamps run out," he said."
Really? WTF do food stamps have to do with your refrigerator running, unless you're buying milk instead of paying the electric bill? :)
A RIP Van Winkle impersonation, perhaps?
Schwarzenegger's state budget takes hard line on California spending-releases $111.7 billion budget
There's a 4% percent increase in overall state spending that's not enough for the Lefties here. We should make real cuts but to liberals even a modest spending hike amounts to a cut. That's how Orwellian Sacspeak has gotten.
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