I’m about to be on today’s Your Call at 11 AM. You can stream live or nab the podcast at the Your Call website. This week’s programs are all focused on the budget, and today’s subject is what should we cut.
It would be easy to say nothing. And that would be valid, however given the circumstances we are currently facing, that seems unlikely. So how do we prioritize? How do we put state parks when compared to CalWORKS? How do we stack up K-12, higher ed and in-home support services? AIDS Drugs that literally keep people alive and dialysis for kidney patients that has the same effect?
It is like a giant, and terrifying, game of comparing apples and oranges. But honestly, the question is a bit loaded to me. I just saw the new Star Trek movie yesterday, and I feel like I want to reprogram the Kobayashi Maru.
The simple answer is that we should tread very carefully about exposing one area without demanding that at least the corporate tax cut go first. But if I were to start with one area, it would have to be prisons, and then move along from there. So, any and all suggestions are welcome in the comments. If you have a chance, check out the Your Call show at 11 today. (Picture from WhyBeNormal)
I don’t like where we are, but here is my idea for how to go about making cuts.
In my mind, cuts should be made in programs that have the least long term effect on the state’s economy as a whole. Some of these suggestions are ugly and awful, I’ll be the first to agree. But many of the cuts suggested will only cripple the state further and make the budget situation worse in the coming years, not better.
Things to cut:
– The animal shelter thing, awful as it is, is a place to cut. The idea of dogs and cats being killed early (3 days instead of 6) breaks my heart… but it doesn’t tear down infrastructure we’ll need later, nor does it push costs into next year or next decade.
– Prisons. Drug crimes, minor third strikes, those can go. The prisons are overcapacity as it is.
– I can see that some health care programs might be on this list, as much as it pains me to say, as much suffering as it may cost.
Things to spare:
– State parks return more money to the state and local governments than the investment. In addition, those cuts would create future costs.
– K-12: poor schools, or the perception of poor schools, hurt us in every possible way. People will leave the state because their schools are poor. Housing prices/property values fall. Those kids are our future workers – or our future prisoners. That investment pays off.
– UC: The University of California is an economic jewel that creates prosperity for California and Californians. Cuts there send our best and brightest out of state, and damage its reputation for the long term.
– The CCC saves us money by training kids for jobs and by doing work that would otherwise be done by higher paid state workers
These are just examples, but I think the underlying philosophy is the only sane one.
…is with prisons. That is a huge cost sink and there is definitely money to be gotten out of it. When you really look at how brutal things have gotten, there are going to be some cuts that we don’t want – the books simply don’t balance without painful cuts. But unless we increase taxes, it’s going to be a slaughter; if we can get a fair tax increase (including revoking the corporate tax cut in question and resolving the Prop 13 problem), it’s going to be a bruising rather than a slaughter.
I think an appropriate thing to do after we get rid of unneeded spendings is to, as much as it doesn’t jeopardize federal funding, to cut everything across the board, so as to ameliorate the impact. If you cut every department by a small amount, there could be enough cost savings/communal pain such that they can continue to function, albeit weaker and not quite as the legislature intended (for instance, DFEH not responding as quickly or effectively to complaints, but still responding). If you take an axe to certain limited areas, you have a much more immediate detrimental effect.
Prison cuts are good eliminate due ling bureaucracy that Arnold uses to run the system and just turn it over to CCPOA.
Another place or cuts is the Statewide system for CSU and UC.Eliminate all non campus based officials- sell Golden Shores.
REform the regents and make them elected(10 regents running in either 4 Senate or 8 Assembly Districts). Plus the Gov, Lt Gov,the SPI and the Senate Pres & Assembly Speaker.
Make Each CSU campus independent with their own trustees
End overlaps between Gov and Independent Electeds- send all ED functions to SPI. Split Finance between Treasurer and Controller. Send Corrections/CHP/DMV/ABCetc to the AG. Get the Gov out of the budget till after passage- can still sign/veto/line item.
A New Elected Utilities Commissioner to handle those areas and drop the PUC. Can also have the Energy Commission.
A New Elected Environmental/Resources Commissioner to handle that area of State Government
A New Elected Transportation Commissioner to take Caltrans and related areas.
Turn the other remaining functions to the LT Gov.
Gov’s primary function should be raising revenue for state services and let the rest of the system figure out what to use them for.
In reporting on Gavin Newsom’s cuts-only budget, the Chronicle pointed out:
And last night, Gavin chose a new police chief who used his introduction to San Francisco to bitch about prison reform:
Not cool.