How Enron brought California's Budget Ruin

This blog is demonstrating how awful the changes are in California first. Then in the second part of the article I'm showing how California got here.

Governor unveils deep budget cuts to welfare 

To read full San Jose Mercury News Article Click "Governor" above

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rolled out a blueprint for grim work this spring, calling on lawmakers Friday to repair a $19.1 billion hole in the state budget largely by gutting safety net programs.

Democrats insisted they will fight the most devastating proposals, such as Schwarzenegger's plan to gut the In-Home Support Services (IHSS) program, a program for the blind, disabled and elderly that serves 450,000 people; eliminate the state's welfare-to-work program, CalWORKS, while dealing significant blows to Healthy Families, the state's insurance program that serves 900,000 children, teenagers and pregnant women, and community mental health programs.
The budget calls for $83.4 billion in

RELATED

• Document: Governor's full revised plan
• Blog: Budget wars begin again
• More on the California budget crisis

spending for 2010-2011.. Schwarzenegger proposed $12.4 billion in cuts andassumes that the state will receive $6.7 billion in other revenues such as federal aid and new fees. "California should be in a position to safeguard its most vulnerable citizens," said Schwarzenegger, while opponents shouted "shame on you" from outside the building. "We may want to, but we're not because our budget system is broken, and now I have no choice, and I stand here and call for the elimination of important programs." end quote.

Many people who didn't live in the western United States and were not personally financially screwed by their utility companies (Enron was one of the culprits) might want to read the following that explains how California's Government got screwed by having to bail out poor old ladies to the tune of billions of dollars the state didn't have and which long term resulted in the present economic debacle caused directly by Greedy companies like Enron. The real reason Enron collapsed (and others should have as well) was the following.

The deregulation debacle - Energy - Salon.com

If you want to read about the 2001 energy debacle that caused California's present problems because the state simply had no way legally to pay back the money borrowed from taxpayers so little old ladies didn't freeze to death in their homes when they couldn't pay their ridiculous utility bills. To read this article click on

"The deregulation debacle" above.