Meet the hero who said No to Arnold
By Julia Rosen Sunday Aug 03, 2008 9:00pm(full disclosure: I work for the Courage Campaign)
Controller John Chiang is standing up to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- refusing to comply with the devastating Executive Order the Governor signed last Thursday -- despite 28,016 petitions Courage Campaign, CREDO Mobile and True Majority members sent to his office.
The Executive Order fired over 22,000 seasonal, temporary and student workers and directed Chiang to reduce over 200,000 state workers' pay to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour.
But, Controller Chiang is holding his ground, daring the Governor to take him to court.
This is part of Controller Chiang's official response to Governor Schwarzenegger:
To the extent that the Order attempts to govern the constitutional duties for which I was independently elected to perform and, because it is based on faulty legal and factual premises, I will not comply with the Order.
Today Chiang announced that there is no way the state's computer systems are capable of actually processing the cuts for at least another six months of reprogramming.
John Chiang is, simply put, a hero. To thank him for his courage, the Courage Campaign is teaming up with CREDO Mobile to host a special conference call with Controller Chiang and our good friend Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Los Angeles), the lead author of a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger condemning the wage cuts signed by 27 California members of Congress. Also joining us will be Yvonne Walker, President of SEIU Local 1000, whose members account for 95,000 of those cut to minimum wage.
Please join us on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT for this Courage Campaign Conversation with Controller Chiang, Rep. Solis and Yvonne Walker, co-sponsored by CREDO Mobile. Click here to RSVP for the call.
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Yes,...first,....but that's not important. What is important is that the Terminator cannot be reasoned with. He doesn't feel pity,...or pain...or remorse. And he absolutely will not stop...ever!! Until you are dead!
Republican politics, my friends.
He'll be rolled over no doubt and lily livered Democrats won't go to bat for him, but thank the stars above for heroes, who are unafraid to stand on principle, like this.
Right on John Chiang... I'm proud of you and applaud your courage. Arnie... Hasta la vista!
Wow, integrity. It's been so long, I've forgotten what it looked like.
This is exactly what the elites fear most. The people saying, look we don't need you for ANYTHING. We can do fine on our own.
I was one of the naive fools who helped Arnold get elected on his BS promises to cut up the credit cards and balance the budget.
So now, when the elected representatives can't do their job, they want to take it out on the hard working little people and make them pay for their failures.
Fire workers and reduce pay to thousands and thousands because the crooks at the top can't do their job. That makes sense!
Good for this one, standing up to such repulsive behavior.
If only I could take my vote back. Not that it would matter. They were all crooks before too.
Once a Republiscum, always a Republiscum. Don't be fooled by simple acts of noblesse oblige. Schwarzenegger might not hate gays or give lip service to the environment, but if you work for a living, he'll slit your throat and crap down your neck in a heartbeat.
Government programs don't come for free. How else does the state of California reduce their deficit, which is in the BILLIONS of dollars?
I suppose the solution is to borrow money? Could work, but at some point, wouldn't the people of California have to pay that back? And how would they do that, if they refuse to reduce payroll and reduce size of their programs?
I mean, we DO understand simple plus and minus mathematics here at C&L, don't we?
Go ahead, APPLAUD the comptroller's efforts... but the deficit STILL remains. It was unmoved by the comptroller's actions.
SACRAMENTO -- State Controller John Chiang today more than doubled the estimate of cash the state will have next month to $4.2 billion, undermining Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's rationale for state worker layoffs and pay cuts.
"Despite the governor's assertions, we have sufficient cash to to meet the state's obligations through the end of September and into October," the controller said.
http://weblog.signonsandiego.com/news/breaking/2008/08/no_cash_crisis.html
James @ 8:
Maybe the Gov could work for free if he really gives a crap. He's already a millionaire from crappy movies who could live just fine without ever working another day in his life. He could go happily into the sunset without having to sh*t on everyone else behind him.
Schwarzenegger got us in this budget mess by first repealing the fair car registration tax that helped police, firefighters, the economy!!! etc. and now he's ruining the lives of state employees. Schwarzenegger is a lying, evil wingnut Bushie. check out the Shock Doctrine. He wants to privatize government agency's, cutting wages and benefits, and no over site which eventually raises the prices for everyday city services.
file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Owner/Desktop/Schwarzenegger/recal...
thank you Controller John Chiang, you are a hero!!!!
