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It's the end of July, and once again the state of California does not have a budget. California's strict 2/3 legislative voting requirement is largely responsible for the impasse, and with the 14 - 17 billion dollar projected state deficit, it looks like we're in for a protracted battle. So what does our esteemed governor think is the solution? Governor Schwarzenegger is expected to comment next week on his plan to reduce approximately 200,000 state workers' pay to the federal minimum wage until the budget is signed. Essentially the governor intends on holding state workers' pay hostage, to be used as political leverage to get the legislature to perform one of their key responsibilities. Initially I felt rather indifferent to this plan, but I think it reveals some interesting facets of state politics that are worth greater reflection. First, it brings in to question the utility of California's 2/3 rule - would we be better off if we implemented majority status like most other states? How would our state budget look if we did have a simple majority requirement. While the details may change in some of the compromises that would be made, I think ultimately the differences in the budget that would be passed would not be significantly varied. Secondly, the lack of a budget nearly two months after the deadline highlights the inability of the governor and the legislature to forge a compromise. Politics is fundamentally about the allocation of resources, and skilled negotiation is essential to forging an acceptable compromise. Perhaps our elected leaders don't have the skills it takes to achieve a successful resolution to the budget situation. Finally, this time of year always seems to bring out the tension between the public and private sector. Reading reader comments from San Francisco and Los Angeles, as compared to Sacramento newspapers on articles relating to the governor's plan is interesting. As state workers make up such a large part of the Sacramento economy, there is always much greater outrage at measures like the governor's proposal. Look in an SF of LA based paper, however, and you see an intense hostility towards state workers, who the general public seems to think is epitomized by the DMV clerk. The reality, however, is that state worker salaries tend to be significantly lower than comparable private sector jobs. Furthermore, the majority of state funds do not go towards staff salaries - an overwhelming percent of the expenditures are to fund programs and services, and to pay for private contractors. California needs to make fiscal changes to ensure the financial health of the state, and the legislature should explore alternatives to the 2/3 rule when it comes to something as crucial as the state budget. But the governor's plan is not the answer. The state controller, John Chiang, has even said he will not be implementing the governor's salary reductions should he choose to implement them. California is not alone in dealing with a difficult economic situation, and state workers should be held hostage because our elected officials can't pass a budget.
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