Gov.'s Cuts to Hit Poor, Universities (Arnold)

[realFedUp]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-cuts25nov25,1,6461574.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Gov.'s Cuts to Hit Poor, Universities
By Evan Halper, Jeffrey L. Rabin and Nancy Vogel
Times Staff Writers

November 25, 2003

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected today to propose $3.8 billion in budget cuts over the next 19 months, including reductions in services to the poor and disabled, as well as in higher education programs.

The cuts, intended to help close a budget shortfall of at least $17 billion through mid-2005, would end art therapy for the developmentally disabled, scale back food stamp eligibility, reduce fees to doctors who treat Medi-Cal patients and eliminate recruitment programs at public universities. A draft was obtained by The Times.

snip

The cuts affecting the developmentally disabled drew immediate criticism. Schwarzenegger's proposal would save $282 million by eliminating music, art, camping and other nonmedical therapy programs for the roughly 626,000 Californians who have mental or physical impairments that make it difficult to learn, speak or care for themselves. Another cut involves suspending the Lanterman Act, which guarantees myriad services for the developmentally disabled.

snip

Another reduction would save $385 million by cutting cleaning, transportation and other in-home services that the state provides to the elderly, blind and disabled to help keep them out of nursing homes. Advocates for the poor say it would result in 74,200 people losing their care.
continued

[Richardo]

1. Wait: I'm looking up "compassionate conservatism" again...

...just a moment. :eyes:

[GainesT1958]

2. And this from the guy...

Who made it such a BIG POINT to march in the Special Olympics Parade of Athletes several years ago! :mad:

Guess Ahnold wants us to forget about that photo op..kind of hard to do, though, since he's married to the daughter of the FOUNDER of Special Olympics! :grr:

Pretty soon he's going to find himself in a bind so deep that even his character from "Predator" couldn't get out of it! :eyes:

B-)

[warrior1]

3. This guy

just prove himself to me the enemy of the people. Fuck the naxi sex offender pig.

[Rose Siding]

4. The Sacramento Miracle

"Voters convinced yet again that services are unconnected to taxes"

[raysr]

10. That's the Republican way

Take it from the people who need it the most and give to those whose need is less. Didn't expect anything otherwise did we?

[realFedUp]

5. Cutting Healthy Families program

snip-

A smaller cut — $77 million — would freeze enrollment in several programs, including Healthy Families, which provides health care for children of the working poor, and which Schwarzenegger praised during the campaign. The freeze would create waiting lists for that program.

(I hope Arnie's rich pals support the non-profit groups
that are implementing these programs because we in the middle
class won't be able to anymore)

[Lindacooks]

14. But they won't

There was a thread on DU in the last month that said charitable giving is WAY down this year; that means the windfall for the wealthy is lining their own pockets or laundering the money by giving it to chimp et al.

[realFedUp]

6. More cuts to UC and Cal State schools

They are also gearing up to fight a major Medi-Cal cut proposed by the administration. Schwarzenegger suggests saving $595 million by cutting 10% from the rate at which the program reimburses doctors. That would be in addition to a 5% cut that was approved last year, which several health-care groups are challenging in court.

"It will not save money," said Jack Lewin of the California Medical Assn. The rate cut would drive low-income Californians to hospital emergency rooms, and leave the state stuck with the bill, he said. "It just isn't going to work."

Education officials were distressed to learn that the governor was proposing more cuts to the University of California and Cal State systems after both were hit particularly hard in last year's budget. Among the cuts they face are $110 million for outreach efforts, and an additional $98 million in unallocated cuts.

[pink_poodle]

7. Eventually, disabled, elderly and poor people.................

will be warehoused out of view. I think that dark future is getting closer. Britain is having cutbacks and Canada did too - it's just a matter of time before those who are the most helpless get totally screwed over. I can see it over the years becoming more and more shabby everywhere.

[wryter2000]

8. My poor state, my poor Alma Mater

U. C. Berkeley is one of the finest universities in the entire world. At one point, we had more Nobel laureates on campus than the entire Soviet Union had. (If you win a Nobel, you get a personal parking space -- quite an incentive.) We weathered Ronald Reagan, Pete Wilson, and all kinds of bastard repugs who tried to bleed the university dry. I don't know if we'll manage this time.

[realFedUp]

9. They intend cutting the cap gains taxes though...

and there still is a tax deduction for buying
huge vehicles for small businesses.

Feel hummered yet?

[Melsky]

11. Maybe because he got lots of donations

from car dealers, and not many from disabled, poor people and college students.

[Snellius]

12. The disabled don't need camp.

They can just sit around and watch Schwarzenegger action hero movies. California has become a giant Schwarzenegger movie: survival of the fittest, fend for yourself to the weakest.

[benfranklin1776]

20. Yes soon to become closer to that portrayed in "The Running Man"

Like 1984 and Brave New World the author of the book, King intended it as a cautionary tale. It portrayed a world in which people are so destitute they will do anything including the ultimate degradation of participating in a reality tv show which features people being hunted down and killed for money.

Der Gropenfuhrer was in the movie version I recall.

[tom_paine]

21. Oh so true, Ben, oh so true. Don't forget Sinclair Lewis and Ray Bradbury

As with so many other cautionary tales that read back during the Days of the Old Republic, I took them with a grain of salt, comfortable in the fact that I was safe from such a future.

"It can't happen here" is one of the most pernicious lies people can start believing. Ironically, for it to start happening, it often requires the great mass of people to belive that it can't happen.

And of course, for the first time in my life I now have empirical data on what the 1933 Germans must have felt, how they acted, and how it was to be one of the handful who could see Hitler for what he was as the rest of the sheep pushed forward to the slaughterhouse floor.

It can happen here. It IS happening here.

[ignatius]

13. Let 'em eat cake, is that it you facist

bastard? Why don't you go after Enron for the billions they raped from the state? Or maybe a tax increase, which is not in the right wing vocabulary. What's next, ovens for the crippled and hungry?

[realFedUp]

15. Arnold Watch.com

If you want to keep up with what Pete Wilson-on-steroids
is doing click onto:

http://www.arnoldwatch.org

[cally]

16. I don't know how he will get these through the Legislature

This may be a feint to blame all problems on Democrats. The cuts in the University are particularly hard to pass since so many Legislators went there. Unfortunately, cuts to the State Universites and Junior Colleges are easier to pass.

[realFedUp]

17. The Dems in the Senate had no problem repealing the drivers licenses

for non-citizens...including those white Europeans who
are also not citizens-33-0, 6 Latino Dems chose not to vote.

Feeling hummered yet?

[cally]

18. But cuts to the UC system are against their own interests.

The DL issue was very politically risky. Pols were facing a huge backlash on this vote. (I support DL's for non-citizens, btw.)

[realFedUp]

23. True cally

[KittyWampus]

19. The Bright Side (sarcasm alert)

"...cutting cleaning, transportation and other in-home services that the state provides to the elderly, blind and disabled to help keep them out of nursing homes. Advocates for the poor say it would result in 74,200 people losing their care."

The bright side is maybe there'll be jobs building & maintaining institutions to warehouse our senior citizens.

:puke:

[okieinpain]

22. I see nothing wrong with these cuts, what I'm waiting to see is

how he deals with the wealthy. will he cut there taxes and let them off hog free.

[deek]

24. Cuts to disabled

include respite care, which is essential to help prevent institutional placement (which would cost taxpayers more anyway, break up families, and place our most vunerable citizens at high risk for sexual abuse and neglect).

The Lanterman Act would be suspended, which is the CA civil rights law for persons with developmental disabilites.

Here we go...anxiety level in the red zone again.