CA's Budget Shuts Down over Fingerprinting the Poor

by Leigh Graham

categories: Culture of Poverty, Federal, Government, Health & Healthcare, News, Policy, Race Ethnicity Class & Gender, States, The Economy

Published July 07, 2009 @ 05:46AM PT

Courtesy of Felix Salmon at Reuters, I see California's plan to issue IOUs goes a little something like this:

People who will receive IOUs:

• The aged, blind or disabled who get grants
• Those receiving temporary assistance for basic family needs
• Those in drug prevention, treatment and recovery
• The developmentally disabled
• Those being treated for mental health
• Small business vendors

Folks who will continue to be paid:

• Univ. of Cal. employees
• Public Employees Retirement System
• Legislators and their staff and appointees
• Judges
• Department of Corrections employees
• Institutional Health Care Service providers

Apparently there are laws against not paying schools or state employees. (That's slick!)  And no doubt some of the admin and support staff at any of these bottom entities need to feed families or themselves.  True perhaps even for some legislators...maybe (financial hardship would not be the case for the vast majority of US Congress, for ex).  But really?? The government brings CA to its knees then doesn't have the courtesy to forgo their own paychecks while stiffing the poor and disabled?  Damn.

Anyway, I don't know if it gets more explicitly callous than this:

In California’s misery, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has found some opportunity in standing his ground. Mr. Schwarzenegger has not only refused to sign off on stopgap measures like those proposed this week by Democratic lawmakers, but has also demanded that lawmakers adopt substantive changes in policy as part of any budget deal.

Democrats indicated Thursday that they were beginning to submit to Mr. Schwarzenegger’s demands, taking proposed tax increases that he opposes off the table as they worked to close a budget gap estimated to have grown to $27 billion. [...]

Mr. Schwarzenegger, weighing the discomfort and embarrassment of the i.o.u.’s against a short-term budget deal, apparently reached the conclusion that the i.o.u.’s were a price worth paying to force policy changes he pushed as early as 2005, even if it meant the budget crisis dragged on.

Among the changes Mr. Schwarzenegger insists be included in a budget agreement are the fingerprinting of recipients of certain state services for the poor and infirm, tighter checks on the job status of those who receive welfare benefits and changes to the state pension program.

I wonder if this helps the White House finally get the depth of our economic black hole.  (Are black holes deep?)

(Photo by schumachergirl1956 of Schwarzenegger at his 2003 recall victory; what The Daily Show might call our "moment of zen")