Al Jazeera's Fault Lines: California is in crisis. The state is $24bn short of balancing its books this year - and it may run out of cash to pay its bills in a matter of weeks.
It is a local story with global implications. California's economy is the largest in the US and the eighth largest in the world - as big as Brazil and three times the size of Saudi Arabia.
If California fails, the shock waves of this economic crisis will be felt around the globe.
Enter the Hollywood action hero. In his final year as governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger has a radical plan.
He is trying to balance the budget entirely by slashing government spending - mostly programmes for the poor.
Millions of Californians would lose welfare and health care benefits, thousands of teachers and state workers would be fired. State prisoners would be dumped into county jails.
Avi Lewis travels to South Central Los Angeles to learn about the political causes and the human impact of shock therapy, California style - and gets a glimpse of how the next chapter of the global economic crisis is likely to unfold.
This is a fraud, on california, on the american people, the state of california is very profitable, the comprehensive annual report says they have 462 billion dollars in liquid investment funds, the budget is a farce, a source of fake tension, fake debate, fake scarcity
Youtube says video pulled by user? Never seen TRN pull a story before??? What's up??
degaul 2009-06-13
Of course if there’s no money there, then it gets left behind and forgotten. It’s the American way. Don’t worry though. After they are finished chasing out all of the so-called rabble (poor, ill, and the alike) they will rebound with a brand-new play land for the affluent.
Legislation 101. If there is a quorum call, and the chamber is empty except for a few law makers then the matter before them is probably good for the people, but there is no money to be made by the law makers so the chamber is empty. If however the chamber is full and no quorum call is ever called, then there’s money to be made by the law makers and it’s bad for the people.
Just watch www.c-Span.org and you’ll see what I mean. It’s not fool proof, but it’s pretty damn close.
cwadge 2009-06-13
We can spend trillions on illegal wars of aggression abroad, but we can't afford to pay teachers? I feel like I must have gone insane if this makes sense to anybody.
Babylonbybust 2009-06-12
Economic failure is inevitable for California,as it is for the country as a whole.FYI people,the economy is working as intended,real wages havent increased in roughly 30 years relative to inflation,wealth extraction through market manipulation of non-linear events continues undaunted.All the while the "average joe" is too consumed in his/her own consumption to apply a bit of logic,intelligence and ethics to the world around themselves.
doyog 2009-06-12
When we legalize hemp we’ll have opened up markets: in the bio fuel industry that would compete against oil causing lower fuel prices, in the medicine industry lowering the cost of medical causing us to have the most effective medicines on the planet, in the building supply industry for hemp will compete with wood lowering the cost of construction and saving our trees, in the paper industry for hemp paper outperforms wood paper and can be recycled more times also saving our trees, in the textile industry for hemp fiber will outperform cotton in durability and comfort, in the plastic industry for Henry Ford made a plastic in 1937 that is 10 time stronger than steel, in the food industry for hemp is a complete food. These are only a few of the industries that hemp can get into and yes let’s include the recreation industry. The tonnage needed for these industries is more than what can be grown in the backyard. This is a trillion dollar cash crop that farmers will grow. Taxing this tr
dart 2009-06-12
Cannabis cannot be legalised and taxed because it cannot be regulated.Legalised possession would enable people to grow it in their gardens so how would taxation be enforced.Legalised possession would of course liberate people who are jailed for no good reason but the state would then need to fund programmes for those who abuse the drug.Either way it costs but it would reduce associated crime and users would be too stoned to notice or care about the spending cuts and unemployment.
dart 2009-06-12
What happened to Arnie`s Private Public partnership with Bloomberg and Wall Street for job creation?Oil shocks to come in 2010 even though these may be mitigated by falling consumption the dollar will be weaker and import costs higher so why not drill off shore? Estimtaed $100 T. unfunded liabilities mean health service reform is undoable so tax rises and cuts are inevitable.Why not sell assets to Chindia or wait til there`s blood on the streets for Arnie`s banker friends to come to the rescue.Or go to the IMF/World Bank.
LiberalChiroDoc 2009-06-12
I'm a proud liberal but I hope TRNN does a second segment on California and talks about what illegal immigration is costing the state as well. I believe it's in the hundreds of millions.
Having a national healthcare system would most definitely alleviate costs but illegal immigration needs to be addressed for costs to be contained.
tbarj 2009-06-12
On his first day in office, Governor Schwarzenegger quashed the suit against Enron for the billions they stole from the state.
radkesmith 2009-06-12
I know it has been mentioned but why not seriously consider legalizing marijuana and taxing its use.
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