(California) State budget deal threatened

[Newsjock]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Less than 24 hours after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state's top lawmakers announced a tentative budget compromise, the hard-fought deal was in jeopardy over spending cuts that would result in the early release of thousands of prison inmates.

... On Tuesday, the governor's officials unveiled the specifics - infuriating Republicans who called the proposal a non-starter that could kill the budget deal.

The plan, according to Matt Cate, Schwarzenegger's top prison official, would reduce the prison population this year by 27,000 inmates, some of whom would be released early.

... GOP lawmakers accused the administration of double-crossing them in budget talks.

"Budget negotiations depend on the good faith actions of all parties," Assembly Republican leader Sam Blakeslee of San Luis Obispo said in a statement.

... Blakeslee's fellow Republicans said they wouldn't approve any part of the budget deal.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/21/MN8118SVPJ.DTL&tsp=1

[bemildred]

1. Gee, who could have predicted this? nt

[Psephos]

2. Half of them are tools, and the other half are fools. n/t

[earcandle]

3. Don't want their Prisons for Profit revenue cut?

[XemaSab]

4. If they're letting out potheads

then no problem, if they're letting out rapists and thugs, then that's not cool.

[starroute]

8. They've got to let them out sooner or later

Sentences in this country are already ridiculously long. Do you really think it makes a difference if you let a thug out now or a year from now? Or are you advocating indefinite detention of everybody who has ever committed a violent crime?

[XemaSab]

10. I think prison should be reserved for violent criminals

Don't you? :shrug:

[Flaneur]

9. It's not pot heads, but it will probably include non-violent drug offenders.

There aren't that many people in prison for pot possession in California, but there are about 30,000 low-level non-violent drug offenders in the Golden State gulag. I hope they're included in the early release, since I don't believe people should be arrested and imprisoned for drug offenses.

[depakid]

5. Just shut the entire government down. Period

Let Californians deal with it for awhile.

Maybe then they'll get a clue about allowing a small minority of Republican extremists to hold them hostage,

[lexanman]

6. Republiassholes

love their prisons don't they? It's not like we don't have enough people in prison yet.:sarcasm:

[Liberty Belle]

7. Let's let all the criminals go - in Republican districts, since they are destroying our state.

I'd call that poetic justice.