What will state governments do to "fix" the budgets?

I'll tell you one thing they won't do: tax the rich.

Two recent events this last week really expose the degeneracy of some of our elected leadership. Firstly, earlier this week California congressmen came out triumphantly after a 20 hour deliberation on a new budget. Secondly, Arizona state lawmakers found a way to balance their own budget: put a for sale sign on the Capitol's lawn.

The great bipartisan compromise between Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic majority State Assembly amounts to nothing more than a big "screw you" to Californians, who need help the most: elderly, sick, children, workers and students. Jerald Reodica writes for Socialist Worker that the bill totaled a "staggering 15.5 billion" in cuts. In a time when unemployment is reaching new highs, with millions more losing their jobs each month, the bipartisan dream team agreed to cut $528 million from CalWORKS, the state's welfare program. And, continuing on in California's fashion, $6.1 billion is being cut out of funding for public education K-14. Community colleges and the state universities are not spared from these budget cuts either.

Economists are already coming out with projections that the budget will fall short. And of course we can make our own projections; when the budget falls short it will again be the workers, students, elderly and sick who have to make sacrifices. Once again the social welfare system takes the hit and not Big Business. Time and time again industries such as Apple and Warner Brothers can enjoy tax breaks while working class people have to figure out how to make ends meet.

As for Arizona, it is not as if anyone is sad to see the face of government sold off to the highest bidder. Well maybe, there are some. But, the fact remains that in order to balance the budget Arizona is going to start planting some "For Sale" signs on their front lawn. According to Howard Fischer with Capitol Media Services the Arizona Capitol is going on the market for $18 million. Through some convenient loopholes in legislation, the government can sell property, then lease it back. There is even an option to "own it outright," explains Fischer.

In an interview Kirk Adams, the House Speaker, admits that there is "always a cost to borrowing money." But when he says "we'll pay that cost as well," it is clear that he has forgotten, who will really front that bill. It is not the state's lawmakers but the state's citizens. Much as the federal bailouts of Big Banks has been passed on to American citizens, so will the cost of borrowing money (against their own property no less).

American citizens have to fight back these injustices, both on a local and federal level. It should not be the sick, the young, the homeless, jobless, and overworked, who have to "balance the budgets" on their own backs. It should be the big corporations that have racked in big profits off of our labor.

To read Jerald's full article visit Socialist Worker Online.

You can check out Howard's full article here.