SACRAMENTO -- — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's ambitious policy agenda collided with fiscal reality Thursday as he rolled out a proposed budget that threatens to unravel his investment in schools, healthcare and criminal justice programs.
At the same time he is pushing a $14-billion expansion of healthcare to nearly all Californians, his budget calls for a rollback of existing medical programs for the needy.
His hope of improving schools may be dashed by what he says is a need, for the first time in years, to cut by hundreds of dollars the amount spent on each student.
And an expansion of the prison system he hoped to reform is now eclipsed by his proposal to release tens of thousands of inmates and lay off prison guards.
Schwarzenegger's budget recommendations put into stark contrast the disparity between his vision of what the state can accomplish and what it can afford in the current economy -- especially, say state finance experts, if he sticks to his promise not to raise taxes.
"I do not believe in tax increases," the governor said in releasing his spending plan at a news conference in the capital. "I think the people of California are sending to Sacramento plenty of dollars. . . . If we cannot function with that money, there is something wrong with the system."
Yet his vision for the state is costly -- and contradictory. Proposing that the state more than double the borrowing voters approved 14 months ago for public works, the governor compared himself to Franklin D. Roosevelt with the New Deal.
Bewildered lawmakers and activists said that reference was inconsistent with his administration's bid to close nearly one of every five state parks.
"I don't think it represents the governor's values," Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) said of the proposed budget, which is intended to close a $14.5-billion gap over the next 18 months.
The plan includes some immediate cuts and others scheduled for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
The Democrats who control the Legislature said they would reject most of the governor's recommendations. Many in the majority party are already at work on an alternative: bills to raise taxes on high earners, oil companies and alcoholic beverages, among other targets. Those bills will be opposed by Republicans, who hold enough votes to block any tax hike.
"There is no way to move us on that," said Assembly Budget Committee Vice Chairman Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks).
