Dozens of people from various community groups gathered outside the San Francisco district office of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today to demand a state budget that creates jobs and provides a safety net for low-income families, senior citizens, and people with disabilities.
The rally, organized by the Services, Immigrants Rights and Education Network and other community groups, came a day before Schwarzenegger is scheduled to release his budget plan to close a $20 billion budget deficit and lower the state’s unemployment rate of 12 percent.
Jennifer Greppi-Freitas, an organizer for the group Parent Voices, said that past budgets have slashed safety nets for groups such as immigrants, disabled or senior citizens, and low-income families.
State leaders “cannot balance the budget on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens,” she said.
The protesters instead called on the governor and Legislature to develop a “family recovery plan” that would raise revenue and use federal stimulus money to create jobs, invest in services such as child care, and create easier access to health care.
“When you’re tight on money and run out of all the cuts to make, you have to increase revenue,” Gina Jackson, another Parent Voice organizer, said. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that out.”
At the end of today’s rally, organizers delivered a letter to the Schwarzenegger’s district office, located at 455 Golden Gate Ave., asking to meet with the governor’s office to discuss their proposals.
