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| Economy | |
| California Requests Billions From U.S. . | |
| 2010-01-10 | |
Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked for $6.9 billion in federal funds in his state-budget proposal Friday and warned that state health and welfare programs would be threatened without the emergency help.
"It's time to enact long-term reforms that will change the way the most populous state and the federal government work together," Mr. Schwarzenegger said. He and state legislative leaders plan to visit Washington to lobby for bailout money. White House budget officials weren't available for comment on the governor's request. Mr. Schwarzenegger said that without the federal aid, he would propose cutting $4.6 billion from state assistance programs and raise another $2.4 billion, largely by extending the suspension of tax breaks. The governor said California deserved the federal help because the state sends far more tax money to Washington than it receives in return. Federal mandates, he added, "force us to spend money that we do not have." The budget proposal said the federal government should reimburse California $2.8 billion for costs related to the state's Medicaid program, as well as more than $1 billion for special-education spending and $2.1 billion in federal-stimulus money. Mr. Schwarzenegger called the state legislature into a special budget session. He proposed cutting $2.4 billion from health and welfare spending and $1.2 billion from prison spending. He also called for cuts in salaries and pensions for state workers. Republicans praised the plan. "It's a good first step," said Bob Dutton, vice chairman of the state Senate's budget committee. State Senate President Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat, said: "I have one reaction: You've got to be kidding me." He and other legislative leaders said they opposed any more cuts to welfare and health programs. Instead, they said they preferred federal help or taxes on, for example, oil drilling and tobacco sales. "These cuts would come at a bad time because there is growing demand from families who are struggling to make ends meet," said Jean Ross, executive director of the nonprofit California Budget Project, which studies policy impacts on the poor. Mr. Schwarzenegger has been mired in a budget crisis for much of the past two years. California revenues have plunged amid double-digit unemployment and high foreclosure rates. The state has delayed billions of dollars of payments and issued IOUs to keep the government from defaulting. The return of partisan statehouse clashes over the budget is likely to revive worries on Wall Street over the state's ability to resolve its fiscal troubles. "My concern at this point is that the negotiations could go on longer than the amount of cash the state has on hand," said Gabriel Petek, analyst at Standard & Poor's Corp., which has California on a negative ratings outlook. A deeply divided legislature finally closed a cumulative $60 billion shortfall last year -- long after its budget deadline. There are signs California is beginning to slowly emerge from recession. Housing sales have been growing for several months, and state Controller John Chiang on Thursday released his December cash report that showed the month's receipts rose above estimates by $481 million, or 5.7%. "December receipts showed signs of improvement, but the state continues to face tremendous fiscal challenges," Mr. Chiang said. "At best, this is the beginning of a long and gradual recovery." | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #19 The sad fact is.... Obumble is quite likely to grant the bailout.... without restrictions. Well perhaps a I'll be back! from the Terminator... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2010-01-10 22:30 |
| #18 California has run out of all its own peoples' money and so now they are coming after YOUR money. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-01-10 21:01 |
| #17 So let me get this straight. You want me to pay for your mistakes like services to illegals and other hare-brained policies so you can continue them? I think not. I like OS's idea, except I would sieze all assets of all illegals here past 1/1/11, and then deport them. I would make sure anyone who pays rent, goes to a doctor, gets a job, etc. has to prove their legal residency status. And penalize the crap out of anyone who is a serial offender of these policies. |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-01-10 20:12 |
| #16 IIRC WAFF > US STATES IN REBELLION AGAINST OBAMACARE/UNIVERSAL HEALTHCARE LEGISLATION, ARGUE THEY CAN'T AFFORD IT. Obamacare will make their various STATE-SPECIFIC BUDGET CRISES-DEFICITS WORSE THAN EVER??? As for DA ARNUUULD > FOX NEWS + CNBC > the Governator is indir asking the Fed for massive Fed assistance calc in PRE-DETERMINED/FIXED RATIO TO CALIFORNIA'S SINGULAR POLECON IMPORTANCE TO THE NATION = COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES VEE OTHER US STATES [e.g. approxi 24% of US Population, percentage of US GDP, "Fifth largest economy in the World", Not just the USA, etc.]. IMO the USA could face another "BIG STATE VS. SMALL STATE" DEEP CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS [interstate egalitarianism] NOT SEEN IN MANY DECADES. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2010-01-10 19:33 |
