Wall Street Journal: “California’s Pain is Only Beginning”

The Wall Street Journal ran an article describing how thing might be getting pretty rough here:

As Sacramento squabbles over the state’s $42 billion deficit, Californians are getting a bitter taste of what’s to come after the steep budget cuts that are inevitable when legislators and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger finally hammer out a deal… “Before it gets better, it’s going to get a lot worse,” said Joseph Valentine, director of Contra Costa County’s Department of Employment and Human Services. The department, which administers social services such as food stamps, has cut 12%, or $25 million, of its budget. It has managers answering reception-desk phones, and Mr. Valentine expects another round of cuts… While Sacramento talks, money is drying up in places like Contra Costa County, where 40,000 families have applied for 350 available slots for Section 8 vouchers — a federal subsidy that allows low-income families to rent in the private market. “The level of desperation is just heartbreaking,” said Joseph Villareal, executive director of the Contra Costa Housing Authority.