The GOP is losing the narrative on the budget

by Brian Leubitz [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

That alone doesn't mean they will do the right thing and stop blocking the revenue question, but it will be hard for them to ignore it forever. Over the last few weeks and months, we've seen a fair number of stories about people that will be harmed by the budget cuts. Today, add the Sacramento Bee to the list:

 Low-income families like the McGriffs would be particularly hard hit under the governor's plan because they receive assistance from different state programs. The couple live off a $1,544 monthly Social Security income, rely on government-sponsored health insurance and stay out of costly nursing homes through an in-home care program – each of which has been proposed for reductions by the governor as the state faces a $15.2 billion deficit for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

 The GOP's position that we have a spending problem is based almost entirely on beliving that people like the McGriffs are not worthy of our money. Or that our teachers do not need raises. Or perhaps it is that they belive our public safety officers just make too much money. 

The 'waste, fraud, and abuse" line can only go so far. Furthermore, I'd venture to say that the waste, fraud, and abuse in our state government runs substantially lower than most Fortune 500 companies.  The state doesn't have hang-out rooms for its employees like Google, no wealth of free snacks lies hiding in the break rooms of our state government offices. No, this is about providing services for real Californians.  And now the media is waking up to these facts.

We'll see if the GOP comes around too.