More:
http://www.sacbee.com/749/story/1132910.html
The massive pay cut would exhaust the state’s antiquated payroll system, which is built on a Vietnam-era computer language so outdated that many college students don’t even bother to learn it anymore.
Democratic state Controller John Chiang said Monday it would take at least six months to reconfigure the state’s payroll system to issue blanket checks at the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour, though Schwarzenegger insists such a change should occur this month.
Experts say Chiang isn’t joking when he describes the state’s payroll system as a computing relic on par with vacuum tubes and floppy disks.
“It’s an example of a number of computer systems in which the state made a large investment decades ago and has been keeping it going the last few years with duct tape,” said Michael Cohen, director of state administration with the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
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Chiang said.. the state cannot logistically retool its payroll system in a matter of weeks as the governor has asked. And if the change eventually were made, Chiang said it would take an additional nine to 10 months to issue back pay to employees when the budget is approved.
“Pragmatically, we just can’t get the system to work in a timely manner for us to implement payment of minimum wage,” Chiang said.
The democrats in the legislature and state unions are having a power play with the executive branch to force more spending and more taxes resulting in a higher burden on the private sector, and I say if the state union members can't get their leadership in line, then eff 'em, fire the greedy bastards who put these girlymen in office and start over.