The only thing left to cut to raise any of the various numbers required will be the numbers, pay and benefits of state government workers... including teachers.
Gregoire, who is a lame duck governor, should know that.
Serious additional cuts MUST be made in PEOPLE... not programs. State workers must be given the option of resigning; being laid off, or given substantial pay and benefit cuts.
Yet, as near as I can tell, her budget does not reflect that.
It's almost like the days where we were, apparently, SWIMMING in money, since she jacked up both the Lieutenant Governor's budget AND her own in excess of 30%... in ONE YEAR.
This kind of thing is how we got into this mess in the first place... because we do the thing we need to do first... gets done last.
Do you think they will cut this budget serious, the labor unions will go running to the courts like the teachers unions and then they will get a series of injunctions against the next governor that will force state spending upwards?? I believe you talked about it in some of your previous posts...
ReplyDeleteThe unions were all, I believe, unsuccessful.
ReplyDeleteWhile cutting pay and benefits may not be easy, it CAN be done. And if the unions don't like it, then they can just be laid off.
The bottom line is the same.