First, I would like to thank Corin Choppin for donating $100 to our club for our fundraiser. He is a great friend and mentor to the Mira Loma Young Democrats. If anyone is interested in going to work on the Phil Angelides campaign either tomorrow or Friday, then email me: edesw88@aol.com. It has been a lot of fun today and it is a great experience. If you have any interest in Journalism and you are a junior or senior then check out below:
Non-Partisan Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill Shuns Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Proposed 2006 Budget for Overspending and Lack of Planning for the Future
By Eddie Kirby
The meeting was held Wednesday, February 22, 2006 at the monthly Sacramento Press Club luncheon, and Hill briefly went over the shortfalls of the Governor’s proposed budget.
Prior to the commencement of Hill’s presentation, it was announced that the Sacramento Press Club has three available scholarships for juniors and seniors pursuing degrees in some area of Journalism. The scholarships which are available are one $6,000 scholarship, one $3,000, and one $2,000 scholarship. Applications for the scholarship are due on March 31st, so there is still plenty of time to apply. You can find out more at http://www.sacpressclub.org/scholarships.htm. If you plan to apply, contact MLYD President Eddie Kirby (edesw88@aol.com), and he can help you with the application process.
Elizabeth Hill first presented that California had $11 billion dollars in unexpected income, but she warned that this was from private volatile sources and investments, and was by no means permanent. The bad news came as Hill began to look at Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget, and she explained that even with this extra income, his budget would have California in the red by $5 billion in 2006, and she further explained that it was likely that this deficit would continue at least till 2010, briefly falling in 2007, but going back to near $5 billion in 2008.
A lot of what Hill looked at was uncalculated risks which are likely to affect the budget for the next few years, including higher energy costs and falling Real Estate values. Further, she mentioned $1.5 billion in possible lawsuits which are pending, the Federal Deficit Reduction Act which will took hundreds of millions from social programs in California, and billions in unfunded liabilities across the state, all of which are not taken into account by Arnold’s proposed budget. The nasty: Hill reported that her office has calculated a 5% to 10% slow down in housing values and building permits granted over the next few years, but Hill added that this is a moderate estimate which could be as high as 20%.
The press from Elizabeth Hill seemed to be that California has to act now to curtail the State’s budget deficit while we have this extra unexpected income. She essentially summarized that Arnold’s budget goes too far and panders to special interests and bureaucratic interests inside California, and that he needs to cut out the pork now, so that we can protect important programs and interests in the future.
Arnold Schwarzenegger must prioritize education in this budget, and the past has clearly shown that Arnold’s interests lie elsewhere. The budget process of 2006 is likely to be another drawn out battle in the Legislature thanks to the poor leadership of the Governor.
For more information contact MLYD President Eddie Kirby at edesw88@aol.com.