James @ 8:
You could start by taxing the sh*t out of the likes of undeserving oligarchs such as Arnold Schwarzenegger.
We need more like her!!
Chiang for Governor in 2011!
How is this an act of heroism?
What's wrong with making minimum wage? Oh wait! They are government employees, they deserve SO MUCH MORE!
Wealth peculates up, it does not trickle down. The best way to fix California's, as well as the nations, economic woes is to tax wealthy citizens and corporations and transfer that wealth to the bottom of the economy through public works, education and social seervice programs building infrastructure which in turn boosts the economy. Capitalism is based on consumerism and consumption, we need to expand the consumer base. Without it, wealth stagnates at the top of the income ladder creating an instable and unsustainable economy.
Maybe everyone can quit, leaving Ahnold to literally 'run' the state.
^percolates
barry @ 15:
It's not that they're better than everyone and hence "deserve so much more", Barry. It's the fact that these people are taking huge pay cuts and with the economy in the crapper, the value of the dollar in the toilet and the price of gas being the highest in history, this is hurting alot of people big time. I'd be pissed if this were happening to me. Wouldn't you?
A little Anarchy on the way folks?
Will we be fighting each other in the streets for scraps of food by Christmas?
Maybe we can head down to Crawford and move in with W. I'm sure he'll feed us and keep us warm in the winter and cool in the summer.
Hey, I have an idea: Let's cut the state's private-sector contractors' pay back to minimum wage. I'm sure that Ah-nold's special interest backers would be willing to do their fair share for the good of the state. Am I right?
Maybe this little nugget will make the those who think state employees should work for minimum feel better:
Companies Tap Pension Plans
To Fund Executive Benefits
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121761989739205497.html?mod=hpp_us_pageone
barry @ 15:
By the way, Barry, blow me.
James says...
"I mean, we DO understand simple plus and minus mathematics here at C&L, don't we?"
James, I must ask you, have you ever run a successful business?
Perhaps you would understand mathematics better if you were closely involved in this fiasco...once you tried to earn a living making $6.55 an hour...
The ones who really understand mathematics here are the ones who were fired and the ones who may have to work for $6.55 an hour....go ask them about their math skills...
And did Arny give himself and the rest of the legislature a 40% plus cut in pay? Where else have cuts been made and what other state workers are involved? I could see about several hundreds of thousands of dollars being saved by reducing Arny's entourage of security guys that go where ever he goes...and at what salary do these folks make following him around? Does he need 3 or 4 or more cars going with him just to make a trip across town?
(This is not the same James as No. 8)
Let's be reasonable a second. Now yeah, it's pretty crappy that so many people are being cut or having their pay cut. But California is a state, not the federal government. It doesn't have the ability to print more money on credit to pay all it's employees like the feds do. So where does this Controller propose to get the money to pay for these folks?
Will California raise taxes? Cut social programs? Increase fees?
The money has to come from somewhere, so I'm honestly asking, how does this Controller, or anyone who is supportive of his actions, propose to fund the continued employment of so many people and maintain the same wage level?
For more courage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JniWdP0MO7s
Turn it up, loud. You will feel great.
Snowball @ 16:
I agree, however, government isn't an enterprise. Ideally, a business would distribute a majority of it's profits to the majority of it's employees, thus feeding the engine of society and economic development. But governments are different. Governments aren't profit seeking entities (in most cases) so they have no real incentive to keep costs low and revenues high.
But as I said in response No. 25, how are you going to pay for it? If Californians are willing to pay higher taxes and fees, or else face cuts in social services and other government services so that these people can keep their jobs and wage levels, then more power to them. And as several have mentioned on here, there are many other cuts that should have been made first, ie. Arnold's entourage and legislator pay. But even cutting those two items, it sounds like there still would have been massive cuts across the board to balance the budget.
Again, states have to have a balanced budget, they just can't print money on credit to pay their workers like the feds can.
James @ 8:
You are correct in your first sentence. But, are you saying the only way to reduce the deficit is to CUT FROM THE BOTTOM? Why not start at the top? Did Arnold cut his own pay to minimum wage? Any of those CA congressional members who voted for this? I'm all for trimming, but everyone should feel the pain, not only the littlest ones.
