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Governor’s Proposed Health Cuts Would Increase Ranks of Uninsured, Reduce Access The Governor’s proposed health cuts would increase the number of uninsured Californians by more than half a million and reduce access to services for those who keep their coverage. How California’s School Districts Spend Their Funds A new School Finance Facts examines how California’s schools spend their money and what the Governor’s Proposed Budget would mean for public education. A new CBP analysis examines who pays taxes in California, who doesn’t, and how California’s tax systems compare to those of other states. Local Impact of the Governor’s Proposed Cuts New analyses outline the impact of proposed cuts in selected programs, including K-12 education, health care, CalWORKs, IHSS, and SSI/SSP, by county, by legislative district, and by population group. Congress Could Help Ease California’s Fiscal Woes Federal assistance could help California avoid deep budget cuts and support the state’s economy. Federal rules would worsen California’s budget crisis and could disrupt health care services for children and vulnerable Californians. Governor’s Proposed CalWORKs Changes Would Eliminate Aid for Nearly 200,000 Children The Governor’s policy changes would undermine California’s original bipartisan commitment to provide a minimum level of support for children in CalWORKs families, who are among the poorest in the state. Economic Slowdown Is Bad News for California’s Workers and Their Families A new CBP analysis reviews the latest economic indicators and examines what an economic slowdown could mean for California. Governor Proposes to Suspend State COLAs for SSI/SSP Grants The Governor’s proposal to suspend state cost-of-living adjustments for SSI/SSP grants would further erode the purchasing power of SSI/SSP payments for 1.3 million low-income seniors and people with disabilities. Locked Out 2008: The Housing Boom and Beyond While the recent softening in home prices has put thousands of homeowners at risk of foreclosure, it has had little impact on the affordability of housing for the typical California family. A supplement to this report provides county-specific data on California’s housing crisis.
The CBP's annual chartbook examines how the Governor proposes to balance the 2008-09 budget and assesses what the proposed budget means for California. |
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Health Savings Accounts: No Solution for the Uninsured Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are not a promising prescription for expanding health coverage for uninsured Californians. The CBP analyzed the issue when the Legislature previously considered HSA proposals similar to those under current review. Gambling on the Future: Should California Privatize the State Lottery? Proposals to privatize the state lottery to address California’s budget shortfall are in the news again. A CBP Budget Brief analyzed the issue when it was first proposed by the Governor in 2007. A Generation of Widening Inequality: The State of Working California, 1979 to 2006 Since the late 1970s, California’s job growth has become concentrated in low-wage and high-wage jobs and the gap between workers at the low end and the high end of the earnings distribution has widened. A new CBP report documents employment, wage, and income trends in California during the past generation. Making Ends Meet: How Much Does It Cost to Raise a Family in California? A new report estimates the costs of housing, food, and other necessities for California families. The study finds that families need to earn incomes that are much higher than the federal poverty line to afford to make ends meet. |
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SACRAMENTO UPDATE, APRIL/MAY 2008 Why This Year Is Different "Why do many of us believe this year’s budget battles will prove so tough? The roots lie in what makes this budget crisis different from those of recent years," writes Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project, in a guest cover column for Sacramento Update, a California State PTA publication. PRESS-ENTERPRISE, 5/10/08 State Budget a Saga in Overreaching Outlay "Only in California could a $6 billion cut in the VLF show up as a $6 billion spending increase in the budget," said Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project, which evaluates budget impacts on low- and middle-income residents. SYNAPSE, 5/9/08 California’s Budget Cuts: Cutting Preventative Healthcare By cutting the payment to Medi-Cal providers by 10 percent, accounting for over $1.3 billion in loss of funds according to the California Budget Project, in addition to the $4.4 billion being cut from public schools, the Governor is weakening the safety net. SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 5/4/08 How War's Huge Cost Could Be Put to Better Use at Home (People will) face even greater challenges if proposed budget cuts are enacted. Here are some effects of the governor's proposed budget in Santa Clara County, as reported by the California Budget Project. SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 5/3/08 Swanson Talks About Budget Crisis Alameda County could also lose five of the largest funding allocations for public schools (about $637 per student) in the country, according to the California Budget Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization seeking fiscal reforms to benefit low- and moderate-income Californians. SACRAMENTO BEE, 4/30/08 Analysis: Governor's Deficit Estimate Rises to $20 Billion Jean Ross of the California Budget Project, an advocacy group for the working poor, said Schwarzenegger's projection "may be an attempt to prepare people for the fact that news is going to get worse and not better in the May revise." SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, 4/29/08 Bay Area Home to the State's Elite - 8 Counties Place in Wealthiest Dozen This gulf contributes to gridlock in Sacramento, because the state Legislature needs a two-thirds majority to pass a budget or a tax increase. "We need an extraordinarily high level of consensus in a state that is phenomenally diverse," (Executive Director Jean Ross) says.
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