Governor Couldn’t Say Humbug to the Handicapped

Sacramento

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was headed out his door to light the Capitol Christmas tree last week when Assembly Speaker Herb Wesson stopped him cold.

Was it true that a toddler with cerebral palsy was going to help him flip the switch at the ceremony? Wesson asked. That’s right, Schwarzenegger replied.

“Well, this may be the last extracurricular activity that kid does under your budget cuts.”

Wesson’s point was that under Schwarzenegger’s proposal to cut services for about 200,000 people with developmental disabilities -- such as autism, mental retardation and cerebral palsy -- this 2-year-old boy might not be able to participate in future fun events.

Indeed, one service the governor proposed to eliminate for the developmentally disabled was recreation, such as camping, horseback riding and music therapy. Another was “respite” care, which provides trained relief for stressed parents so they can get away to grocery-shop or just relax, which for many are one and the same.

“He gave me that Terminator look,” recalls Wesson, who had been negotiating a balanced budget-and-borrowing deal.

“But you could see the look of concern on his face. The blank stare. He was stunned. It’s obvious to me in our discussions that he’s very concerned about these cuts and they’re starting to pull at his heartstrings.”

Late Wednesday, Schwarzenegger’s heart won. He told his aides to go look for something else to cut.

“I did not feel this was consistent with my record as an advocate for the developmentally disabled,” the governor said in a prepared statement. “I have dedicated myself to improving their lives, particularly through my work with Special Olympics.

“So I asked to try to find a thoughtful way to bring efficiencies to these services without capping the programs and shutting out families in need.”

The governor’s proposed cuts had shocked organizations that advocate for the disabled -- and also other groups that fight for the uninsured poor who rely on medical services still under the Schwarzenegger scalpel.

After all, this is a governor who built his positive public image not as a cartoon-character killer, but as a caring man who has championed the causes of needy children.

People have been wondering whether Schwarzenegger sponsored Proposition 49 -- the before-and-after-school initiative in 2002 -- to help children or to launch his political career.

“We thought he would have a special sensitivity that Gov. Davis did not have,” says Marty Omoto, director of the California Disability Community Action Network. “What’s really sad is the panic that a lot of families have had. Total panic.”

He called Schwarzenegger’s reversal “a good sign.”

In all, the governor has proposed cutting $2.3 billion in state services this fiscal year -- $3.9 billion over the next 18 months -- not just in health care, but in transportation, natural resources and higher education. More cuts will come in January, when Schwarzenegger presents his first full budget proposal.

No question, he’s up against it. There’s a big hole this fiscal year that compares roughly to the size of his car tax cut -- $3.6 billion. Another $14-billion shortfall is projected for the next fiscal year. And all this is assuming voters in March approve $15 billion in borrowing.

But largely because of Schwarzenegger’s background, the most striking hits are in the health area, especially for kids.

The governor proposes to freeze future enrollments in the Healthy Families program and create a waiting list. He wants to cut back Med-Cal provider rates 10%. He’d create a waiting list to obtain AIDS drugs.

There’d be lots of waiting lists for capped programs -- a concept Schwarzenegger’s finance director, Donna Arduin, brought with her from Florida, where she carved up that state’s health-care system.

“Here you are, a little girl and you have leukemia,” says Wesson. “And you know the only way you can get treatment is if some other little kid dies. These are hard cuts.”

Says Deena Lahn, director of the Children’s Defense Fund in California: “One thing that’s disturbing in the governor’s message is, ‘We don’t like to do this, but we need to do this. Fiscal times are tough.’ He talks about families that ‘have to live within their means.’ Well, a lot of families go out and get another job.”

Enhance the means -- increase the tax revenue.

Ah, but Schwarzenegger promised voters he wouldn’t do that. “I guarantee it.”

He promised too much. He promised not to cut schools. He promised to reimburse local governments for their car tax losses.

And he promised not to hurt children. In fact, he pledged to “market” the Healthy Families program “so everyone knows about it and everyone signs up.”

He didn’t mention the waiting list.

Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) says the odds of the Legislature cutting services for kids are “slim to none.” And at any rate, he adds, “we’re not coming back into session before Christmas to play Scrooge.”

That has been Schwarzenegger’s role, but he may have seen the ghost of Christmas Present.