Screwed

California is totally screwed. Our economy is in the dumps and the state’s credit rating was cut again. While it seems to me that all eyes should be focused on budget fixes the state’s legislature disagrees and dithers about with issues like the legalization of marijuana.

Here at my state department, we’re still pumping money into the economy with a big Executive staff trip to Sonoma for Strategic Planning and a project to plate the outside of our building with faux granite panels. Meanwhile social programs, state park hours, home care provider support, etcetera, etcetera sit precariously on the chopping block.

Sure, we’re not part of the general fund but in a case like this all state coffers should be pried open like sardine tins and the money placed where it’s needed most.

The state employees’ union hasn’t done the state or its members any favors. The governor has instituted furlough days, slashing state worker pay by 14 percent. Yes, this sucks but the union has been reactive instead of proactive. They currently have state courts tied up with lawsuits trying to stop and block furloughs and pay cuts. All this court time has so far cost the state a half million dollars more of its general fund monies. Thanks SEUI, it’s a little too late and…oh, a half million bucks short.

They should have worked with the governor and the legislature to jointly cut state personnel costs. Lend a hand in coming up with solutions, i.e. releasing all student assistants and retired annuitants, instituting a hiring freeze, beginning individual office audits, rethinking the state worker pension formula, canceling some contracts and looking over others.

Speaking of audits, I can’t forget the California Performance Review that CA Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had done when he first took office. An investigatory panel stuffed four fat books with suggestions on how to save state money and how to better serve the public. To my knowledge, the State Legislature ignored most and the Governor backed down on many things in the report. This was probably a bad idea because according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst Office:

“LAO’s Bottom Line. The CPR provides the state with a valuable opportunity to comprehensively examine how it does business. It has made a serious effort at rethinking the current organization of state government and how it delivers services to the people of California . We find that many of its individual recommendations would move California toward a more efficient, effective, and accountable government.

At the same time, the rationale for some of its reorganization proposals is not clear, it does not examine whether the state should continue to perform certain functions, and many of its fiscal savings estimates are overstated.

For these reasons, it will be important for the Legislature to evaluate the merits of the proposals individually, looking at their policy trade-offs, their likely effectiveness, and their fiscal implications.

The Legislature also may wish to consider broadening the scope of reforms offered by CPR to include a more comprehensive examination of the state and local tax system, the role of constitutional officers, the state’s system of funding education, and the relationship between state and local government.”

Sad.

Here’s is more sadness, but at least it’s from the French:

http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/01/11/star-wars-dance-video/