Safety Net Most Critical in Economic Crisis

There are some emerging, if still fragile, signs that the worst of the Great Recession is behind us: the closing of the Dow above 11,000, revenues in California (so far) almost $2 billion above forecasts, some modest rises in home prices. Nevertheless, as our economy slowly continues to move toward a rebound, too many of our most vulnerable neighbors could still have the bottom fall out beneath them.

That's why it is as important as it ever has been in this recession that we keep a safety net in place for California families.

When I was serving as Speaker of the California Assembly there were no easy choices on the budget. But when it came to negotiating cuts to the state's safety net, I knew the stakes were particularly high.

As job losses and foreclosures skyrocketed last year, Governor Schwarzenegger and Republican legislative leaders were calling for the complete shut down of basic services that the most vulnerable Californians rely on.

For 600,000 children of struggling, low-income families relying on California's Healthy Families program, this would have meant no more dental and health coverage.

For elderly and disabled Californians relying on California's In-Home Supportive Services, this would heave meant that, instead of receiving basic sanitary, health and transportation services from state funded home care workers, they would be sent to expensive nursing homes or receive no care at all.

As more unemployed Californians turned to CalWORKS, the cutting of that program would have meant the cutting of the training and support needed to get through a job loss, resulting in more foreclosures and unemployment.

Democrats in Sacramento were eventually able to find the bare minimum of Republican votes we needed to prevent the elimination of these and other safety net programs. The budget we passed also repays cuts to education and other programs as the economy recovers.

When it comes to the safety net, however, we cannot repay the damage from a preventable disease that goes untreated. We can't undo the ramifications of homelessness because someone couldn't afford housing after a job loss. We certainly can't bring back love ones lost because their healthcare was cut.

Partial safety net cuts we were forced to make have certainly caused lasting pain. I believe, however, that by standing up for the basic services our most vulnerable people rely on, California is showing how the safety net is crucial to the economic recovery.

Penny-wise, pound-foolish cuts to the safety net had to be rejected to keep far higher costs from weighing down our economy as the recovery continues.

Checkups, preventative medicine and in-home care are keeping families out of costly emergency room visits. Job training and unemployment support are reducing the crime and expensive incarceration associated with desperate economic times.

Keeping these and other safety net threads strong takes courage and investment upfront but pays great dividends down the road, both human and fiscal. By helping the most vulnerable get through what is hopefully the worst of the Great Recession, we have more Californians who are now healthy, housed and ready to contribute to the economic recovery.

This crisis has touched every Californian but also strengthened our resolve to not let anyone slip through the safety net and hit bottom. Challenges persist, but I'm proud to continue fighting to keep opportunity for all alive in our state.