“Making budget priorities is essential in tough economic times. But we need to remember that although closing a park may be inconvenient, closing down programs like CalWORKS hurts children and destroys families.” This quote from an editorial piece in Monday’s San Francisco Chronicle written by George Niederauer, archbishop of the San Francisco Catholic diocese.

These sentiments are echoed by many low-income and struggling Californians and those who advocate for them.  A $19 billion deficit is in no way going to be balanced strictly by cutting services to public parks, nor is it possible to raise taxes to cover that large of a gap.  There must be a compromise, there must be deliberate and well-thought out decisions made.   They must be made not from a brash crisis mindset but from one of responsibility and solidarity with those most vulnerable, that we as Californians can stand behind, accountable and with clear conscious.

“Now is the time for our legislators and the governor, many of whom are not facing re-election, to show real courage and imagination. Families are suffering because of a devastating – but curable – budget crisis. Lawmakers and the governor have the tools and the ability to solve these problems, but it requires leadership. They need to stop giving in to special interests and start looking after the future of California. They need to stop the partisanship and the bickering.”

On January 6, 7, and 8, 2010, advocates in cities across California rallied to send Governor Schwarzenegger this message: “California’s budget should put low income families first!” Low-income families, seniors, and people with disabilities were hit hard with budget cuts last year, and this year they are asking the Governor to invest in them with health and social services and opportunities for employment.

St. Anthony Foundation acts as the “hands below the safety net”. We are proud of the services that we provide to folks who have fallen through the cracks due to budget cuts and elimination of government-funded health and social service programs. But at St. Anthony’s, we also work hard to ensure that our government invests in society’s most vulnerable members so that, even if they may fall on hard times, they don’t have to hit rock bottom before assistance is available.

Our city and state budgets are not just financial documents; they are statements about our priorities and values. St. Anthony Foundation’s statement of values states that we promote the dignity and respect of all people, even those among us who have very little. We are working with advocates across California to ensure that our budget protects programs that help vulnerable community members to simply survive: programs like In Home Supportive Services, CalWORKs, Social Security Income, Medi-Cal, and Healthy Families.

As we analyze the Governor’s proposed budget, stay tuned for information about how to get involved in advocating for a budget that supports all Californians!

A friend of mine has bi-polar disease. She has worked for periods in her life and she’s looking for a part time job now. But for several years she has lived on government assistance in a government subsidized SRO.

It differs from most privately owned SRO’s: The building is well kept and well supervised and there are services on site. There are no rats and no mould and no one shooting up in the hallway. The bathroom is shared with only one other person. But her entire home is one-third the size of my studio apartment. There is a stove burner, a microwave and a mini-refrigerator with no freezer; she can’t save money by buying larger quantities of food. Her place costs $650. Her check is somewhere in the $800’s.

According to the California Labor Federation, the most recent corporate tax breaks give away $2.5 billion a year, every year, to a handful of the world’s largest corporations.

These tax breaks have no value to the state or the majority of its businesses. They do not create jobs or soften the economic blow so many families are facing. Ending them won’t drive corporations from California.

California’s health and human services have already been slashed $26 billion, and now Governor Schwarzenegger is pushing another round of major cuts to education, health care, public safety and other vital services. He will not increase taxes on anyone or anything.

Seniors will lose their cost of living increase for 2 years, plus employment services, adult protective services, and home delivered meals. Poor families will make 4% less at CalWORKS, reducing a family of 3 to $694 a month. People like my friend will have another 30 to 60 dollars cut from their support.

Many of these folks are working. Many others are struggling to get even a part time job.

Corporations are no strangers to government subsidy. They know what it is to need a lifeline, as my friend does. Why shouldn’t corporations pay as much as individuals and local businesses do for the privilege of working in San Francisco.

As St. Anthony Foundation’s Advocacy Coordinator, the California state budget has been weighing heavy on my mind. The budget proposals released at the end of May were frightening, and signaled the possibility of the absolute devastation of California’s publicly-funded safety net. I’ve been talking about the budget almost nonstop since the proposals became public. I’ve also been helping our St. Anthony Foundation family get up to speed with all the news and start speaking out in order to help prevent the cuts.

