Missing Budget Threat to Children

Another day, another story about the devastating impacts of a missing budget on Californians. Today is comes the story of the 500,000 low income children who could lose their child-care due to the $1 billion in payments that are being held up by the lack of a budget. State Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell brought the issue forward yesterday. LAT:

O'Connell said thousands of licensed child-care programs served by the agencies are on the brink of closing, with many issuing IOUs to employees or taking out costly lines of credit that could mean future reductions in services. The ripple effect if programs cannot weather the budget delay could be devastating, he said, putting in jeopardy the jobs of parents who depend on child care as well as the state's 24,000 child-care workers.

"Many of the most vulnerable and helpless Californians are in fear of losing important services," O'Connell said during a news conference at the Emerson Children's Center in Burbank. "The programs provide developmentally appropriate instruction for students from the day they're born to 12 years old. The programs also provide meals, and for many children they are the most nutritious they will receive all day."

O'Connell accused Senate Republicans of refusing to agree to a balanced budget in a fit of gamesmanship over spending cuts that could have severe consequences for children and their families. Child-care providers are not the only ones at risk. The state Franchise Tax Board said Tuesday it was holding up 202,000 claims totaling more than $63 million in rental assistance to elderly, blind and disabled Californians pending passage of a budget.

Naturally, the Republicans are attempting to blame the Democrats for this disaster. They had proposed a emergency funding measure that would have just given them more leverage on the budget. It is the Republicans who are withholding the vote for the budget.

It appears that there are a few Republicans willing to vote for the budget as is, but are being held captive of their own volition to the tyranny of the majority of the minority. Got that? Confusing I know. See, despite their own personal feelings on the matter the Republican Senators banded together and refuse to vote for the budget, unless a majority of them support it. Passage of the budget right now is reliant not on a supermajority, or even a two-thirds vote, but a nearly unanimous vote. It is simply ridiculous and the cause of much suffering by the most vulnerable Californians.

Meanwhile 78,000 children in Los Angeles County alone could loves services, aka meals and child care, so their parents could make it to their jobs. It is forcing agencies to take out loans, which is eating up their funding in interest that could be going to services. California's poor children are going without meals, and seniors without rent checks. There is still no end in sight.