After declaring a fiscal emergency, Governor Schwarzenegger yesterday unveiled his budget plan which seeks to close the gap in California's budget. The governor proposed a 10 percent cut across the board for state programs, including education, health care and social services.

Democratic state representatvies are stongly opposing the plan, including Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez of Los Angeles. The Daily News reports:

"All of the cards ought to be on the table," said Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, D-Los Angeles. "Cuts alone simply will not work."

"Taxes should be a last resort, but a blind pledge to never increase any taxes at any time, I believe, is a straitjacket that ill fits California."

In Los Angeles, the cuts would mean the closure of at least six state parks, and drastic reduction in the LAUSD budget. The cuts would also mean less money for already struggling Medi-Cal health care providers.

LAUSD Officials are saying that should the cuts go through, school programs would need to be re-evaulated, and possibly eliminated. LAUSD board member Tamar Galatzan tells the Daily News that, "I think what this really means for L.A. Unified is we have to buckle down and really look at our spending: Look at every single program and figure out, do we need this, does it provide a direct service to kids."

Republican state representatives, who were last year responsible for the budget's standstill, have outright refused to agree to tax increases as an alternative way of dealing with California's fiscal crisis:

"There is no way to move us on that," said Assemblyman Roger Niello, R-Sacramento, vice chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee.

"We believe this very strongly - it doesn't work. It hurts the economy, it continues to drive the revenue spikes even higher so that we eventually have to react again with more increased taxes."

But the Governor, who appears to agree with Republicans on the question of tax hikes, claims to sympathize with people who would suffer should state programs get cut:

"Some might say that it sounds easy to just cut across the board by 10 percent, but let me tell you, it is very difficult," Schwarzenegger said.

"I can see every single person hurt by those cuts, and I understand how difficult they will be for many, many people."

Photo by Thomas Hawk via Flickr