A few dozen people upset over Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed overhaul of California's welfare program CalWORKs are calling for higher taxes instead of budget cuts. They rallied at the State Capitol Wednesday ahead of a legislative hearing. CalWORKs advocates like Vivian Thorp said 100-thousand California children would be hurt by the overhaul.
"We can't allow this to happen! We can't," rallied Thorp. "That's why we're here today. We're here to call on our leaders to find revenue solutions - not more cuts to essential programs like CalWORKs."
Brown's proposal would create three separate programs: CalWORKs Basic with two years of job training for people looking for work, CalWORKs Plus with more generous payments for people who find work, and a Child Maintenance Program with smaller benefits for parents unable or unwilling to find work. The administration said the goal is to encourage welfare recipients to become self-sufficient more quickly - while saving the state 1-point-4 billion dollars.
