SACRAMENTO - Assemblywoman Anna Caballero (D-28) issued the following statement in response to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s meeting today with members of the Salinas Rotary Club and Salinas United Business Association:

“I join with the members of the Salinas Rotary Club and SUBA in expressing my appreciation to Governor Schwarzenegger for visiting our fair city and sharing information on his budget plans.”

“There’s no question that the state faces a very serious budget deficit – and that we are going to have to work together to solve it.” 

“The governor has provided his proposal:  basically a 10% cut across the board in state programs.  The governor’s proposal means that basically all state programs keep functioning – but some may be so crippled that they simply don’t function very well, and some cuts will actually cost us money.  For example, the recommended cuts for MediCal and Healthy Families will mean a loss of $1.5 billion to the state in federal funding.
 
“The problem with the Governor’s approach is that it does not set priorities. It does not identify the programs that are critical to maintain, nor does it recognize that not all state programs are equally important. Additionally, it fails to identify the services where user fees could be imposed or increased to avoid cuts, such as for the state park system, which has 48 parks on the chopping block. Do Californians really want to close 48 beautiful state parks when our economy is so dependent on tourism?  These are the tough questions that we need to ask as we face this difficult budget.

“Additionally, I want to make sure that the state is saving as much as we can right now. The residents of California want to know that we are taking a pro-active approach. Small economies can add up to bigger savings.  For example, the governor can take action and hold off on new political appointments that pay big salaries, and issue an order to freeze current vacancies, where possible.  We don’t need to buy new state cars every year, we can hold off on new equipment purchases. And we can work to close tax loopholes that cost the state millions of dollars in revenue each year.

“These things alone are not going to solve the fiscal crisis, but they are a beginning. This is what cities have been forced to do; it is what a family would do. The state should do no less.”