Last Thursday’s (June 11, 2009) news that the California Budget Conference Committee had rejected some of the proposals that would hurt low-income Californians was hopeful. It is important to take a moment to be grateful that the elimination of the CalWORKs and Healthy Families programs are off the table (for now), but it’s also important to make sure that this small victory does not lull us into complacency. I am encouraging our St. Anthony Foundation advocates to use last Thursday’s news as an opportunity to enjoy feelings of hope and inspiration and to get recharged for the next stretch of difficult advocacy work that lies before us.

St. Anthony Foundation will be participating in California Church Impact’s Most Urgent Witness Rally in Sacramento next Tuesday, June 16. This rally will be an opportunity for advocates from around California to converge at the state Capitol and urge our legislators and Governor not to make budget decisions that will hurt the very people who need the most help right now: uninsured kids, low-income seniors and disabled people, working moms receiving CalWORKs, Medi-cal recipients, families experiencing domestic violence, frail elderly who need in-home care, and people living with AIDS who need assistance with life-saving medication. If you can’t join us in Sacramento, please consider calling or emailing your legislator and the Governor and telling them about your budget priorities.

Last week, California’s Director of Finance, Mike Genest, was quoted in the New York Time’s saying “Government doesn’t provide services to rich people. It doesn’t even really provide services to the middle class. You have to cut where the money is.” This is his response to the uproar, and borderline desperation, of people begging the government to refrain from making further cuts to life-sustaining programs serving the needs of the poor.

Anxiety continues to rise amongst St. Anthony’s guests and clients who are forced to sit and wait, wondering which of their services will be cut next and how devastating the cut will be. Quite frankly, I am sick and tired of hearing that cutting vital services such as senior programs, medical assistance services, education and meal assistance programs are the only solution to this budget crisis. CalWORKS, California’s welfare-to-work program is now the newest program on the chopping block. Faced with a real possibility of the program’s elimination, Mayor Newsom admits that California would “become the first state in the industrialized world to have no welfare system at all.” I am tired of the government balancing the budget on the backs of the poor.

Revisiting Mike Genest’s quote above, I echo the sentiments of Tim Redmond, found here in this week’s Editor’s Notes section of the San Francisco Bay Guardian: How can you say that the government doesn’t provide services to the rich and middle class? Who among those classes do not benefit from services provided by the government? Do the rich and middle class not send their children to public schools? Do they not ride MUNI to get to work? Do they not use public libraries or enjoy access to state parks? Do the rich not visit public museums and the middle class not enjoy the safety and security afforded them by the police and fire departments? Do they not mail letters through the postal service, bathe in water provided by the municipal water system or participate in events held in state convention centers? No, of course they do, but these and other programs are not those whose legitimacy are debated each time there are tough decisions to make. Cutting programs that are literally essential to the survival of hundreds of thousands of Californians is not a necessity, it’s a political choice. And, until we realize that, and start demanding that our legislators balance this budget with compassion, empathy and wisdom, the people of the Tenderloin, and the communities of people they represent across the state, will only continue to suffer.

Low-income San Franciscans will pay for the second disappointing public budget of the year. Last month, the city passed a budget with staggering cuts to health and human services, especially for poor people. The city budget will reduce or close many non-profits serving the poor.

This month, the state ended the longest budget stalemate in California’s history by passing one that slashes services to the poor and homeless. These are the most vulnerable of the most vulnerable.

The Working Poor

• $70 million cut from child care for CalWorks families
• CalWorkers paid the same wages as in 2004

Seniors

• The entire $190.1 million cut from Senior Citizens Property and Renters’ Tax Assistance
• All cost of living increases cut for 2 consecutive years
• Cuts in Senior Community Employment, Home Delivered Meals, Adult Protective Services, and Multipurpose Senior Services Program

Families and Sick People

• Inadequate cap on dental coverage for children in the Healthy Families program
• Apply twice a year to keep children in Medi-Cal
• $7.7 million cut from mental health managed care
• 5% cut in provider rate for health, dental, and vision plans
• No California Prescription Drug Program for another year

The Homeless

• Complete elimination of the Emergency Homeless Assistance Program. Two San Francisco shelters will lose significant funding.

At St. Anthony Foundation, we’re getting ready for the new guests these cuts will bring to our doors.  That’s why we’re putting up new facilities and refocusing our work. The future is asking more of all of us.