Friday, May 14, 2010

CALIFORNIA PROGRESS REPORT DOESN’T REPORT MUCH: Bad, Bad Budget Cuts + Hurting Kids & Seniors To Protect the Rich

from the California Progress report | http://bit.ly/97Y4JQ

Bad, Bad Budget Cuts

By Anthony Wright

Today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a new California budget that eliminated or eviscerated health and human services.

In a tough budget situation, Governor Schwarzenegger’s revised budget represents the worst possible choice for California families, for our health system, and for our economy. At a time when millions are looking for relief, the Governor has proposed cuts thatill deny medically necessary care, place greater financial strain on families, and turn back hundreds of millions of dollars in federal matching funds for our economy.

THE SPECIFIC HEALTH IMPACT: California children and families, seniors and people with disabilities will find their prescriptions and doctors visits limited, their coverage for certain treatments capped, and significant costs for getting doctor and hospital care. Some of these cuts will not just delay and deny care, but will have life and death impacts.

Hurting - Literally - Kids and Seniors To Protect Tax Cuts for the Rich

By Robert Cruickshank

There's no better illustration of the priorities of Arnold Schwarzenegger than this report from Shane Goldmacher and Evan Halper in the LA Times, explaining that today's May Revise is likely to include a proposal to eliminate health care services for children and the elderly:

Administration officials declined to reveal which specific programs the governor would eliminate. But officials involved in the budget process, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly, said they would probably include home healthcare for the elderly and disabled, a nearly $2-billion program that serves 440,000 Californians. Cuts that lawmakers and the governor made to the program in an effort to balance the budget have been blocked by legal rulings over the last year.

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