(Sacramento) -- SEIU California State Council criticized the Governor’s latest proposed budget today, saying that it would devastate California’s children, seniors, and families, with massive cuts to education, healthcare, child protective services, homecare, and other critical public services.

“We need our elected leaders to understand that the people of California will not accept cuts that hurt our children, seniors, and communities,” said Annelle Grajeda, President of SEIU California State Council and SEIU Local 721.

“The proposed budget reflects a short-term mentality, but we’ve got a long-term problem on our hands,” said Grajeda. “Cuts that yield quick savings now but create costly problems later are unwise. This budget is a missed opportunity to move the ball forward.”

SEIU is opposed to a series of cuts to vital social services, including:
· Cutting homecare services to seniors and people with disabilities will result in increased nursing home care and increased health problems, for instance, as a result of reduced hygiene. Cutting homecare workers’ wages to the minimum wage will destabilize the workforce and damage the quality of care for those who are still able to receive it.
· Cutting billions from education, especially in districts that rely on state funding more, such as large urban districts, will reduce children’s educational chances, increase class sizes, and hamper our state’s ability to compete economically.
· Increasing California’s uninsured population by over 500,000, as the Governor himself has stated, not only results in increased illness, complications, and death, but carries a hidden tax that all of us end up paying.
· Cutting funds to protect children from abuse and neglect sows the seeds for much deeper and more costly social problems later. More than 190,000 calls a year reporting neglect and abuse would go unanswered under the Governor’s proposed budget.

SEIU leaders also expressed skepticism about the Governor’s plan to grab control over the budget and to borrow against the lottery.

“The Governor’s proposed cuts are exhibit A for why we can’t hand over power to one person,” said Grajeda. “And the lottery scheme is another example of short-term thinking and gimmicks. We need to put real and lasting solutions on the table rather than simply gambling on future revenues.”