| #15 Where's the special airing? |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-01-10 16:50 |
| #14 Hopefully I speak for GolfBravo as well in saying that CA should NOT be bailed out...What's the definition of insanity again? The amount of fraud, waste, graft and mis-management is rampant in our state. On another note...1 hr. special tonight on Capt. Sullenberger (proud resident of the town GBMC and I call home.. |
| Posted by: Warthog 2010-01-10 16:37 |
| #13 I like the way you think OS. However, it is too sensible and I won't hold my breath waiting for sanity in the giant sucking black money hole called CA. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2010-01-10 15:52 |
| #12 Aid is concitional: suspends all the pollution limits stricter than federal standards, open up offshore and inshore drilling, suspend any and all environmental regulations that are more strict than federal ones, institute ID and citizenship confirmations for all welfare and medicaid/medicare, deport all illegals when they are convicted of breaking any law, cap all lawsuit non-economic damages to triple the economic proven damages, go to loser pays for civil suits, declare bankjruptcy and use that to abrogate ALL public union contracts and retirement agreements to bring them in line wiht national levels, and do not allow any retirement benefit payouts prior to age 60, and reduce retirement payments to double and triple dippers. Do that and CA might not need the help. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2010-01-10 12:38 |
| #11 NO! Next question. Break California up into territories. It is no longer a functional state. Liberals have ruined it. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2010-01-10 12:33 |
| #10 would it become part of Nevada? Make it Michigan's Western peninsula. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2010-01-10 12:30 |
| #9 Mike, would it become part of Nevada? Would you really wish that fate on those poor people to the east? As a born and raised Californian, I insist that the Feds don't give us any money. It only encourages a continuation of bad behavior. Kind of like giving crack to an addict going through withdrawal. |
| Posted by: AuburnTom 2010-01-10 10:57 |
| #8 ...I have said this before, and I shall say it again: if California gets a bailout, they will have defaulted on being a state - that is; they are incapable of having a legislature that can produce a budget. I WISH somebody would pick up on this. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2010-01-10 09:10 |
| #7 ...well, some of that is because a federally appointed social engineer in the guise of a judge orders expenditures by the state to cover illegals. Make a note that in Constitution V.2 that the judiciary to be told in no uncertain terms that any decrees involving expenditures by state or federal agency is the basis of immediate impeachment. The purse strings are the sole power of the legislative branch. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-01-10 07:59 |
| #6 and Fixed it for ya - no charge. Not that they would ever would cut down on spending on Illegal Aliens (such as education and non-life-threatening medical). |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2010-01-10 07:53 |
| #5 Oh Hell NO! |
| Posted by: newc 2010-01-10 05:16 |
| #4 good Luck. Give us a big Hollywood smile. |
| Posted by: Angleton9 2010-01-10 04:49 |
| #3 First of all Arnold, you are a Republican, so as far as the Chicago mob is concerned, you do not deserver any cash, Democrats in DC only pay off supporters. Never was that way until now. Secondly Arnold, your representative, Pelosi cares nothing about the people of California, she is too busy bringing in "Socialism", another name for nationalist power grabbing and has no interest in representing the people in her state. |
| Posted by: Don Vito Glorong2098 2010-01-10 02:46 |
| #2 warned that state health and welfare programs would be threatened without the emergency help. Thoughtful of the Terminator to identify the root of the problem, along with his request for money. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2010-01-10 02:32 |
| #1 The governor said California deserved the federal help because the state sends far more tax money to Washington than it receives in return. Federal mandates, he added, "force us to spend money that we do not have." He should have asked the Senators from California to hold out on voting for ObamaCare until they got the same deal as Ben Nelson did. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2010-01-10 01:08 |