Could California become the first state in the nation to do away with welfare?
That doomsday scenario is on the table as lawmakers wrestle with a staggering $24.3 billion budget deficit.
County welfare directors are “in shock” at the very idea of getting rid of CalWORKs, which has been widely viewed as one of the most successful social programs in the state’s history, said Bruce Wagstaff, director of the Department of Human Assistance in Sacramento.
“It’s difficult to come up with the right adjective to react to this,” Wagstaff said. “It would be devastating to the people we serve.”
H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance, said California is in an unprecedented fiscal situation that has made all programs, from education to human services, vulnerable to deep and painful reductions.
“I don’t wish for a moment to minimize the profound impact” that eliminating CalWORKs would have, Palmer said. “But the easy decisions are way past being in the rearview mirror for us. We face the specter of California not having cash on hand to pay its bills in July.”
Wagstaff and other administrators are betting that the state will rescue the “welfare to work” program. But they are bracing for cuts that would slash benefits to the lowest levels since the late 1990s, when CalWORKs began as part of the federal government’s bold reform of the welfare system.
Great! Now the surrounding states will need to put up a border fence.
Socialist Hell is running out of other people’s money.
I wonder if Mexico will start pushing for a fence to keep the U.S. welfare Gringos from slipping across the border for free handouts in Tiajuana.
CA is facing a $25 BILLION budget deficit.
The article says that if the entire CalWorks program was cut, it would save $157 million.
That leaves $24.943 BILLION to cut (or increase taxes to pay for).
#23:
Merrill Lynch got $10 billion in bailout money, so why get mad about the CEO’s $1.2 million office renovation?
There’s still $9.988 billion left!
The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money to spend.
Yeah, cutting out welfare should cut down about 5% of the defect.
How about cutting the pay of congressional office assistants, who are usually the children of congressmen/women, down from the $2,000-3,000 that they get a week to something like $400-500 a week, which is more in line with what an entry level job like that is worth.
Perfect Republicanism! They have succeeded in every way.
#14 for the win!
“California to Do Away with Welfare?”
Does this mean that elected positions in the California government will no longer be paid?
Un frackin believable, another case of throwing out the baby with the dirty bath water. There’s a lot of waste, so streamline it, reform it. I know this may be hard for you to believe but welfare doesn’t just help octo-moms and illegal immigrants. My Dad was a single father of 3 back during the recession in the 70′s. The factories closed, there wasn’t any work to be found. Even with welfare we barely made it through. A curse to those who wish to enjoy the benefits of a society yet contribute nothing.
The reason this is such a big deal is because social welfare programs are one of the most efficient use of tax dollars right under infrastructure investments. The figure I heard on NPR was I believe was every dollar spent on welfare returns $1.34(as opposed to tax cuts being $1.03, 10x as effective).
People love to point out the “Welfare Queens” as boogeymen in their strawman arguments.
The reality of welfare is that investing in your citizens and hoping they make something of their lives is not only morally right, but also fiscally sound policy. Otherwise with no assistence, these people end up in jail where they cost the system 4x as much as they did on welfare.
So it’s likely that cuts to the program will actually result in a *NET LOSS* for the state, which is why even the diea is assanine.
Expecting people to actually be informed is always a losing bet however.
@Sparkyone
I think elected officials pay should be performance based.
Considering they all have managed to create a deep recession, they should all vote themselves a pay cut!
The picture is actually from Texas… F.M. ### is a Texas naming scheme, and not all of CA has exit numbers.
All I have to say on the actual issue is this:
CA = most populous state in Union
CA = WORLD’S 7th largest GDP
CA = one of the most, if not THE most heavily taxed state in the Union
CA = most broke state in the Union
So WTF is all the money going? Sorry. Not my problem the stupid F@#$KS in your statehouse can’t balance the checking account.
#5 Thanks for that real world report…
Two employees of mine, decided they no longer wanted to work for a living…somehow they ended up in a “Recovery center” where they sneak in all the booze etc the want…and the state is billed for all sorts of non existence medical procedures, tests etc.
I’m guessing, but analogous to how Obama spends 400,000+ for each job his bill makes, I bet these cost the state the same or close to that.
An independent contractor I know illegally gets state aid for children etc…but when an investigator checked her out…she covered up the crime, because she felt sorry for her.
The system is rife with abuse and waste, and its a political strategy to threaten to lay off police and firemen etc…when there is so much else they could cut, to save $$$.
iirc, Bernanke was floating a very similar trial balloon several days ago in front of a senate committee of some sort. [referring to having to cut social programs]
be funny if this in part, what all the FEMA camps being built are for..
“don’t want to work? –want to spit out babies faster than an Uzi to pick up extra checks..fine..
[riots ensue]
“–we have some brandy new labor camps waiting for all of yaz..
..you can make some fine 99¢ items to earn your keep..”
-yads yada
-s
FM = Farm to Market
This could be a total scam but 24 billion in the red suggests they just might be running up against the limit of what they can beg, borrow, steal, or tax and that taxes have stopped working in that a tax increase on business means fewer jobs and lower revinues.
If that is true then you may be about to find out what I meant when I said before you promise to do take care of people in some manner you’d better check to see if you have the money to actually do it.
You know what you hardly ever hear, anymore?
Calls to rewrite the constitution so Arnold can be prez.
I wonder why?
#34 – Alfred: I know a guy who has well over a hundred million dollars in an overseas bank, drives a brand new Jaguar, has a house in Bev Hills and a vacation home in Barbados. BUT, he keeps an apartment in the poorest section of town where he claims food stamps and unemployment. It’s true! Just like your stories.
Welfare is bullshit anyway. Your typical welfare recipient is on welfare because:
1. dropped out of school due to drugs or gang banging.
2. didn’t pay attention in school because of drugs and or too much rap music.
3. inability to practice any contraception what so ever.
4. laziness or sense of entitlement.
Good riddance!
#39 Your typical welfare recipient is : a corporation.
The rest is just latent racism.