UPDATE 1-California eliminating funds for recent contracts

[Old Coot]

Source: Reuters

SAN FRANCISCO, June 8 (Reuters) - California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, facing a state budget gap of $24.3 billion, issued an executive order on Monday that eliminates funding for contracts that state agencies and departments entered after March 1.

The order applies to all goods and services, excluding those for public safety, and also bars state agencies from entering into new contracts in a bid to clamp down on spending and preserve the state's dwindling cash.

California's revenues have plummeted amid recession, forcing officials in the most populous U.S. state to consider drastic spending cuts to balance the state's books.

"With today's action, every state agency and department will scrutinize how every penny is spent on contracts to make sure the state is getting the best deal for every taxpayer dollar," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0832492220090608

[XemaSab]

1. Including Caltrans?

That's going to be popular. :banghead:

[depakid]

2. Heck of an economic stimulus, too

Seems the state is full of Hobson's choices- and from what I can tell, there doesn't seem to be any end in sight.

[bluesmail]

3. CalTrans falls under Public Safety, doesn't it?

You never know in the Game of Words they've been playing for decades.

[tularetom]

4. Public safety is exactly where they have to look if they are serious about cuts

An awful lot of the bloat is there.

In many of the local jurisdictions in CA the entire general fund budget is consumed by police and fire services.

The unions have succeeded in scaring the shit out of the voters to the point where elected officials are scared to say no to requests for more cops, higher pay, more high tech toys and on and on and on.

And the standards have been lowered to the point where most of the new hires are incompetent, neither physically fit nor mentally stable enough to handle the job.

[Merlot]

5. The minority wins.

This is exactly what the repubs want - to cut services.