Retirees

By Steve Mehlman

“Backed by anxious supporters, some on crutches or in wheelchairs, nearly two-dozen passionate speakers on Tuesday railed against "Gestapo" tactics of Stanislaus County home care fraud investigators…” Modesto Bee, Sept. 1, 2010

A flawed and mean-spirited attack by right-wing ideologues on some of California’s most vulnerable citizens has begun to sprout poisoned fruit in California’s Central Valley.

Using some of the millions of dollars distributed by the Schwarzenegger Administration in the name of fighting fraud in the In Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program, Stanislaus County earlier this year created a Special Investigations Unit.

By Anthony Wright
Health Access California

On Jan. 1, 2014, at least two million Californians will become newly eligible for Medi-Cal; but this is not to say that they will magically be enrolled when the ball drops in Times Square.  Without carefully laying the proper groundwork, this and other provisions of health reform law won't have their full impact.

How to best make this transition for Medi-Cal, which currently serves more than seven million Californians -- including low-income children, parents, seniors and people with disabilities -- is just one of the key goals through the current negotiations between the state and federal governments over the program's next five years. The stakes are high on these and other issues, all considered as part of discussions around a new Medicaid waiver.

By Assemblymember Tom Ammiano

I have introduced the Socially Responsible Investment Act, AB 2337, to prohibit the use of public pension funds in predatory investment schemes. The legislation would require CalPERS and CalSTRS to disclose and divest from any investments in companies engaged in predatory business practices that rely, or result in, the displacement of residents in affordable housing in order to generate profits for investors.

Public pension funds have been a primary source of equity for what affordable housing advocates have termed “predatory equity”, a form of real estate speculation predicated on the displacement of low and middle-income renters from affordable housing.   

Tenants Together, California’s statewide organization for renters’ rights, has been urging CalPERS for over a year to voluntarily adopt “predator free” investment criteria, pointing to the large scale displacement of tenants in East Palo Alto and New York City fueled by CalPERS money. 

By Mark Baldassare
Public Policy Institute of California

Most Californians would be willing to pay higher taxes to maintain current funding for public schools and most favor spending cuts in prisons and corrections, according to a survey released today by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) with funding from The James Irvine Foundation. 

But while majorities want to protect K–12 schools and cut spending on prisons, Californians are as divided as their leaders on the overall strategy to deal with the state’s $20 billion budget deficit: 41 percent favor a mix of spending cuts and tax increases and 37 percent favor mostly spending cuts (9% favor mostly tax increases). They are in more agreement when it comes to asking the federal government for help, as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has done: 66 percent say California should seek federal aid to help meet its budget obligations.

By Eric Wooten

We’ve come a long way baby.

A political tsunami swept Arnold Schwarzenegger into office and he enjoyed sky-high popularity and enormous political capital.  

Now he’s entering his lame-duck year with approval ratings hovering in the mid-20’s, much of his political capital squandered on the disastrous 2005 special election and a looming legacy that’s a far cry from the lofty goals he set for himself at the beginning of his term.

So why has Arnold outlined a political agenda that's ambitious, even if he had undertaken it at his political apex, rather than his current nadir?

Because he has no intention of succeeding.

By Assemblywoman Karen Bass

Democrats are supportive of the governor’s call for a better return on the dollars we send Washington, but budget threats the Governor usually aims at the Legislature should not be turned to the President of the United States.

Leaders should approach the federal government from a point of collaboration and all options should be on the table to address the budget deficit.

The governor said that if California doesn’t receive $8 billion dollars from the federal government, he will push for draconian budget cuts to our safety net. He also called on our congressional delegation to vote against the health care reform we so desperately need in our country. It’s important we begin the challenging year ahead with cooperation, not a combative, contradictory tone.

By Marty Omoto
California Disability Community Action Network

Despite massive permanent spending cuts and some temporary tax increases made this past year, California’s budget shortfall is projected to swell to $21 billion by June 30, 2011, the end of the 2010-2011 State Budget year in a new report issued this morning by the Legislative Analyst Office – the non-partisan agency that reviews and monitors budget issues for the Legislature. 

Adding to the bad news, the report also projects continued budget shortfalls of billions of dollars for the next several years especially when federal stimulus dollars and revenues from the temporary tax increases end.  

By Marty Omoto
 California Disability Community Action Network

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger repeated Thursday (November 12) his dire warning of a growing state budget deficit that could swell to over $14 billion, and the need for deeper spending cuts to close it, when he submits a new budget for the 2010-2011 State budget year in January.  

The deficit – the difference between what the state brings in as revenues (including taxes) and what it actually spends and is projected to spend – is growing because of a combination of several factors, including a sharp drop in revenues that the current budget did not anticipate; lawsuits that have stopped several major cuts from going forward; and spending on some programs that have increased due to growing caseloads.

By Dennis Smith
California Federation of Teachers

For many individuals, making a career change from private sector employment to teaching in California results in a lifetime penalty of reduced benefits. This penalizes individuals who want to teach, along with the spouses of these individuals. California is one of 15 states with “public service penalties,” and it has the largest number of employees impacted by these penalties, including teachers, public safety, and local government public servants. That’s why the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) co-sponsored a rally Saturday, November 7, to urge Congress to pass, and President Obama to sign, federal bills SR 484 (Feinstein) and HR 235 (Matsui), the Social Security Fairness Act.