Lawmakers fail to pass state budget

(note from author: I didn't realize someone else already used this article...but I would like y'all to read my post anyways and comment on whoever wrote it first. Feel free to read my other post too! Thank you!)

At a standstill since Friday June 29, the Republican and Democratic parties in California have been unable to pass the state budget bill. They are unsure as how to deal with cuts in public transportation and social services, as well as the problem of the state's debt repayment. Although lawmakers have approved a $140 billion budget, the Republicans are ardently fighting the approvement of the budget because they say it is $2 billion over what they would like to see Califronia spend. The Democrats have compromised by cutting $1 billion without raising taxes or creating new social programs. However, the Republicans have increased their voices and Governor Schwarzenegger is contemplating cutting $1.3 billion from public transit to meet the Republican's demands. The chairman of the budget subcommittee has proposed using funds from Proposition 42 to fund public transits and use less money for freeways and local governments; the Republicans are also against this. If the budget is not completed soon and persists into the end of July, California will be unable to meet its financial obligations. This might affect elected officials' salaries, payments to vendors and contractors, payments to school districts, and some payments to community colleges.

I chose this article because it affects us directly. This article clearly shows an inability to compromise. The Republicans are unwilling to support the bill if the Democrats do not find a way to cut $2 billion from the budget. Despite their efforts, the Democrats were not able to fix the situation and California has failed to meet the deadline. The failure of the state to meet the constitutional deadline harms our school district because we will not receive our funds. Our school is cutting costs as it is and our classroom sizes are bulging beyond the maximum allocated number for students, which I presume is 28 for our school. (The range is from 25-30.) I think that the Republicans need to figure out a way to cut costs since they are the ones unwilling to pass the bill, instead of waiting on the Democrats to find a solution. However, I can't formulate a solution myself. I realize how hard it is to pass a bill and I pity the poor politicians who must.