This is what I argue when they threaten to cut school programs unless we vote in a referendum to raise property taxes. Yet, the superintendent(s) is still making $300K in a tiny district. Happens at least once if not twice a year.
I am extremely sympathetic to people who have to exist on Minimum wage. FYI, that is what the Government keeps us non-military service connected disability people at. I am at the top tier at $931 per month. And when you add in that $10 worth of Food Stamps, hey, it's Party Time! Woo-Hoo!
DD @ 28:
(Again, the OTHER James here)
I agree that cuts should start at the top, but if you look at the hierarchy of government (or any large organization) there are far more people at the bottom than at the top of the pyramid. In other words, if you cut wages for 100 people at the top of an organization with 100,000 people by $10,000 each (for example), each of those 100,000 people would only gain a benefit of an additional $10 * 100 to come out to a total of $1000 each.
I have no idea what California's hierarchy looks like, but assuming a similar ratio, you'll see that cutting the pay to the few at the top probably still won't be enough to keep the people at the bottom in their jobs. Could go the communist route and just pay everyone the same wage whether they are the governor or the lady that cleans the bathrooms at the capital, but then the annual salary would probably come out to something like $25K a year (just throwing out a number, I have no idea the payroll figures for California). Point being, a few people would be better off, but the majority of people would get an even worse pay cut overall. But at least it would be equitable, quite literally.
Cutting from the bottom is a strategy here. The question is why?
Why, indeed?
The answer to me is simple. Because the people in charge of this country are trying to drive us to revolt so they can justify any and all methods to imprison, poison, maim and kill us. This country is collapsing. And it is collapsing from the purposeful hidden agenda that exists at the very top of this Ponzi scheme known as the United States of America.
You had better get a good umbrella, because it's about to start raining shit around here.
Yeah, I so want to defend the poor, poor government workers. Those valiant civil servants, just trying to make a living on, you know, $80,000, $90,000, $100,000 a year or so. It's so hard to scrape by on the pittance they get paid. I'm so glad this wonderful, heroic man John Chang is standing up for them.
It just makes me want to weep, to think of them in their tens of thousands, with full medical coverage, dental plans, powerful unions, some of them forced to drive government vehicles and then herded into free parking lots downtown. And now they’re being further mistreated by that evil Gov. Schwarzenegger. He must be the only person in the world wicked enough to do this thing.
And wow, how great to be in this august company, all of us together lauding the man who defends these shivering wretches who come to work day after day, working their poor fingers to the bone in all those air-conditioned offices. I’m sure we’ve all been in government offices and seen how crushing their work loads are! And then to think of them trapped in these sad, lonely civil service jobs with nothing but full retirement plans and lifelong health insurance to brighten their dark, dark days.
Bravo, John Chang, defender of the government workers! You Man of the People! Brave, defiant soul! — I only hope someday to shake your hand, the hand that set free this mistreated minority!
May you someday see fit to use your courageous voice to emancipate those other victims, all the downtrodden, underpaid oil company executives.
MedfordTim @ 29:
Well, you are certainly NOT living in California.
barry @ 15:
Wal Mart wants to hire you right now, Barry. They always can use a few more cowardly saps like you that will work for nothing with no benefits. When you fill out the application, turn it in, bend over and don't forget your Vaseline. It's in aisle 16 if you did.
Hank Fox @ 32:
So you must not believe this quote: "The Executive Order fired over 22,000 seasonal, temporary and student workers and directed Chiang to reduce over 200,000 state workers’ pay to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 an hour."
Or, you think these seasonal, temporary and student workers are making $80k/year? And the other 200,000 employees that were making $80-100k per year are not going to make minimum wage?
Brilliant!
Too bad one of those persons is not you.
Charles @ 33:
You're right - I left my birthstate close to twenty years ago in favor of Oregon. I prefer living in a state with no sales tax. In fact, I can remember when Pat Brown said, "I assure you, California's sales tax will NEVER rise above 4%." Ah, the Good Ol' Days....
But if I lived in Cali, I would get the same amount. (It's a VA program).
I'm really looking forward to the call and thanks to all of these brave people who take the time to think about what's best for the country and it's citizens. All the company cars, phones, lunches, etc. could be cut before making honest working people homeless. Be sure to call the (cringe) Governor and tell him what you think if you live here. It took me less than five minutes to google his name+contact and call.
