Overview: California Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed budget cuts that would impact funding of benefits for undocumented residents, reduce early intervention efforts for mental health disparities in underserved communities, and cut funding for In-Home Supportive Services. These cuts are expected to impact nearly 3.4 million Californians, while Newsom has not proposed freezing the state’s $8 billion annual subsidies to the oil and gas industry. The cuts have been criticized for disproportionately affecting the state’s most vulnerable populations, while leaving the biggest budget holes unaddressed.
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Well before the November 2024 Presidential Election, many Californians expressed concern over the pending threats outlined in Project 2025 that were expected to severely impact the most vulnerable in this nation, including low income communities, seniors, immigrants, those with disabilities and the list goes on.
In a recent interview with MediaTouch Network, CA Governor Gavin Newsom stated the following in reference to the “Big Ugly Budget Bill” now working its way through Congress, “No state, incidentally, has more to lose on that. 3.4 million Americans will lose support if that bill passes in its existent form in the United States Senate, here in California.”
If passed and signed into law, the projected impact will be devastating to many residents in our local communities.
Areas of most significant concern include the elimination of healthcare coverage for nearly 3.4 million Californians; the probable loss of nearly $22 billion in federal Medicaid funding; the potential loss of $4 billion dollars annually that are currently utilized in the state to offset the cost of non emergency medical benefits for undocumented residents; restrictions on funding mechanisms that support hospitals and health care providers across the state; the shuttering of nonprofit providers like Planned Parenthood through the reduction of billions of dollars in Medicaid (MediCal in CA) funding; and the loss of between $2.3 and $4.9 billion annually that is typically used to provide benefits to a quarter of a million recipients in the state.
Now, according to the California Budget & Policy Center, Newsom appears ready to do Trump one better by proposing to close the state’s projected $7.5 billion budget deficit for 2025-26, by roughly $12 billion in budget reductions.
Newsom appears extremely “Trumpish” in his plan to reduce funding for MediCal benefits to undocumented residents. He has also proposed cuts to early intervention efforts designed to reduce mental health disparities in underserved communities including Blacks, Asian Pacific Islanders, Latino/Latinx, LGBTQ+ and Native Americans communities.
And perhaps one of the most concerning cuts would be to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS). This program helps older and/or differently abled Californians to receive care services at home. Experts express concern of the dual impact these cuts will have on seniors and the differently abled residents in the state as well as those currently providing these service that are primarily women and minorities.
Once again, California, largely viewed as a progressive state is failing to live up to its hype. Are these the only options the governor has to reduce the budget deficit? Isn’t it possible to cut funding elsewhere? Say, for example, all the billions of dollars spent on policing that–rather than being reduced in the wake of the national uprising in 2020 over police abuse–has instead continued to increase despite a falling crime rate?
Or, what about the approximately $8 billion dollars gifted to the oil and gas industry each year in tax breaks and subsidies by the state? Why didn’t Newsom propose freezing these subsidies instead? Combined, these subsidies and tax breaks to the oil and gas industry are estimated to be worth over $8 billion annually.
Freezing these subsidies and tax breaks would be more then enough to cover the $7.8 billion budget deficit with money to spare. It also makes a lot more sense and is more humane than cutting $12 billion in services to the poor in order to close a $7.8 billion dollar budget gap.
When I look clear-eyed at Newsom’s proposal what I see is just another politician unwilling to “walk his talk” or take risks. Instead, he willingly proposes taking the usual way out by punishing the least among us while leaving the big oil and gas to continue suckling off the state taxpayers as they continue to pollute our environment with blatant disregard.
Newsom’s proposed cuts show once again that Democrat or Republican, it is always the same. When it comes to making budget cuts, those with big money and influence always skate through unscathed, while the poor, working class, differently abled, immigrant and the elderly–who don’t wield the influence of those with power and money, are always the ones forced to do without.
Of course, this is just my opinion. I’m keeping it real.