You may have heard this by now, but we have a deal. The #cabudget hashtag should get you your fix. The topline stats:
$15 billion in cuts, no new taxes, $11 billion in gimmicks and borrowing
$4-5 billion in local government raids
only an $800 million reserve (initially the talks were for a $4 billion one)
$6 billion in reductions to public schools, but an $11 billion dollar payment somewhere down the road though not in writing
yes, there’s new offshore drilling in this deal, going around the Lands Commission, and without an oil severance tax for the producers
$1 billion assumed for the sale of the State Compensation Insurance Fund, which is not only unlikely but would really crush small businesses if sold
no suspension of Prop. 98
basically a reinvention of state government, more austere, and precisely when folks need the opposite.
…three furlough days a month for some state employees still in place for the rest of the year
$500 million in cuts to Cal Works
smiles all around from Dem leg. leaders as they cheer that “we did not eliminate the safety net for California.” Poking a big hole in it, apparently, qualifies as A-OK.
…we’re also cutting $1.2 billion to corrections without releasing any prisoners, as per the actual politics as usual. The only way you can do that is by cutting every treatment or rehabilitation program in the prisons, or eliminating overtime for corrections officers. In other words, we’re turning prisons into Public Storage units.
UPDATE by Robert: The main takeaways here:
• Arnold and the Republicans got everything they wanted – a cuts-only budget that protects their wealthy allies and the big corporations from having to pay their share and that makes everyone else suffer.
• California’s government is functioning as intended – producing right-wing outcomes despite large Democratic majorities. I will continue to blame specific legislators for agreeing to this shit, but lasting change will only happen when we press the reset button on state government.
UPDATE by Dave: Just to state the obvious, only the Republican leaders have agreed to this. We still aren’t through the process where individual Yacht Party members have to be bribed for their votes.
Of course, we aren’t through the process where progressives just say “no we’re not voting for that, try again,” but I’ve never seen that process come into play.
UPDATE by Robert: More elements of the deal, from John Myers at KQED CapNotes:
• Background checks for IHSS providers
• Fingerprinting of workers and clients (so if you are disabled and cared for at home, you will be treated like a common criminal merely because you need assistance)
• “Some state parks will close” even though parks generate more tax revenue than they cost
• OC Fairgrounds to be sold
• Integrated Waste Management Board to be abolished, despite the fact that its annual cost is statistically negligible
The February deal was bad, but this is far worse.
…CalPERS reports $56 billion loss. Local governments are going to have to make up part of this shortfall – but with what money? The legislature has guaranteed mass bankruptcies for local governments with their raid on local funding, which was probably the point of Arnold’s insistence on such raids.
And any Democrat that votes for it should be ashamed.
The whole thing is an insult to California, but the oil drilling really stands out as a big old “fuck you” to the state. It shows Arnold and the Republicans can demand pretty much anything they want to, the environment and common sense be damned, and Democrats will just meekly go along with it.
I know Democratic leaders believe they have to make these deals to have a chance at winning a 2/3 majority in 2010, but I can’t imagine why voters (especially progressives) would feel any motivation to stick around for the downticket races and give these people their votes.
Of course, this should remind us that California has an inherently conservative government. We are not a blue state when it comes to non-federal politics.
One word: glad
WTF?
I have nothing but incoherent rage to offer right now.
can reciprocate with a big F you to those folks who agreed to this offshore drilling scheme.
Call your representatives and tell them you expect them to vote no.
Bass and Steinberg do not have the right to do this. If they were dumb enough to endorse this, they need to hear what-for.
“statistically negligible” you mean $0.00 since the Waste Management Board is paid for by waste management companies and not the General Fund.
…were this dictation of terms to be rejected, what are the chances that terms that aren’t as bad could be agreed to?
I know this ain’t much, but what’s in this for people like myself; CSU students attending school on financial aid?
What would happen to people like us should these terms of surrender be rejected?
I guess I’m going to the Fair this summer after all; it may be the last one.
Maybe they’re going to build the hugest WalMart ever.
I asked Assm. Galgiani to vote no on the upcoming budget deal. It was the least I could do. However I’m not going to waste my time contacting Sen. Denham. He’ll probably say this is a great version.
…I’ll call Asm. Nielsen and Senator Aanestad and “congratulate” them for helping the rest of the Republicans to eviscerate social services for the millions of Californians that rely on them every day.
