It's Arnold's birthday: Call him today before he slashes wages
By Julia Rosen Tuesday Jul 29, 2008 2:00pm(full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign)
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I wanted to report back on my post from Friday, warning that Gov. Schwarzengger was about to cut over 200,000 state worker's salaries down to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 -- a ploy in a political game being played by the Governor. He's trying to hold state workers hostage to try and place pressure on the Democrats instead of the Republicans who are holding up the budget.
Today, I have good news and bad news. It's Arnold's birthday. No, that's not the good news.
The good news is that over 28,000 of you stepped up and signed the petition to Schwarzenegger. The same day, he delayed signing the executive order that would have put the policy into effect.
The bad news is that he only delayed it to Thursday.
We delivered your petitions to the Governor on Monday and created a funny, snarky video you can see above, about our adventure trying to get someone to accept the darn petitions. It helped to have an Assemblymember along with us and a bunch of cameras and reporters, or else we would have been sent straight to the mailroom.
We have about 24 hours until the Governor signs the executive order. Which means we still have time today to pressure Arnold to stop holding state workers hostage to his political budget negotiation games.
On behalf of hundreds of thousands of state workers, please pick up your phone right now and call Arnold. Click here for the phone number and a form to report back your call.
UPDATE: We've already received some interesting call reports, like this one from Gary:
Staff member tried to convince me that things will be alright with our finances because my partner, who is a teacher, can get a zero-interest loan since the banks know that the employees will be getting the money eventually. I told her that we didn't want to be pawns in their political games and that the governor & legislature need to work it out. She said she would pass it along.
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This is the total blame on an assembly and senate that does nothing at except play games, care about special interests, and that does nothing at all....
The Ultimate Convergence of the Mainstream Media and government is Schwarzenaeger.
Wow...Arnie's acting like an asshole. Not surprised.
Could Arnie live on 6 dollars/hour ? that is less than 200/week...No One can live on that....I live elsewhere but I will write and call too...maybe other people in other states should raise hell too.....after all if this "works" for Arnie , you can bet other cash strapped states will try it too....
Is the Governator's salary among those to be cut?
Magic 8-Ball says: Very doubtful
Time to TERMINATE
Typical republican. "I'm worth $200,000,000 a year, plus bonuses. You overpaid working people oughta be able to get by on $6 bucks an hour, and pay for you own insurance and retirement too!
America is unfortunately full of fucking imbeciles that are OK with this shit. Then, when the repukes finally get around to fucking them over, they blame it on liberals!
I'm beginning to think America is a half-way house for crazies who love to fuck themselves over. How can anyone at this point in American history (who is not uber-rich) vote republican? WTF is wrong with people?
Minimum wage applies to governors too, right??
Republican Governor gets pissed at Democrats, attacks state employees.
The GOP: Taking out their frustrations on Innocent people since 1964.
Someone should tell Arnold that he doesn't have the legal authority to sign an executive order reducing state employees salaries; before, he makes a complete and assclown of himself.
SOSDD ,
When ever goverment ( city , county , state and fed ) use the we are broke BS , it is amost always the same ruse , we will have to cut back on first responders , never on the big ticket items ( like upper manGLEment) or pet projects ( like war ) SOS different day .
Arnuld is a state empolyee. Right?
Can't wait to see how he lives on $6.55 per hour.
I certainly appreciate what the Courage Campaign is doing here, but I won't sign the petition, and here's my reasoning. Just who exactly was it that kicked Gray Davis out and elected the Governator in the first place... he did get a large enough backing that it wasn't just the yacht party that voted him into office. When you mark that ballot, it has consequences. Vote for an actor and all you'll get is superficial, well-scripted but meaningless results... it's that simple.
Look, we all knew about the coming California budget crisis. Gray Davis warned us, and was making specific proposals to resolve the matter (like reinstating the automobile tax, probably the issue that cost him the Office), or at least start to, when everybody in California lost their minds. What did everybody who voted for Arnold think would happen? He'd sell one of his Hummers and somehow manage to cover the deficit?
Well, we're paying for it now, aren't we!
