In March, 62,000 people lost their jobs in California. We’re now at 11.5% unemployment, an all time high. 1 out of 9 Californians is out of work — almost 650,000 people without jobs. The jobless rate for government workers in California is 2.8% Do I feel for all of them? You bet! It’s tough and I’ll lend a helping hand where I can.
But the melodrama surrounding any state worker is waaaaaaaaay overblown, IMO. Especially when they are talking about a 1 (ONE!) percent reduction. This is the same state government who has imposed tax after tax, regulation after regulation, chased out of the state productive business after productive business— and now has a governor who is having a hissy fit that we won’t give him another $16 billion for his pet projects. We spend a billion dollars a year on his Prop49 after-school babysitting program. We have thrown more than $10 billion at his stem-cell research and solar roof boondoggles. Another $50 billion on bonds for everything from bikepaths to farworker housing.
Last week Arnold was talking about hiring a few thousand more workers because he said the “market” demanded more state workers when the economy is down. Would he ever accept a theory that the state needs fewer workers when the economy is up? Not a chance!
Stepping down from soapbox...
I'm VERY interested in a link to that page (I might have missed a link to it, but didn't see one.)
Note that the table is for MARCH only of 2007! That means the total State expenditure per month, two years ago, was $2,118,772,912 - or $25,425,274,944 per year.
I think the whole table is pretty much a lie - but, a taste of the truth today.