Miscellaneous
We were worried that a budget episode may be a bit of a snooze-fest, but this one got weird real fast. Boomer memes, nudes, cannabis freak-outs and a theory on why the Silent Generation always TYPE IN ALL CAPS. Once we settle down, we eventually get into which programs got the chopping block and what was spared in Governor Newsom's revised, pandemic-responsive California state budget. The good news? A lot of the money originally earmarked for tackling homelessness is still there. But that doesn't mean all sorts of holes weren't torn into the state's social safety net. California is run by austerity-minded neoliberals, after all. In the Los Angeles Times, columnist George Skelton showed this week how the budget leaves behind the state's elderly, blind and disabled residents. We dive a bit deeper into other vulnerable populations being left behind in the name of austerity. All this while the state's 165 billionaires go untaxed. If California were a country, it would have the third most billionaires in the world -- behind China and ahead of Germany. These folks are worth a combined $723.7 billion, yet they have no urge to do their part in the social contract. The state's Democratic supermajority legislature appears reticent to tax them and put that money toward helping our impoverished residents. Wonder why. Thanks for listening and, as always: Patreon: patreon.com/voicesrivercity Twitter: @youknowkempa, @guillotine4you, @ShanNDSTevens, @Flojaune And thank you to Be Brave Bold Robot for the tunes.