(ChattahBox)—Should the White House bail California out of a mess of its own making? The ungovernable state of California is looking to the federal government for a solution to its budget woes. Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger released his 2010-11 budgetthat, includes a request for $6.9 billion in federal funds to make ends meet. Last May, while mired in a severe financial crisis, due to the recession and massive home foreclosures, the beleaguered state asked the White House for a portion of TARP funds, which request was refused. Now, the state is again seeking a federal bailout. And of course, thanks to Sen. Ben Nelson’s (D-NB) antics of holding the health care reform bill hostage, until he secured several concessions, including having the federal government pay for Nebraska’s mandated expansion of Medicaid, Schwarzenegger is demanding that his state’s expansion of health insurance for the poor be paid for as well.
California has been facing a crisis of epic proportions long before the current recession. And unless fundamental changes are made at the state legislative level, and its constitution rewritten, no amount of federal funds can solve the state’s problems. California’s financially bankrupt and deadlocked governmenthas reached crisis levels, from a deadly storm of out of control voter initiatives and referendums, combined with a legislature that can’t pass a simple state budget.
Schwarzenegger’s proposed $82.9 billion budget also calls for $8.5 billion in cuts and $4.5 billion in alternative funding. If federal aid is not forthcoming; the governor proposes deep cuts of $2.4 billion in social welfare programs for the neediest of families, when greater numbers are losing their homes and their jobs.