Created Mon 8th Jun 6:21am PST by

blacksoapman Level 10, Genius (H$12,308)

Will California become the first state in the nation to do away with welfare?

Suspended

Suspend date reached

Background:

Background: Could California become the first state in the nation to do away with welfare?

That doomsday scenario is on the table as lawmakers wrestle with a staggering $24.3 billion budget deficit.

County welfare directors are "in shock" at the very idea of getting rid of CalWORKs, which has been widely viewed as one of the most successful social programs in the state's history, said Bruce Wagstaff, director of the Department of Human Assistance in Sacramento.

"It's difficult to come up with the right adjective to react to this," Wagstaff said. "It would be devastating to the people we serve."

H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance, said California is in an unprecedented fiscal situation that has made all programs, from education to human services, vulnerable to deep and painful reductions.

"I don't wish for a moment to minimize the profound impact" that eliminating CalWORKs would have, Palmer said. "But the easy decisions are way past being in the rearview mirror for us. We face the specter of California not having cash on hand to pay its bills in July."

Wagstaff and other administrators are betting that the state will rescue the "welfare to work" program. But they are bracing for cuts that would slash benefits to the lowest levels since the late 1990s, when CalWORKs began as part of the federal government's bold reform of the welfare system.http://www.mcclatchydc.com/nation/story/69467.html

CatEds Notation: From the creator, these are the settlement conditions. If California cut $777 million or more from CalWORKs it will settle as Yes. Any thing less than $777 million will settle as No.

Settlement details:As reported by a major mainstream news source.
If California cut $777 million or more from CalWORKs settles as Yes
Any thing less than $777 million settles as No

Forecast history %

Yes

26%

74%

Predictions on this question are temporarily suspended

Activity: H$11,034
Predictions: 18
Comments: 7

Suspend date: Sun 8th Nov 11:59pm PST

Initial likelihoods: Yes: 35%

Action history:

Created Mon 8th Jun 6:21am PST by

blacksoapman Level 10, Genius (H$12,308)

Suspended Tue 9th Jun 3:45am PST by

bayoubear [Admin]

: Suspended until settlement conditions can be clarified

Changed Description Fri 12th Jun 3:17am PST by

bayoubear [Admin]

: show details

... /nation/story/69467.html</a> CatEds Notation: From the creator, these are the settlement conditions. If California cut $777 million or more from CalWORKs it will settle as Yes. Any thing less than $777 million will settle as No.

Changed Settlement info Fri 12th Jun 3:17am PST by

bayoubear [Admin]

: show details

... a major mainstream news source.. If California cut $777 million or more from CalWORKs settles as Yes Any thing less than $777 million settles as No

Unsuspended Fri 12th Jun 3:17am PST by

bayoubear [Admin]

: Settlement conditions have been clarified.

Suspended Sun 8th Nov 11:59pm PST : Suspend date reached

hide

Suspend date: Sun 8th Nov 11:59pm PST details

Get widget!

Predictions (18)

1 week ago

zeebac Level 10, Genius (H$14,916)

predicted No (H$50 at 74%)

2 weeks ago

fenricstoast Level 7, Pro (H$3,383)

predicted No (H$20 at 74%)

2 weeks ago

greggles Level 12, Guru (H$28,055)

predicted No (H$500 at 74%)

10 weeks ago

pencilpusher Level 6, Player (H$2,299)

predicted No (H$100 at 73%)

18 weeks ago

bigken1 Level 15, Seer (H$357,673)

predicted Yes (H$400 at 38%)

Comments (7)

randburg Level 19, Uberdubber (H$4,995,961)

Very interesting question, but it is not clear how this question is going to settle. It seems that cuts are about to be made to California welfare in any event, but HOW MUCH or HOW DEEPLY is going to settle this question as a yes or no? Or is there another critera perhaps?

Can we please have some directive, right here under comments? Thanks.

posted 23 weeks ago

bayoubear [Admin]

Thanks Randburg....I've asked the creator for some more info on how this could be settled...better to get it out of the way now, so everyone understands the conditions....

In fact, I'm going to suspend it until the details are clearer...probably best for everyone

posted 23 weeks ago

bayoubear [Admin]

I've emailed the creator, and I'm asking again for some clarification.

posted 23 weeks ago

blacksoapman Level 10, Genius (H$12,308)

If California cut 777 million CalWORKs settle as Yes
Any thing less then 777 million settle as No
ttp://www.cwda.org/downloads/priorities/budget2009/BudgetMemo_06.pdf

posted 23 weeks ago

randburg Level 19, Uberdubber (H$4,995,961)

Thank you all!

posted 22 weeks ago

rogerkni Level 15, Seer (H$433,386)

How much is it spending now? I.e., what %age cut would $777M represent? (These should have been provided.)

posted 19 weeks ago

frogchop Level 17, Superdubber (H$1,667,349)

The 2007-2008 budget was $2.3 billion, but I can't seem to find the 2008-2009 budget. A 20% cut ($476 million) was proposed by the govenor in 2009, but I don't know how much of that he got of the cuts he wanted. They're now proposing a 40% cut, which would be roughly $920 million based on the 2008-2009 budget, but if its already been cut by 20%, that would be only $736 million.

posted 18 weeks ago