Brown Announces California Budget (school districts, inspectors, salaries)
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His plan shows a 10-15% pay cut for all state employees. Now what will you do?
Not all state employees. Just the fraction who are not in unions covered by collective bargaining agreements, if I understand this correctly (someone correct me if I'm wrong.)
"In California, former auto worker Maria Gregg was out of work five months last year before landing a new job—at a nearly 20% pay cut.
In Massachusetts, Kevin Cronan, who lost his $150,000-a-year job as a money manager in early 2009, is now frothing cappuccinos at a Starbucks for $8.85 an hour.
In Wisconsin, Dale Szabo, a former manufacturing manager with two master's degrees, has been searching years for a job comparable to the one he lost in 2003. He's now a school janitor.
They are among the lucky. There are 14.5 million people on the unemployment rolls, including 6.4 million who have been jobless for more than six months.
But the decline in their fortunes points to a signature outcome of the long downturn in the labor market. Even at times of high unemployment in the past, wages have been very slow to fall; economists describe them as "sticky." To an extent rarely seen in recessions since the Great Depression, wages for a swath of the labor force this time have taken a sharp and swift fall..."
And yet California Prison Guards are just too good to take a pay cut.
"In California, former auto worker Maria Gregg was out of work five months last year before landing a new job—at a nearly 20% pay cut.
In Massachusetts, Kevin Cronan, who lost his $150,000-a-year job as a money manager in early 2009, is now frothing cappuccinos at a Starbucks for $8.85 an hour.
In Wisconsin, Dale Szabo, a former manufacturing manager with two master's degrees, has been searching years for a job comparable to the one he lost in 2003. He's now a school janitor.
They are among the lucky. There are 14.5 million people on the unemployment rolls, including 6.4 million who have been jobless for more than six months.
But the decline in their fortunes points to a signature outcome of the long downturn in the labor market. Even at times of high unemployment in the past, wages have been very slow to fall; economists describe them as "sticky." To an extent rarely seen in recessions since the Great Depression, wages for a swath of the labor force this time have taken a sharp and swift fall..."
And yet California Prison Guards are just too good to take a pay cut.
I'd be ok with more cuts at K-12. But that would go hand in hand with taking certain programming out of the schools too, and I don't think Jerry is willing to go there.
Let's review the non-smoke and mirrors ""cuts"" Brown has instituted:
1) No effort to reduce the number of welfare cases or massive welfare fraud (and don't even go there about denying that it exists). In fact, cutting CalWorks ensures even more will go off jobs to permanent welfare (more Democrat voters!)
3) Shift all juvenile prisoners from state to county. Wow, county budgets are about to get busted! Here come the cries for local taxes to cover it. So much for no "smoke and mirrors".
4) No mention about pensions
5) Instead, standard by-the-numbers cuts on everything which will cause the most hysteria. Cuts to parks, wow. Even if we eliminate the whole park system, that would cover about a month's worth of illegal alien welfare. Cuts to disabled and Medi-cal. Here come the newspaper articles talking about who's impacted.
In the meantime, what about the average middle class slob who's barely keeping afloat, or someone who's laid off?
This budget is an EPIC FAIL and doesn't deserve any tax increases. However, my quixotic rants will do no good, since the <sarcasm>majority of intelligent CA voters</sarcasm> put in a solid Democrat super-majority AND voted to have a simple majority to pass a budget. Oh well, here goes the rest of my money.
Let's review the non-smoke and mirrors ""cuts"" Brown has instituted:
1) No effort to reduce the number of welfare cases or massive welfare fraud (and don't even go there about denying that it exists). In fact, cutting CalWorks ensures even more will go off jobs to permanent welfare (more Democrat voters!)
3) Shift all juvenile prisoners from state to county. Wow, county budgets are about to get busted! Here come the cries for local taxes to cover it. So much for no "smoke and mirrors".
4) No mention about pensions
5) Instead, standard by-the-numbers cuts on everything which will cause the most hysteria. Cuts to parks, wow. Even if we eliminate the whole park system, that would cover about a month's worth of illegal alien welfare. Cuts to disabled and Medi-cal. Here come the newspaper articles talking about who's impacted.
In the meantime, what about the average middle class slob who's barely keeping afloat, or someone who's laid off?
This budget is an EPIC FAIL and doesn't deserve any tax increases. However, my quixotic rants will do no good, since the <sarcasm>majority of intelligent CA voters</sarcasm> put in a solid Democrat super-majority AND voted to have a simple majority to pass a budget. Oh well, here goes the rest of my money.
Great post!
For Brown it's simply politics as usual. He can't cut K-12 because that's his bread and butter. Why do you think he fired all the education reformers? IF they "fix" under performing schools, he'll lose his power base. The unions got him elected and he owes them.
"There is little doubt that a dinosaur like Brown could not have staged a successful political comeback without renewing his alliance with the dinosaurs of education - the teachers unions - who are fighting to preserve a system that's been failing the state's children for years"
Those reformers were a threat to him so he had to fire them. We all know that tenure is abused to the point of sickening. Teachers can't be fired for anything from non-performance to being out and out sexual preditors, WTH kind of system is that? When I was a contractor I had many teachers as clients (and an Aunt who is a tenured teacher) and most of them are hard working caring people. Some of them had to buy supplies out of their own pockets with no reimbursement... but they are also making high five to over six figures. Now remove the "good" from the teacher equation and all you have is a tenured leach.
As far as teachers go, "Keep the jewels and fire the fools"
As far as Mr. Brown goes- like I said before, the bell rang when he was caught saying "I have no idea what I'm going to do when I get to Sacramento", joking at a BBB meeting, prior to the elections.
Meet the new Governor, same as the old Governor... Once a Moonbeam always a Moonbeam.
Let's review the non-smoke and mirrors ""cuts"" Brown has instituted:
1) No effort to reduce the number of welfare cases or massive welfare fraud (and don't even go there about denying that it exists). In fact, cutting CalWorks ensures even more will go off jobs to permanent welfare (more Democrat voters!)
3) Shift all juvenile prisoners from state to county. Wow, county budgets are about to get busted! Here come the cries for local taxes to cover it. So much for no "smoke and mirrors".
4) No mention about pensions
5) Instead, standard by-the-numbers cuts on everything which will cause the most hysteria. Cuts to parks, wow. Even if we eliminate the whole park system, that would cover about a month's worth of illegal alien welfare. Cuts to disabled and Medi-cal. Here come the newspaper articles talking about who's impacted.
In the meantime, what about the average middle class slob who's barely keeping afloat, or someone who's laid off?
This budget is an EPIC FAIL and doesn't deserve any tax increases. However, my quixotic rants will do no good, since the <sarcasm>majority of intelligent CA voters</sarcasm> put in a solid Democrat super-majority AND voted to have a simple majority to pass a budget. Oh well, here goes the rest of my money.
Hear Hear !
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