California's seemingly never-ending budget crisis has finally come to pulling the rug out from under women, children, the blind and the aged.
It's because instead of coming together to deal with a financial crisis created by a history of smoke-and-mirrors budgeting and the worst recession since the Depression, the two parties are stuck in their same old, tired ways.
This inability of the parties to deal with each other through hard but honest negotiations is not new. It led to the passage of Proposition 13, which dealt with an out-of-control situation that the legislature failed to address.
But Prop 13 also established an over-reliance on income taxes in California, an inequality in property taxes, and a two-thirds vote requirement for budget and tax decisions.
Who gets to pay for this history of poor budgeting now?
All of us in this state will share in the burden but the governor has gone a step further and proposed the complete elimination of all cash assistance for the poor as well as health insurance for children near the poverty line.
This stunned even some of the most ardent supporters of less government.
As the bishops of California said in their recent statement (www.cacatholic.org), budget cuts are necessary but they should not start with the wholesale elimination of programs that support the poor.
Even if the elimination of CalWORKs and Healthy Families is just a negotiation tactic, it is irresponsible. Do we need to threaten children in California to get responsible budgeting?
When times call for such drastic measures, you would guess that nobody benefits. You would be wrong.
As part of the last budget crisis (way back in February) more than $2 billion dollars in tax breaks for a select few businesses were included in order to win the necessary votes for passage. Not a single public or private hearing explored the ramifications of the breaks.
Voters rejected the make-shift budget plan in May, but had no say on the cuts.
Stripping away the rhetoric, it looks like the Republicans and Democrats will agree on a set of cuts that takes care of all except $3 billion of a $24 billion deficit. The battle will be over that remaining $3 billion --- more cuts or some kind of revenue.
That's the same type of battle we've seen before and the stage now moves to the Big Five (governor and majority and minority leaders of both houses.)
Extensive cuts will be made and will alter life for many Californians, especially for those who rely on the state for assistance.
The state controller estimates California will run out of money on July 28, and recommends a budget be enacted by June 30. If history is any indicator, California lawmakers will push off the day of reckoning as long as they can.
In their statement about the budget, the bishops call on state leaders to enact real reform. Much of our budgeting in California has been wishful thinking.
One of the Joint Budget committee's recommendations is to move the last pay day of June next year to July 1, putting the cost into the next fiscal year --- more gimmicks are not going to cut it this time.
It doesn't work if you are a working parent earning minimum wage with an ill child. It doesn't work if you are blind and will see your assistance reduced yet again. It doesn't work if you are in a nursing home and the state inspector can no longer ensure the place is safe and clean. And it doesn't work if you are a laid off teacher or, even just want to visit a state park.
Yet lawmakers will not work together to solve this problem. They are going to their corners and are preparing to fight the same battle they have fought for years. And they are abdicating their responsibility for the safety and welfare of Californians.
The bishops pointed out that this crisis has been a wakeup call for all of us. Apparently, California lawmakers are content to hit the snooze button and ignore real life for some time longer. Steve Pehanich is director of Advocacy and Education for the California Catholic Conference. For information on legislation, elections and Catholic social teaching, visit www.cacatholic.org.
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