Respect and ridicule are never dispensed equally. Just ask "The Big Five" who are trying to hash out an already-overdue California budget that has a $15.2 billion hole, and growing.

The Sacramento Bee threw some pretty sharp elbows in its July 1 coverage of the budget huddlers and the potentially disastrous impact they might wreak on state health care.

Reporter Kevin Yamamura called The Big Five "one of the least experienced teams ever." Here a few culls from his assessments:

• Gov. Schwarzenegger: This is his 5th budget. He knows that legislators will move at their own pace irrespective of how he tries to muscle them.
• Senate Minority Leader Dave Cogdill (Modesto): His first budget. "Some Democrats believe his budget demands have been difficult to pin down, and they may not trust his intentions."
• Assembly Minority Leader Mike Villines (Clovis): Second budget. He "is considered politically astute and has coordinated well with Cogdill."
• Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (Los Angeles): First budget. She's big into consensus building, but because she's so new she may get less wiggle room with fellow Dems.
• Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (Oakland): Fourth budget. Lots of experience but is termed out in November so he's got no political fallout to fear.

The Sac Bee's editorial pages took direct aim at Schwarzenegger's 10% cuts in Medi-Cal, under the heading: "The choice is clear: Increase taxes or let the impact fall on children and the elderly."

You can find the entire editorial at http://www.sacbee.com/110/story/1051327.html but here is one very telling segment:

"As senators and Schwarzenegger are well aware, kicking poor people out of the Medi-Cal program will only force them to go to the emergency room, or avoid treatment for diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic diseases.

"While campaigning for health care reform last year, Schwarzenegger often talked about the "hidden tax" that uninsured people impose on hospitals, businesses and local governments. It would be revealing for the governor to calculate the hidden tax he will impose on this state if these Medi-Cal cuts are fully enacted.

"A better option would be a modest, broadly distributed levy – yes, a tax – to prop up this state's health care program for the poor. Consider it a down payment on a once-and-future goal: a more universal system of health coverage."

(For more information about how cutbacks might hit hospital services, the California Hospital Association offers info at http://www.savemyemergencyroom.com/ )