A few dozen home care workers and patients have wrapped up a two-day vigil at the state capitol. They camped out overnight to protest Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed pay cuts for more than 300,000 home care providers.
Ellen Rollins is a home care worker in San Jose where she cares for her 43-year-old daughter, who's living with a severe spinal injury. She's asks how the governor's campaign for the ballot measures in this month's special election was able to raise at least $14-million, yet he's targeting vital services for cuts.
"He should have taken that initiative money and put it in the homecare budget. There's something else behind WHY the continuation from the time this governor came on board to eradicate home care," says Rollins. What's behind that? Why can't you find it somewhere else? You can find it somewhere else. You refuse to find it somewhere else. That's the issue."
Rollins is urging the governor and lawmakers to consider raising corporate taxes or even hiking vehicle license fees again to get more revenues. The governor's office says raising taxes is not an option and that some tough decisions have to be made to cut state spending to deal with a 24-billion dollar deficit.
