General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCalifornias Democrats Are Ready for Political War
On Nov. 14, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck said he wont reverse long-standing department policy blocking officers from doing immigration enforcement, despite Donald Trumps threats to cut federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities, which offer residents protection from federal agents. We are not going to work with Homeland Security on deportation efforts, Beck said. That is not our job, nor will I make it our job. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has also publicly affirmed his commitment to remaining a sanctuary city, and his office has begun drawing up contingency plans for dealing with a loss of federal funding, says City Controller Ben Rosenfield.
One of the biggest points of contention between Sacramento and Trumps Washington will be climate change. The incoming president has called global warming a hoax created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing noncompetitive. Hes also pledged to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement, the first legally binding global deal to reduce carbon emissions, and to shred Obamas Clean Power Plan, which sought to control emissions from power plants.
Governor Brown has devoted himself to strengthening Californias carbon pollution rules, already the nations toughest. We will protect the precious rights of our people and continue to confront the existential threat of our timedevastating climate change, Brown said in a statement that also referred to finding common ground with Trump and the GOP where possible. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf says cities should be willing to uphold the Paris commitments at the local level. You have 70 percent of the worlds greenhouse gas emissions coming from cities, she says. If all mayors agree to take action, we can actually render federal action irrelevant.
Californias Democrats are also exploring ways to ensure continued access to health care. The Affordable Care Act guarantees federal subsidies for 90 percent of the 1.4 million residents insured by Covered California, the statewide health exchange, and about 5.5 million more Californians now have insurance via the Medicaid expansion made possible by the 2010 law. A repeal, as Trump and Republicans have pledged, would cost the state more than $15 billion in federal subsidies a year, according to the nonprofit Urban Institute. In theory, California could implement its own universal health-care program, says Californias insurance commissioner, Dave Jonesthough doing so, he warns, would require significant state tax increases.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-18/california-s-democrats-are-ready-for-political-war?cmpid=socialflow-twitter-business&utm_content=politics&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&cmpid%3D=socialflow-twitter-politics