Within hours after the California legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a new state budget agreement that includes billions of dollars in cuts to health care, education and a broad range of other vital services, protesters converged on the steps of the governor’s Los Angeles office to demand that the cuts be reversed.
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Like an evil king in some ancient fairly tale, the governor used “executive privilege” to add line-item vetoes to the already deep cuts, robbing another $497.2 million going directly to programs benefiting low-income families and providing for the needs of children and the elderly.
The militant protest was initiated by the Communities United for Justice Coalition, a new grass-roots group that brings together social services case workers, families affected directly by the cuts, health workers, activists and students who have vowed to mount a campaign aimed at reversing the cuts.
Robin Schiener, a licensed clinician and social worker, was one of the organizers who addressed the demonstration: “My goal is to see every child in California having the opportunity to attend and thrive in college. Children should have a healthy relation with their parents, accessible health care, good education and jobs. We cannot settle for anything less than this!”
Other speakers included community activists, students, nurses, representatives of AIDS service agencies, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and the ANSWER Coalition (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) of Los Angeles.
Far from being broke, as the legislators claim, California is in fact flush with money. Rather than serving the needs of millions of workers and their families, this unbelievable wealth will fill the pockets of a small core of elite individuals and corporations who rely on their flunkies in Sacramento to protect their interests. Big oil, big pharmaceuticals, big insurance, banking and real estate interests all win, while programs serving people’s needs are decimated.
Rather than taxing the big corporations to pay for the budget deficits, the governor and the legislature worked together to throw the burden of the economic crisis onto the backs of millions of workers and students who are struggling to get by and who rely on the social programs being severely cut back or outright eliminated.
The enormity of the suffering that will result from the cuts is plain to see. Cynically termed “solutions” by the politicians, the draconian cuts include:
- $6 billion from K-12 schools and community colleges over two years
- $3 billion from the University of California and California State University systems
- $1.3 billion from Medi-Cal, the state’s health care program for the poor
Within these broad categories, crucial cuts to scores of programs and elimination of others are slated, including child welfare services, Healthy Families, In-Home Support Services, Adult Day Health Care, pre-natal and post-natal care, mental health, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS services, AIDS drug assistance, foster care, battered women safety, Alzheimer’s research, persons with disabilities, and many, many more.
These cuts put at major risk the welfare and safety of millions of working-class people in California—employed, unemployed, disabled, elderly and students. Programs for children up to five-years-old are especially singled out for cuts.
The budget also allows for privatization of the State Compensation Insurance Fund—a worker’s compensation insurer—and cuts funding for state parks by $14.2 million, which could result in the closure of more than 100 state parks.
The Communities United for Justice Coalition announced at the spirited rally that it plans to continue the struggle to organize throughout Southern California to restore the cuts. CUJC can be reached at (213) 251-1025.
