KPFA News: Ramsés Téon Nichols calls Jerry Brown's budget "a hostage situation" : Indybay

Ramsés Téon Nichols

California Governor Jerry Brown has proposed massive cuts to social services to help close the $26 billion State budget gap. KPFA News spoke to Michael Lyon and Ramsés Téon Nichols:

"What they should've gone for is having some real taxation that would tax corporations and the richest people and that might get some enthusiasm that would get it passed. California is the only state in the country that doesn't tax oil drilling. There's nothing in the world that would prevent reinstating the higher taxes on the uppermost income bracket. We need to start working on eliminating the incredible break that commercial real estate gets because of Prop 13." -Michael Lyon, Grey Panthers and California Alliance for Retired Americans

"It's a really difficult situation for a lot of folks in labor and also in social service agencies to get behind because it's basically telling us, 'take the 12 billion dollar cut and help Jerry Brown pass the June elections and if you don't help out, like then you're looking at easily twice as many budget cuts, going into the next fiscal year. . . It almost feels like some type of hostage situation because we have to say yes to $12 billion . . . and if don't get behind it and push it, then the cuts could be a lot worse." -Ramsés Téon Nichols, SEIU #1020 Executive Committee and San Francisco Green Party County Council Member

KPFA News: Ramsés Téon Nichols calls Jerry Brown's budget "a hostage situation"

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