iePolitics.com

By Steve Wiegand
swiegand@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008

State Controller John Chiang warned Tuesday that the first group to get hit in the wallet by California’s budget debacle is likely to include legislators - and it could happen as early as Feb. 1.

The bad news is that next in line to get IOUs instead of cash would be state income taxpayers awaiting refunds and companies that do business with the state.
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Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Claremont, voted last week against a special session budget plan that would have raised taxes by $24 billion over five years, according to a statement from his office.
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Sen. Bob Dutton (R-Rancho Cucamonga) has urged Governor Schwarzenegger to use his powers under Proposition 58 to call the Legislature into Special Session on Dec. 1 to deal with the state’s fiscal crisis following the defeat of the budget proposal today.

“To fix the budget we must have a healthy economy, not focus solely on raising taxes,” Senator Dutton said. “I’m calling on the governor to use provisions under Proposition 58 when the new Legislature is sworn in next week and to have the focus only on legislation that will stimulate the economy and fix California’s budget. All other legislation needs to be delayed until we can once and for all get our fiscal house in order. Today’s budget proposal did not accomplish that.”
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Dutton Report: November 2008

Budget Continues to Dominate

As most of you are aware, Governor Schwarzenegger has called a special session of the Legislature to deal with the state’s budget deficit that is now projected to be $28 billion over the next 19 months.

The governor has proposed several tax increases including increasing the sales tax by 1.5 percent, taxing sporting events and adding a 5 cent per drink tax to name a few to budget the gaping hole between spending and revenue.
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By Judy Lin, The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 11/14/2008 09:31:55 PM PST

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has nothing against Lincoln or Columbus. He just thinks state workers don’t need their holidays as a paid day off while California faces a mounting budget deficit.

The governor has proposed eliminating them as paid holidays, a move his administration estimates will save California $114 million during this fiscal year and the next one starting in July. Much of that will come from saved overtime costs.
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With the economic meltdown, social workers find they need new skills

updated 9:58 a.m. PT, Sun., Nov. 9, 2008

NEW YORK - Against the backdrop of the economic meltdown, a movement is building within the ranks of America’s social workers to make their profession more adept at helping clients overcome financial woes.

Since they emerged on the scene in the late 19th century, social workers traditionally have sought to improve the lot of the poor. But in the contemporary era of rampant foreclosures, credit card debt, and ever-evolving scams that prey on the economically vulnerable, few social work schools offer specialized financial training to their students, leaving them collectively unprepared.
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