Federal and State Budget Cuts are on the way. Our denial period is about to end, which is a good thing. We have many problems to solve, and we will be forced into the beginning of solution finding in 2011.

Federally speaking, there are proposed cuts to block grant funding to serve low-income residents. President Obama has proposed cuts of 7.5% to this program and 44% to Community Services Block Grant program. These fund nonprofits, such as a job placement center in Antioch, CA.

The county I live in, Contra Costa, gets about $3.5 million each year and helps 60+ agencies through these community development programs. Places like Habitat for Humanity will be impacted. Food banks will lose money, and so will programs that remodel classrooms in public facilities for the handicapped.

The main messages being pushed out now to help improve our government and economy are these;

1. Cut taxes on the rich to create more jobs.

2. Cut corporate income taxes to create more jobs.

3. Cut regulations because they are job killers.

4. Cut wages and benefits to help create jobs.

This message has been accepted to different degrees by Republicans and Democrats alike. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor keeps saying, “Cutting the federal deficit will create jobs.” This really can’t happen, but the truth doesn’t matter, perception and being on message does.
At the state level of California, there is a huge deficit, again. Governor Jerry Brown wants to have California voters vote to extend taxes in place and not let them expire. Republicans refuse to let this be put on the ballot. Gerrymandering of districts has made all politicians safe in the state, so this will not get fixed. That means this year’s cuts will have to really be deep. Education, Health Care and Corrections will all lose money.

We really need to get used to having less. We are about to find out that the credit card bill is due and we do not have the money to pay up.

Get used to the new paradigm.