California

California Governor Schwarzenegger’s 2010 Budget Proposal

Cristina Fard

       On January 6, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger gave his State of the State address (def: a speech given at the start of every new financial year on the current condition of our state government), outlining his proposed plan for the California budget.  The plan addresses crucial issues to Californians, but like any plan, it has been met with much criticism from both liberals and conservatives. Subdivided into 11 state agencies (def: government organizations or bureaus that provide some service for another), like Higher Education and Environmental Protection, the proposed budget attempts to outline the Governor’s response to California’s fiscal (def: financial) crisis and its $19.9 billion dollar gap (def: a deficit, or what occurs when an entity, in this case our government, spends more money than it receives).  The new budget will create a high-speed rail, which will connect Northern California and Southern California boosting both domestic and international tourism for both San Francisco and Los Angeles (and their adjacent cities), which could have a positive effect on tourism.

• The Department of Finance has put the proposed budget online. Both the summary and detailed version can be found at www.ebudget.ca.gov.
  
• The Revised Budget will be available sometime in mid-May of 2010, with the expected enacted version online by Summer 2010.

Argument for the rail: 

• The rail will help to address the heavy pollution problem facing California's Central Valley, which has a direct effect on the California agriculture economy
• A high-speed rail project will create jobs in a state that needs them desperately.
• Allows mobility among the population, permitting easier in-state travel and enabling long-distance commuting.
• Argument against the rail
• The high-speed rail project will take federal money away from education, causing the UC system, Cal States, and local community colleges to see increases in tuition costs, schedule cuts, and overcrowded classes.  It also could affect some state run social welfare programs
• The high-speed rail project may not create the level of jobs projected, as many positions will not necessarily go to Californians, but out-of-state specialists.