Jay Leno let this idiot launch his campaign on his show so close to the voting day, that by the time the nasty side of arny started coming out, he was already voted in on his fame. Both of these overpaid, under talented guys should go play with their cars and leave the world alone.
I'm not sure Chiang is such a hero. It's easy to say "no" when what is being asked for is impossible, thanks to Big Blue and a band of programmers who probably created the payroll system back in the dark days of COBOL and IMS, and who set up a system not to be monkeyed with on just a moments notice.
Hooray for the real heroes: COBOL programmers of the world!
Regardless of who is in office, we're going to have to bite the economic bullet. What Schwarzenegger did will be repeated on a Federal, state, and local level (especially Fed, now that bush has bloated it beyond all precedent) as a matter of fiscal necessity. The country is broke, and it'll get worse before it gets better.
It's time to just raise the GD taxes and be done with it... It's time for Californians to pay their bills and pay their way and to stop trying to stick it to the next generations with damned bonds...
Grow up, Arnold. Stop being a girlie-fascist.
Hank Fox @ 32:
I sense just a tinge of sarcasm in your post Hank. I doubt, however that the oil company execs will be cut down to minimum wage. I hope and pray I never have to live on minimum wage (it ain't called "minimum" for nothin'), and you'd better do the same, what with this flourishing economy and all (see, I know sarcasm too!)
I LOVE the Courage Campaign!
When I was a teenager back in the '70s I remember doing some work for $5 an hour. But I think my first full time job after high school 30 years ago must have paid close to if not over $6.55. And I was living at my mothers then. I think it would have been hard owning a home or renting an apartment on $6.55 even then 30 years ago. To even suggest that long term state workers should try to do such a thing in our current economy is a drastic condemnation of the economic damage that Governor Schwarzenegger has done to the state of California. Ironic that such a devastatingly strong condemnation of his fiscal policies should come from the Governor himself! Basicly with this he is blithely admitting that he is unfit to govern.
James @ 8:
22,000 reduced state worker salaries will not make a difference. Taxes will. Sadly, America has become the land of the selfish and no one wants to invest back in it. No one cares about anything but themselves anymore. This country is going down faster than the Titanic.
DD @ 28:
Amen DD.
Barry @ 15, minimum wage may be fine for someone like you living in your parents home and eating their food. But try paying rent/mortgage, buying food and transporting your ass back and forth to work on that! And just for kicks have a couple of kids to raise on top of that too. Then get back to us on this. OK?
On the news the other night, they spoke to a state employee who was saying that she was having enough trouble making ends meet already, and that if she's put on minimum wage she will not be able to afford the gas to make it to work in the first place... So, what does "Ahnold" intend to do about that?
Hank Fox @ 32, maybe I'm missing something here but from everything I've heard about this it is NOT the ones making the 80 to 100 grand a year who are facing these cuts! It's the ones making 15 - 30 grand who are. And since you seem to think being a state worker is so grand then instead of complaining so why aren't you out getting a state job?
ahhnold is gross.
barry @ 15:
Shut up asshole!
kerplunk @ 48:
Impeach Schwarzenegger!
Terrible @ 45:
Don't forget, single people who don't live at home, who pay a mortgage or rent, buy their own food, transport their own asses back and forth to work, PAY for your kids to go to school. Yet, who gets the tax breaks?
Wanna have kids? Be prepared to afford them before you do. It's only fair to the child.
funny how the government only bails out the rich like wall street executives, etc.
I have recently concluded that American Citizens deserve Ahhnold and Bush and should feel the effect of voting for them. I now shop at Walmart so I can have the non union peasants there slave for me since they love Bush and his way and keep voting for him and will vote for McCain also.
Cutting from the top would save less cash in the short term. but if you took it from the top, shit would get done a lot quicker
Mark N. @ 38:
Well said. We also know that the Federal Government and the State Governments have neglected the infrastructure of all things. Computer software is a big one. They think it will last forever. Of course it was built 40 or 50 years ago like most of the bridges and other physical infrastructure of America.
Hank Fox @ 32:
How much should the state employees make?
How much should you make at your job Hank?
Members of the California State Senate are looking into the legality of what Ahnold wants to do. Hopefully they are not as ineffective as the U.S. Senate (and Congress), but I won't hold my breath.
And true to the predictions in this thread, our local news has had some local folks insisting they don't want their taxes raised. Oy vey...