Don't expect excellence from Government. In case you haven't noticed.
We're being forced into a Depression.
Isn't it obvious?
Ahnold’s B-day withstanding; he is either delusional, or took a few too many to the head, a flesh wound in his case. Assuming it’s the first misconception, a faint feeling of dread, ennui, and deja vu along the lines of Milton's "Paradise Lost" for putzes punctuates the air with a stirring foul stench evocative of a typical morning with Rush, as Ahnold purposely chose to align his broken down wagon with GOP dicks of all stripes and diseased dermatitis conditions (Whew!). Pipe dream 11th hour salvation persists in trance-like hallucinatory swirls of confusion and angst, much like having bees run loose in your head, except everybody knows their dropping like flies. The real-or-imagined windmills/dragons of a conservative Don Quixote nightmare run amuck?
Realizing that it’s likely that in some neo-con’s non-discretionary youth they hatched a casual road-to-ruin nihilism that somewhat missed the reality-based mark, and must by now acknowledge that, although premature, that brain caper inadvertently came not to fruition but ruin. Speeding downward towards ground zero, the King Kong of all the GOP boner aspirations and ambitions have been finally put to rest by the tattering biplane's bullets of cold hard reality, with a helping hand provided by the last election’s albatross poot-butt namby-pamby administration. Yet another maiden-voyaged Titanic-like Repug project, the icebergs of doubt and pointlessness seething on their frigid horizon.
A living wage is for girlie men.
Next Monday (Aug. 4) will be Senator Obama's birthday. Just trying to be fair and balanced.
I doubt seriously that Arnie gives a damn what someone living in Florida thinks. I wonder what Gray Davis is thinking as he watches this?
WHO CARES?... Let's ALL see what BRITNEY'S up to now!
CNN Today
Arnold does not draw a state salary (he refuses to accept it). This allows him to make unpopular moves, such as this one, without facing calls to cut his own salary.
Since the govenor is a state employee is he going to take a cut in salary?
I called the Sacramento line, got through right away, and told the staffer to tell the Governor to stop screwing with people's lives. Please take a minute to do the same. We need to make our voices heard!
It's not just that, and I hope it happens for a time, the State workers in the Central Valley and the Inland Empire helped vote this prick in...A lot of them were whining about Davis, yeah they fell for it and need a little penalty IMO.
Arnold does not make any money as governor. He refused it so he can support things like this...
We, Californians, aren't any smarter than rest of the country. Connecticut re-elected Joe Lieberman and U.S. brought back GW for second term. Just wow! We probably will still make this presidential election close enough to entice Republicans to steal it. I do hope that there are still some sane individuals on the other side to help stop this from happening. Here is hoping with both fingers crossed.
I Like Pie @ 10:
Actually he does, the State Supreme Court ruled in 1993, the governor at time was given this power to do this.
When you make $40,000,000 a shot to do movies, you don't need to draw the CA Governator's salary...that would be hardly a blip on the Terminator's huge wealth...
Now I know why they call him the "Terminator"...he's out to terminate the lives of hundreds of thousands of the state employees lowest wage earners.
How is this not considered (legally) extortion? An individual is threatening to harm others unless he gets his demands. I'm not a legal expert, but this does seem to be if not a text-book, at least a stereotypical, extortion ploy. He should work for the mob.
James @ 24:
hmmm... that sounds like a precedent for all millionaire politicians... why does he need a salary if it would only amount to a pittance when contrasted with all his other revenue sources...?... he doesn't... nor do most of those crooks who don't need what amounts to a pittance in contrast to their personal fortunes... if they truly believe in service to the people, then they should happily follow suit...
I just want to thank the citizens of California, Alaska, Connecticut, and Oklahoma for making the politicians here in Louisiana look competent (except for Bill Jefferson, David Vitter, and sometimes Bobby Jendal). Oh, nevermind.
SOME pay? Or NO pay? THAT is the real option during this budget impasse your facing.
You're being disingenuous by putting this entirely on Arnold.
The budget impasse is MORE on your lousy state legislature than it is on your lousy state governator.
