CA to become first state with no public assistance?

by Leigh Graham · 2009-05-31 08:28:00 UTC
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Obviously, as long as government exists, it will provide some level of public benefit to us all.  But Gov. Schwarzenegger's proposed budget cuts in California are so deep that they would outright eliminate temporary assistance to needy families (TANF, or "welfare"):

Ending cash assistance for 1.3 million impoverished state residents, for example, would make California the only state with no welfare program.

"Every single first-world nation has a safety net program for children," said Will Lightbourne, Santa Clara County's social services director. "This would return us to the era of Dickens — you'd have to go back to the 19th century to find a comparable proposal."

Dickensian. You know you're living through hard times when your governance is compared to the abject poverty and exploitation of 19th century England.  That's rough.

The Governator's not the only bad guy here.  Voters rejected ballot proposals last week to balance the budget via tax increases, borrowing and basically moving $$ around to plug holes.  California's "direct democracy" has proven so dicey that for the first time in 150+ years, Constitutional reform might actually be in play.  But will the state close all its parks, and drop welfare and healthcare and tuition assistance for low-income youth to make this happen?  I shudder at the thought.

Photo of a mural from LAMP Community on Skid Row in Los Angeles, taken by lewisha1990.  Can Californians come together for economic recovery?  How many new households will end up on Skid Row?

Leigh Graham
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