Sacramento, Calif., Apr 4, 2011 / 22:26 pm
The halt to state budget talks in California is “tremendously disappointing” and “particularly devastating for the poor and vulnerable,” the state’s Catholic bishops have said.
“The job of elected officials in Sacramento isn’t to carry out partisan agendas, but to pursue the Common Good,” the bishops’ conference commented in an April 1 statement. “We fervently pray that both sides return to the bargaining table as soon as possible and make the compromises necessary to meet our moral responsibility to California’s most vulnerable citizens and put the state back on a solid financial footing,” they said.
The state presently faces a $26.6 billion deficit and problems meeting future pensions for public workers.
Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown failed to secure four Republican votes needed to place a tax-extension plan before voters in a June special election.