A tax by any other name...
On the radio yesterday, I heard Arnold Schwarzenegger playing word games involving the livelihoods of state employees in California. As the economy tanks, the Governator is looking for ways to save money that don't involve raising taxes. His solution: cut the salaries of state employees. In some cases, lowering wages to $6.55/hour, the federally mandated minimum wage.
Help me, here, because I don't quite understand how this is different from a tax. If you tax me, you take money out of my paycheck. If you cut my salary, you take money out of my paycheck. What's the diff?
Oh, right, the difference is that in this scenario, which Schwarzie claims will save the state $1.2 billion per month, the only people being taxed are state employees. Everybody else gets a free ride, including the governor, who gets to claim he hasn't raised taxes.
$6.55 an hour. Think about that one. I don't know how much money you make, but I don't make a lot. Hubbicula laughed when he saw our tax return from last year. Still, $6.55 an hour is less than half what I make as a humble state employee. At $6.55 an hour, I wouldn't be able to pay my bills, let alone pay my mortgage, or keep the kittens in kibble. Never mind keeping Hubbicula in college.
Before you even start on state employees, I'll say it for you: we're
lazy, incompetent, indifferent, reckless, and greedy. Fine, agreed.
The only question is: do you want my job? No, I didn't think so. We
state employees may be the bottom of the barrel, but we were willing to
take the jobs nobody else wanted. No matter how grudgingly and slowly,
we provide important services. Without us, your kids don't get
educated, your paperwork doesn't get pushed, and your highway medians
don't get mowed. We guard you while you sleep. Do not... fuck with us.
Comments
you may find this article funny. Ah-nuld did not know that the ancient Cobol-based California payroll systems would need a massive overhaul to do what he wants. it may take up to six months, and of course, require a lot of very expensive programming.
schadenfreude, I know, but I get a giggle of it.
What really got me about this was that they are screwing the part-timers. They don't even give these people health insurance and they're cutting their pay! As a public servant (librarian), I get the customers who say "I pay your salary!" whenever something doesn't go their way. They are the first to complain that we don't have enough copies of the book they want because our book budget got cut this year when they would never vote for a library bond that would increase taxes. You can't get services if you don't pay for them!
OK, rant over. Great post!