AAHNOLD is a suckup for votes.... ALL THAT HE IS....
check his record for the past years....
said Gray Davis did nothing and had no plan.....THEN DID EXACTLY THE SAME
every promise has fallen through
pulled money from kids with needs etc.... then tossed it back in when confronted by the press and the kids ON HIS LAWN!!!
HE IS NOTHING MORE OR LESS THAN A BLOOD SUCKING REPUBLICAN who got into office through bullshit measures
McStain in my pants @ 51, I don't have any kids myself but am doing all the rest on $11/hr and it isn't easy even on that bit over the minimum.
Charles @ 31:
Here , Here .
No one saw this coming when the private sector " out sourced " our MFG jobs ( snark ) if there is no base then the top will topple and we will be eating top ramen if we are lucky . Now as far as goverment waste , where to start including all levels , lets see 4 white hats watching one person with a shovel ( oh and 12 pieces of eqt. with one person in each one reading the paper ) and 4 flaggers , to fill a pot hole . But then Im just someone who has seen this coming for a long time . We are so close to a total collapse keep your powder dry .
James @ 8:
Maybe Arnie could not get paid... and those other effers at the top who spent the money could be held to working in jobs that paid $6.55 per hour. How about we start there, huh?
Snowball @ 10:
Yeah... what you said Snowball!
Arnold Schwartzneggar is worth over $800 million. Yes, 800,000,000 dollars. He has made boxcars of cash with the multiple hit movies he has starred in and produced. You cannot call him a dummy. A cold hearted SOB on the other hand seems more than appropriate.
I feel for those whose pay is about to get cut who voted against Arnold for governor. Those who voted for him deserve to have there pay cut for not having the common sense to see that Arnold is about as sympathetic to the working man as William F. Buckley was. Arnold is about Arnold. He wants to keep as much of his fortune as he can and that means keeping taxes low for the rich.
I do, however, sympathize with frustration about the inefficiency of governement bureaucrats. If you put your average (notice I did not say any) state employee side by side with someone from the private sector doing the same job the private sector worker will do two to three times as much work as the public employee. There is no incentive for the public employee to work as hard as the private employee and the union protection is so outstanding it is hard to fire them no matter how slow and lazy and complacent they might be. There are, of course, exceptions.
Cufford @ 6:
I wish I had empathy, but people like you who at some point in their lives see no problem in voting an steroid-head to the top office of this great state are/were part of the problem.
You left us with this mess, and now we have to clean it up. Thanks!
James @ 8:
Here is some basic math:
a) You can cut the wages and fire people who are already on the verge of economic ruin.
Or
b) You can increase the taxes on the upper echelons to pay for those social programs.
Case a) means that Ahnold has to deal with the wrath of the state unions, and case b) means that Ahnold has to endure a couple of awkward moments with his buddies at the country club. Obviously his quality time at the golf course must be a priority for him then.
BTW, I think it is quite telling that you fathom "borrowing" yet not consider "raising taxes" even remotely.
David N @ 59:
blah, blah, blah...
I guess the upcoming revolution will be fought with keyboards and bad grammar.
Americans are so lazy, that they may even expect illegals to fight the battles for them. I can see this as the first outsourced revolution. LOL!
Wow such delusion that people think about state worker. I don't know a single state worker making $80,000. My sister was the general manager of the social service dept for the state, and consider top wage earner in her dept and made only $60,000 per year. Do people realize that state worker are now doing the work of three people as far as case load go compared to what they were doing back 20 years ago? Anyone who were obsess with making money knows that privatize company is where the cash cow is, and not the state. People who choose to work for the state do so often to serve their community.
This move that the Governor did was really outlandish insane. So insane that it was sure to get a riot, much like the french revolution. I think the reasonableness is missing. I might even suggest that this was an act of war to the lower class society. The America that I knew was a land with no class system.
I wonder if this was an attempt to create a situation to warrant martial law status.
You know, they day the people elect the government they deserve. I'm beginning to see that this is true. I just hope California and the US at large will begin to deserve something better.
I couldn't believe that Musclehead was elected in the first place, much less elected all over again for a full term.
The guy is just out of touch, but how could he be anything else?
Spent his formative years as a 'Roid fueled body builder, emigrated to America- and somehow hit it big as a Hollywood star.
