As reporters and analysts have more time to review the 2004-5 budget put together by Gov. Schwarzenegger and his Jeb Bush-trained budget director Donna Arduin, more and more interesting features come out. This story takes a closer look: Schwarzenegger Unveils Budget Los Angeles Times 01/10/04.
Schwarzenegger saved $1 billion between Wednesday's speech and the actual budget by changing the deficit estimate from $15 billion to $14 billion. The plan to postpone $2 billion in spending on education that was mandated by a state proposition years ago is probably open to legal challenge and seems highly questionable on the face of it.
The 2004-5 budget plans to repeat an approach attempted by Gray Davis of borrowing $950 million to cover current state worker pension payments; the court's ruled the previous attempt illegal. It relies on another $1 billion in cuts to the Medi-Cal program (the state version of Medicaid - health care for the poor) that a court ruled illegal in December. It relies on new revenue from Indian casinos that haven't been negotiated yet. One of the "specified" cuts is $438 million from the prison system which is apparently pretty vague.
Schwarzenegger and Arduin are apparently hoping that voters and the press will be comatose about this thing. Just on early readings, we have a $15 billion deficit that is being addressed with measures including: estimating $1 billion away; passing $1.3 billion to local governments to decide which services to cut; $3 billion in unspecified cuts; $2 billion in spending delays of questionable legality; $1 billion in Medi-Cal cuts that were just ruled illegal; another $950 million in borrowing that has also been ruled illegal; $500 million or more in Indian casino revenue not yet negotiated; and, $438 million in prison cuts that are only vaguely specified.
I'm relying on news reports here, and the initial information seems to be a bit contradictory or inconsistent. But it looks like at least $9-10 billion of the proposals meant to close a $15 billion deficit are some combination of bogus, imaginary and wishful thinking.
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