Los Angeles, February 18, 2008 (LPAC)--George Shultz's American Pinochet, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, issued a warning to citizens of the state Saturday, after the state legislature enacted the first round of budget cuts he demanded. "There is much more to come," he said, while signing the six bills. "This is only the beginning."

The six bills are the first phase of a plan he is pursuing, under a declared state of fiscal emergency, to cover a budget shortfall of more than $3.3 billion in the remaining four months of fiscal year 2007-08, and a $14.5 billion-and-growing shortfall for fiscal year 2008-09.

What he signed on Saturday is less a solution, than a manipulation of figures, with the really brutal cuts yet to come. The cuts/manipulations include: 1.) $1 billion cut from the current fiscal year, and $1.2 billion more for 2008-09; 2.) selling another $3.3 billion in previously-approved bonds, even though he promised that he would not borrow again to pay debt; 3.) rescinding a planned early debt payment of $1.5 billion, which was included in next year's budget; 4.) shifting over $400 million in transportation funds to the general fund. At best, this would reduce next year's deficit in half, though there are reports that the Legislative Analyst will release an updated revenue report this week, showing an additional $1 billion in the deficit, due to the growing effects of the economic collapse on state revenue. Ryan Ratcliffe of UCLA's Anderson Forecast told the Los Angeles Times that these first cuts are "shell games," which do "not really change the reality of the deficit."

The cuts already approved include $507 million from the state education budget, and a 10% cut in spending for Medi-Cal reimbursements after July 1. This money will be withheld from doctors who treat Medi-Cal patients, making it likely that many doctors will no longer accept such patients.

In addition to even more murderous cuts coming up in health care in the state budget, the L.A. Times has been reporting on plans by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to shut down all but one of the county's dozen clinics and reduce services at its six comprehensive outpatient health care centers, to deal with the $195 million deficit of the county. These cuts will hit hardest those without insurance, adding to the impact of the cuts demanded by Schwarzenegger.