So by now, we’ve all heard about California’s budget crisis, with lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger slashing programs left and right — most recently to the tune of more than $16 billion — to keep the Golden State afloat and bridge a $24 billion budget deficit. And sure, there are tough decisions to be made about what to cut and what to keep.

But one program that’s been cut has us questioning the Terminator’s judgment. Schwarzenegger has cut 100 percent of domestic violence funding, reports San Diego 6. That will affect 94 women’s shelters across the state; half of them may have to close.

"We hear about domestic violence on our streets already," said Laurin Pause, Executive Director for Community Resource Center. "That number is going to increase and that is my biggest fear."

"I probably wouldn’t be alive. I would be dead," one victim who was abused by her fiancé told the TV station. "Jane" stays at Carol’s House in the North County, a women’s shelter she has called home for several months. Jane is afraid of what will happen to the next abused woman looking for help, afraid "that they will die. Whether it would be in the inside or physically."

Many Californians have been protesting cuts to programs to help students, infants and children, the elderly, the disabled, the poor and the working poor. One idea that has been brought up to help the state’s budget woes: legalizing marijuana. But that idea hasn’t gone very far just yet. You can read more about the California budget here.

But trimming domestic abuse programs in an economic downturn may be the worst possible thing to do, since a new survey shows a couple’s finances are often a big factor when it comes to tempers flaring. A Mary Kay survey directly links the flailing economy to a rise in abuse from September to May. During that time, more than 75 percent of the 634 domestic abuse shelters surveyed across the country reported a rise in women seeking help. Of those, 73 percent attributed the rise to "financial issues."

"We’ve been hearing from the field that this economic downturn is making domestic violence worse," National Network to End Family Violence spokesman Brian Namey told The Dallas Morning News. "It’s a difficult time because we see a high demand on services, and at the same time funding is harder to come by."

Meanwhile, we can be encouraged that New Mexico is passing more laws to help domestic violence victims. One new state law allows domestic violence victims to take time off from work to seek an order of protection or attend court proceedings without risking their employment. Many victims lose their jobs because their abusers harass them at work.

What would you recommend California cut instead of domestic abuse funding?