The Casualties in California’s Budget War

Posted on Apr 27, 2011

Creative Commons / Neon Tommy

The University of Southern California’s Neon Tommy takes a close look at the people, services and institutions that stand to lose the most in California’s ongoing budget fiasco. The state’s leadership is staring down a nearly $26 billion budget deficit, and even if Gov. Jerry Brown can reach agreement with the Legislature on tax extensions and renegotiated state employee contracts, drastic cuts appear imminent. One piece of good news, however, is a recent poll indicating that voters are ready to consider tax increases.  —KDG

Neon Tommy:

Neon Tommy staffers dug deep to find the people who would be hit hardest by the cuts. Services and institutions in peril include health care, courts, mental health, child care, parks and higher education ($500 million each from the UC and Cal-State systems). Brown’s pledge to spare public K-12 was contingent on the tax extensions, which is looking less and less likely.

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