And.....since this is America...(Still)...
If you don't like it in California...MOVE.
samsuncle @ 30:
No, they make them all look competent. OTOH, some of the idiots in Baton Rouge would require the entire Greco-Roman pantheon from all over the empire to make them look even passably competent. BTW, from Acadiana here.
Unhappy B-day asshole.... I said it before and I'll say it here.. Ya shoulda just stayed with making action movies!!!! Ya weren't any more believable but at least you were off the streets and not causing trouble... For the most part.. Except for the occasional gropping of co-stars and extras I suppose.. As far as cutting peoples pay just so you might, (and that's a pretty big iffy might) be able to crow about holding state costs down..... Fagitaboutit or an actual balanced budget with this gimmick... Ain't gonna happen... Riiiggghhttt... $6.55 an an hour... You do that, cut these staties pay down governator and you might as well just cut your own political throat from ear to ear... As far as I'm concerned you're already toast politically, but you do this and it will be a huge cherry on top of your failed neophyte political career.. Ya want to cut someones pay??? Cut your own ya big oaf!!!!! JD
Dan-in-PA @ 31:
translation: we're entitled to exploit and undervalue your contributions to society and your humanity and if you don't like it, too bad.
Honestly though, what are we supposed to do in CA?! Everyone knows the problem right now is that republicans are refusing to come to the table and talk about raising taxes in the state. Everyone is upset with the governor, and he has made some bone-headed moves in the past. How is the state of CA supposed to cover our expenses in September?!
While its fun to bash the guvenator, CA needs to be putting pressure on republicans in the legislature to come to a compromise with Democrats on the state budget. Where is the money to cover the state's financial obligations supposed to come from? Magic faeries? Seriously, we need to focus the outrage and the people that would rather have this be perpetrated on the state workers because of ideological obsessions than on the governor.
Obama hearts Arnold:
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/12/obama-says-hed.html
samsuncle @ 30:
David Vitter got his political career started as State Representative for Louisiana's 81st District, located in the 1st Congressional District. The district's previous representative? David Duke. Vitter then became the US Congressional Representative for Louisiana's 1st. After Vitter became a senator, he was replaced as representative of the 1st by Bobby Jindal.
Louisiana isn't that bad, but seriously, what the fuck is wrong with the people in LA01?
we are all hurting in cali
you really want me to care if some lazy ass state worker gets a paycut?
hope he cuts the pay of all the hacks sitting in the legislature too
We’re being forced into a Depression.
Isn’t it obvious?
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Every boom ends in a bust. Deflation follows inflation. With a credit bubble, we are at the deflation phase of the cycle. Al lthe political BS in the world will not change those facts.
Arnold is putting up a bullet train proposition 1 !!! where's your post on that? its the most important legislation going on in the entire country and yet you make no mention of it.
Why doesn't Ahhnuld just quit and make predator 3 already.
This is a dame shame, how this nasty fool is taking advantage of all those people. He is single handedly setting up a situation, to have thousands of more people to lose their homes, with this dirty, nasty trick.
For the life of me, I just don't see what it is Maria, sees in this nasty, dirty dog.
I tell you folks, If these bastards steal this next election, we are really going to have to collectively rise up and take these bastards down. It is going to be the only way we can make it in this country.
We have to know that there is power in the numbers of us, and we are going to have to just take these people out of office.
Uncle Joe Mccarthy @ 38:
Go fuck yourself, bigot!
I agree with Vman on Uncle Joe's statement but again, this begs the question, everyone here is pointing the finger at the governor but what are we supposed to do in CA if the Republicans in the legislature absolutely refuse to negotiate? They are more than willing to let this happen. The state does actual have debts and obligations. SO, can anyone tell me their advice for keeping the lights on in CA, so to speak, while the rethugs stall on a realistic budget that includes tax increases.
I mean, my god, these wingnuts are so crazy they are refusing to repeal the yacht tax credit in CA while we face a massive 17 billion dollar deficit.
Until Calif ceases to imprison 1 out of every 100 residents, we will continue being bankrupt.
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