California's Death by a Thousand Cuts

In a speech to the Legislature today, Governor Schwarzenegger blamed the recession, an outdated tax system and angry voters for what he called a financial crisis that must be solved in the next two weeks. Proposing changes to his May budget revision, he called for massive cuts in education, healthcare and prisons. Repeating the familiar line that the state can't print money like Washington can, he called the crisis "an opportunity to make government more efficient and find innovative ways to stretch taxpayer dollars." While Assembly Speaker Karen Bass acknowledged that there is some agreement on cuts, she voiced concern about eliminating the safety net.