California Sees Red

Looks like Republicans are going to win out in California’s seemingly endless budget battle, despite holding a minority in the state Legislature. The deal lawmakers are inching toward favors Gov. Schwarzenegger’s desire to make the poor, the elderly and schoolchildren pay for the state’s financial crisis.

San Jose Mercury News:
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders say they’re nearing a deal to close the state’s $26.3 billion deficit. And despite California’s left-leaning electorate, the final product is almost certain to be settled on Republican terms, with deep spending cuts to most state programs and no new taxes.
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The state’s budget rules require the approval of a two-thirds majority, allowing the Republican minority to dictate terms.

It doesn’t help that the Golden State is desperate. California, which already has the worst credit rating in the nation, has issued millions in IOUs.

Flickr / Franco Folini

A homeless woman picks through a trash can. Lawmakers are closing in on a deal that would make drastic cuts to education, welfare and other social programs, rather than raising taxes.