Government employee “furloughs” are obnoxious, but not because these individuals get a day off and don’t get paid for not working. They’re obnoxious because they demonstrate the stranglehold that unions have on the state and local governments, because the state has allowed its own workers to engage in collective bargaining, and mandated it for local governments.
This and other rigged rules result in so much inflexibility that governments are unable to adjust compensation to reflect fiscal reality.
The one thing they can do – and even on this the state thinks it must run to the union bosses for permission – is furloughs.
Here’s a better idea: Change the law and tell government employees who are already covered by civil service tenure protections this:
“Sorry, we’re not gonna bargain with you. Here’s the salary we’ll pay, here’s the bennies, take it or leave it, if you don’t want it there are plenty behind you who will.”
A lot of states do just that. The states that don’t are the ones that are imploding fiscally, economically, demographically.
February 13, 2010 at 12:32 pm |
If government employees can be furloughed and there is no noticable decrease in the quality of services or the production of their work… why are we paying them all that money anyways? The ‘success’ of furloughs demonstrates the lack of efficiency and production by government employees… and I should know, since I am one!
May 25, 2010 at 6:23 am |
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