State GOP Leaders - Not Fond of the Poor

For the last month the California State Senate has been unable to pass a budget, thanks to stalling by the Senate's Republicans. Flatly rejecting the budget passed by the Assembly, the Republican Caucus, as led by Dick Ackerman (R-Irvine), has insisted that the new budget slash an additional $1 billion in spending without giving detail as which programs would bear the brunt of such heavy slashing.

Until today.

Senate Republicans will present their budget to the California Senate today, but Ackerman has revealed a few of the proposed cuts: in a move that surprises no one, state welfare is a primary victim of the budget cuts, with $324-million to be yanked from its already too-lean budget:

After holding up the state budget nearly a month past deadline, Senate Republicans offered Tuesday to end the impasse if Democrats would move tens of thousands of poor families off welfare and make dozens of additional program cuts.

I understand the need to make sure that welfare is going to those who need it most and to root out fraud, which is what Ackerman says these cuts are supposed to accomplish. But the fact of the matter is, children will be hardest hit by these proposed cuts, since the slashing "[...] would eliminate safety net cash grants that are intended to keep children whose parents do not meet work requirements from becoming homeless. Children whose parents are in the country illegally also could lose assistance under the Republican plan."

Once again the GOP leadership shows that they don't care about those in our society that are most in need.

What a surprise.