The Associated Press
California faces a $21.3 billion budget deficit
LOS ANGELES - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday hes heard loud and clear a voter message to take care of deficits through budget cuts alone without passing additional costs along to them.
Voters on Tuesday resoundingly rejected Schwarzeneggers package of budget-balancing measures that he promised would temporarily fix the states financial crisis.
Instead he now faces a $21.3 billion budget deficit.
Schwarzenegger said the states residents have had to sell off motorcycles second cars and hold garage sales to make ends meet in recent months. Now theyre telling state officials that the government has to shrink too.
Dont come to us for extra help. That was the message Schwarzenegger said after a meeting with Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. And you know something. I appreciate that when you hear that from the people. It gives us a chance to go and adjust and say OK we went in the wrong direction. Now lets go in the right direction and lets go do what the people want.
Still Schwarzenegger said the budget cuts to come may be more painful than California voters realize. While they may not want to pay more for services they cant say specifically which services they would pare he said.
He said cuts will certainly come in education health care and in prisons by transferring undocumented immigrants to federal facilities and transferring more non-violent offenders to local jails. He plans to meet with state lawmakers in the afternoon to discuss the states options.
Schwarzenegger did get some good news on Wednesday. The federal government informed him that California will remain eligible for an extra $8 billion in Medicaid funds despite complaints from unions that it violated the terms for getting extra stimulus dollars for health care.
The governor said he felt all along the state should trim certain government services but he didnt want to make what he described as drastic cuts.
Now we have to. Theres no other choice. I think the message was clear from the people: Go all out and make those cuts and live within your means Schwarzenegger said.