The trouble with jerks like Arnold is that they really believe they deserve everything because of their own savy and hard work, and that the only reason everybody isn't a rich film star is because they are lazy.
Besides, there is nothing his Republictard base loves more than hating State employees.
well to be honest, i think Chiang might be less of a hero than most might think from first blush.
if California is *anything* like Connecticut, the state workers are unionized and they simply cannot perform the jobs for less than the contract rate in the first place.
secondly, Chiang admitted the software problems associated with such a massive layoff/pay reduction. simply from an administrative point of view the enacting Arnold's plan is a nightmare.
now, to Arnold's credit, he's in a box too. the voters use the proposition bludgeon to hamstring every Calif. gov.'s budget options by rejecting tax increases. Arnold has no options other than to reduce expenditures.
James @ 8:
it's called TAXES, dickwad
the gropenator could raise taxes on the upper income brackets and SOLVE THE FUCKING PROBLEM
instead, the gropenator decided to take the coward's way out, and try to balance the budget on the backs of working people
but you probably believe the repuglitarded bullshit about lowering taxes to increase revenues
in an attempt to educate the totally stupid, I'll explain this to you really slow
bill clinton and ronald reagan BOTH enjoyed a rising economic situation AFTER they RAISED the TAX RATE on upper income people
pull your head out of your ass, stop drinking the koolaide, and do some real fucking research, instead of repeating repuglitard talking points. if you do that, you won't appear as stupid as you do in the post I quoted
It's a nice gesture. How long until he's fired or jailed and they do it anyway? He hasn't stopped it. They'll do it anyway. Welcome to feudal 'merika.
freepatriot @ 70:
Yeah, you could raise taxes, but there is the concept called the Laffer Curve where if you raise the taxes TOO high on the rich bastards, they'll either find a way to get out of the taxes by hiding their money (they're rich, they have the ability to put their money into quasi-illegal trusts or hide it in shell companies) or by moving out of the state.
Inevitably, since the rich bastards (for the most part) will never pay their fair share, the tax increases roll down to the lower classes in the form of higher sales and property taxes to offset the revenue lost from higher income taxes.
Besides, millionaires are only something like the top 1% of the population of the US, this might be slightly higher in California because of Hollywood, I'm not sure. In any event, you would have to raise taxes on that 1% to a substantially high number to be able to pay for the employees that were fired or had their pay cut.
Now for us plebes making less than 30K, a 5% tax increase isn't too big of a bite compared to our total income. But for the rich bastards, a 5% tax increase is a cause for alarm, spurring them to find ways to "reduce" their income and pay the same amount of tax as before (or likely, even less) or else just moving to a state with low taxes, like Texas.
Yes, it sucks, but the fact of the matter is, since rich people have the means to avoid tax increases, tax increases inevitably go to the middle classes, who are more numerous and less likely to have the means of avoiding the tax increase, especially if it's sales and/or property taxes.
But like I said before, you could just go communist style, pay everyone the same amount no matter what their job. I favor this since they are mostly union anyway and have no real incentive to perform at a greater rate than their private sector counterparts.
Also, I want to point out that some of these employees cut were seasonal workers. They were probably going to get cut anyway being that they were probably part time college aged people working specifically summer jobs, or else working a job during the summer before going back to school this fall. And for the temporary workers, they might have been project workers, and if the project they are working on is done, then it's understandable they would be cut. Granted, another project could be found for them I suppose, but it can't be guaranteed.
California is ranked 11 in per capita income in 2006: http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/regional/spi/2007/spi0307.htm
So they are clearly doing something wrong in California with all that cash.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUJMB4X1xbg
Ahnold is just following the reslug plan of take it all for yourself and fuck everyone else, that washington is promoting.
And soon if you don't have enough $$$ you simply won't be on the list of 'clients' that the privatized safety services will be willing to save.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhMaj91znsk
It's only going to get worse from here.
I'm sorry, but I gotta agree with Arnold here. Sucks being a state employee right now, but they WILL get back pay when this is settled.
Blame the ineffectual state government.
And while I'm all for the "eat the rich", raising taxes on the richest 1% will just force them to leave California.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3bpuYKWc5I&feature=related
How the conservative want in fact a nanny state, but only to help the corporations and the wealthiest. The guy is not a typical long haired leftist but a smart economist.
Billy @ 75: