California Democratic Party Chair Burton asks for help with preserving education, healthcare

V4CF is indeed a nonpartisan organization. That said, this note from California Democratic Party chair John Burton describes how California's budget cuts will hurt education and healthcare in our state -- two of President Obama's stated priorities for 2009 -- all while while preserving tax breaks for oil and tobacco companies. As he states in his letter, "That's just wrong."

Here is his letter, which includes his invitation to take action:

In the coming weeks, our state legislators will face stark choices about our state budget – choices that will touch the lives of nearly all Californians.

If our legislators do as Governor Schwarzenegger asks, California will slash billions from public schools and community colleges, eliminate health care for nearly two million people (half of them children), end the grants that allow high-achieving middle-class and poor students to attend college and close more than 200 of our state parks. AIDS patients will be denied medicine. Domestic violence shelters will lose funding.

What the governor's budget doesn't do is ask big corporations, oil and tobacco companies or the very wealthy to share in the sacrifice. That's just wrong. As our lawmakers make critical budget decisions to fill the shortfall, we must tell them what's important to California's residents and the future of our state.

The current budget year ends June 30, so we may only have a week or two to make a difference. Please take a minute right now to send a message to your legislators about the budget -- before it's too late. Tell them that we must have a budget that includes new revenue to pay for the services we all need.

As Democrats, we stand firmly against the severity of the proposed cuts. We will do everything possible to minimize the cuts and the harm they will inflict. That's why we're urging legislators to Protect All Californians by passing a balanced, sensible budget that includes new revenue.

Our budget ought to reflect our values – but right now, it doesn't. California has tremendous oil reserves, yet the governor isn't asking oil companies to pay the same extraction fees imposed in other states. Corporations reap billions from tax loopholes that are left intact. And the wealthiest Californians aren't asked to pitch in more – in fact, the most affluent Californians currently pay a lower income tax rate than they did when Republican Pete Wilson was governor.

Adding revenue from any of those sources would help minimize some of the devastating cuts looming for education and social services. Yet some in the legislature so far would rather protect a few elite special interests instead of millions of average Californians. We must help them see the error of their ways!

The only way to ensure our elected representatives make the right choices is to speak up now and to keep speaking out until the budget has been passed.

Please take a moment to send a letter to your legislators asking them to pass a budget that will Protect All Californians, not just the privileged few. We will continue to give you ways to stay involved in the budget battle in the days and weeks to come.

Please join me in standing up for our values and fighting to Protect All Californians.

Peace and friendship,

John Burton

P.S. The budget fight is upon us and the cuts proposed by the governor would devastate millions of poor and middle-class Californians – and affect us all. If you believe as I do that California must find a balanced budget solution that includes new revenues, please take a minute to send that message to your legislators today. Go to www.cadem.org/ltl-budget.