As of today, Democrats and Governor Jerry Brown have negotiated a deal for California’s budget, which is expected to pass early this week. Over the past few months, as our president and CEO Judy Patrick has watched the budget negotiations, which have not included the voices and perspectives of low-income women and families, she’s been moved to write op-eds and blog posts. Here are the two most recent, which we encourage you to read and share.
Budget must not abandon Californians trying to escape poverty
By Stella Kim and Judy Patrick
San Jose Mercury News,
June 22, 2011
Now that Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed the Democrats’ budget, things are even more desperate. While we commend him for pushing back against gimmicks, unless we get agreement on how to increase revenues, we will be looking at an all-cuts budget. Californians simply cannot afford that. Read more
We Are Each Other’s Keepers
By Judy Patrick
Huffington Post
June 27, 2011
Yesterday, I got off the plane and checked my emails. I saw that the recent article that Stella Kim and I wrote, which appeared in the San Jose Mercury News, had garnered a number of comments protesting the premise that California cannot afford an all-cuts budget. Our proposals regarding revenue increases incited a great deal of animosity about the “twin evils” of taxes and government bureaucracy. Read more