Barack Giveth, But Arnold Taketh AwayPaul Hogarthbyline‚ Jun. 15‚ 2009President Obama’s stimulus bill provides long overdue federal funds to communities facing hard times, but San Francisco will lose virtually all its money from Washington to Sacramento. The City will receive an extra $92 million in federal money this year, but the state has already cut $62 million from what it gave last year. And with Governor Schwarzenegger pushing a “cuts-only” budget to address the state’s shortfall, things are only likely to get worse. Mayor Newsom’s proposed budget set aside $25 million to plan for future state cuts, but the total damage could be more like $200 million. Nearly all federal gains to the Human Services Agency have already been cancelled out by state losses, without counting Arnold’s new proposal to eliminate Cal-Works (which would cut another $100 million out of that department.) Sacramento could decimate the City’s Health Department, and it has already killed public transportation funding. Not only does this mean that advocates must fight for every cent in the City budget, but it forces us to pay close attention to what’s happening in the State Capitol. |