Schwarzenegger’s budget deals ruins poor people welfare!

The Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a proposal of cutting welfare-to-work program, CalWorks, and reducing child care for needy people. The budget proposed by the Governor would only supply aid to some of the poorest and needy citizens.

The budget works on a $83.4-billion figure plan and has little to none money for local schools, cuts state workers’ pay and takes away 60% of California state money for mental health problems. No worries, the state parks and the higher educations are spared, according to his statement.

These cuts would save an estimated $12 billion in the year starting July 1. Although the budget plan is focused in cutting welfare money for poor and needy people, the governor refuses to suspend the implementation of corporate tax break which costs the state “just” $2.1 billion. Well, it’s better to cut expenses from people who are not working than from corporations, right?

Fortunately, the plan would not raise taxes, as some may have thought but takes money from Washington to close a budget gap of $19.1 billion. Of course, not all the money will come from Washington, only $3.4 billion are going to be lend from the White House, the rest are to be saved by cutting unnecessary expenses, like welfare or child care.

The welfare program sustains 1.3 million people, including 1 million children. Each family who is in the program receives an average $500/month, even if the recipients have or don’t have jobs. This program being cut could save $1.6 billion for the state of California. If the child care program is to be cut, 142,00 low-income children would be affected and thus California would become the first state not to offer welfare-to-work and child care for poor and needy families.

Fortunately, lawmakers don’t agree with Schwarzenegger‘s latest budget proposal and Democratic leaders have rejected the plan because it could include new taxes for oil companies and abolition of some corporate tax breaks.