A permanent purge of Republicans from state government is looking better and better each day.
we’re also cutting $1.2 billion to corrections without releasing any prisoners, as per the actual politics as usual
– dday
vs.
and large numbers of state prisoners would have their sentences scaled back.
– LATimes
Can anyone pin down the details on this?
the Dead Kennedys were still a fully functioning unit:
I going to naturally presume that since they got all they wanted that most to all Republicans will vote “yes” on a budget for once.
The biggest insult I could think of is for Democrats to support this with only the minimum number of Republicans voting for it. If any Republicans get to vote “No” as part of this deal and there is no strong media strategy pointing out their obstructionism then why jump off this bridge?
The Dem votes certainly will be there.
“The February deal was bad, but this is far worse.” It has already been snidely pointed out to me tonight that I am one of the reasons we’re now here—because I am one of those “head in the clouds liberal fools” who refused to stamp approval on the Feb deal at the polls…and quite frankly I am feeling quite sick to my stomach at the moment.
So what’s next? Some questions we need to be wrestling with right now…and I can think of no better place than here to begin:
1. Is a ConCon the way to go? If so, how can it be structured so that it is not slickly managed by deep-pocket “facilitators?”
2. How can we begin the conversations that must be had in living rooms and meeting halls throughout the state about what has transpired, the immediate impacts and the larger implications? How can we ensure that people can share ideas and that their ideas do indeed matter? This to me seems essential no matter what and certainly so if the concon idea starts taking hold…
3. How can we bring more people in…bring those meeting on a smaller scale together for larger events —events that truly signal a wide and deep citizen movement….Online tools? What do we already have? What do we need?
4. Can we grab a hold of, use and grow the nascent citizen journalism movement to document and communicate?
I’m sure there are many more questions…but I would like to suggest that one way to start might be to head off to a meeting of the city council, county supervisors and/or local school board… Listen…document…and then bring some friends and neighbors together and talk about what’s happening…share fears, anger, ideas…record and maybe the good folks at Calitics will be interested in some reports back. I for one am ready to begin…something, anything.
Can we at least toss around some ideas?
No, I’m serious.
California’s so-called political media is incapable of dealing with issues and impacts that affect ordinary people. The blogosphere only reaches so far, and quiet get togethers in people’s living rooms and community centers to “disscuss” matters, while useful on the micro-scale, don’t necessarily have a lot of popular/populist appeal.
But as we can see by reference to the Capitol’s Corner Office, Californians respond remarkably well to movies, movie stars and advertising blitzes. So. Use what works, only do it for the People instead of for the rich and well-connected.
Make a movie that will devastate the Clowns in the Capitol, all of them, starting with Gov. Stogie. Tell the story of what’s been done to California and Californians under his reign of error, how much worse off ordinary Californians are since the recall, and how much worse it’s gonna get under the Deal now being surreptitiously hailed (Yay).
Make a movie that will inspire outrage and action.
Let the People take over the process of re-writing the Constitution, and let them not do it in fear of the Rich leaving the State.
Let the People fear nothing.
Make a movie that ends this charade.
Why not? This state is going to look like a scene out of “Mad Max” anyway.
Without severance, how does allowing oil drilling improve the state’s budget?
One assumes drillers will have to purchase the right to drill from the state (leases?). Are such payments one-time events? Annual? Centennial?
Maybe I’m a little slow. Maybe I haven’t read enough of this blog. But HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!?!? NO tax increases at ALL??? ONLY cuts??!? I know people are saying that this wasn’t exactly a fair compromise and that the Dems clearly just laid down and let the Republicans just walk all over them, but WHY?!?!? I guess because they couldn’t come to an agreement any other way, but how can that be?!?! Don’t the Dems have the majority??? I guess they needed a 2/3 majority to pass the budget, but a) wouldn’t it take a lot more Dems to get to compromise than Republicans? and b) how could they have not gotten ONE tax increase?!??!
Has anyone played that little game on many sites, including the LA Times, where you get to try your own hand at balancing the budget?? It completely makes clear that to not make any tax increases and still expect to balance the budget is LUDICROUS. And I would be PERFECTLY happy paying those higher taxes!!!!
Good god, can anyone explain this train wreck to me?!?!