Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

State government furloughs

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • State government furloughs

    Governor Lingle has announced that state workers will be taking a furlough of 3 days per month, effective July 1, 2009.

  • #2
    Re: State government furloughs

    CA employees are already getting 2 days/month furlough(no pay) and the Governator has proposed an additional 5% pay cut on top of that.
    “First we fought the preliminary round for the k***s and now we’re gonna fight the main event for the n*****s."
    http://hollywoodbitchslap.com/review...=416&printer=1

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: State government furloughs

      The State needs to save money because they spend more than they collect (deficit).
      The State needs to improve the economy (get more tax money).
      So, they give State workers less money to spend by cutting paid hours, so the State will collect fewer dollars in excise taxes.
      Then they'll need to save even more money!

      Is this what they call 'slippery slope' economics?

      Time for a Hawai`i State Lottery!
      Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!
      ~ ~
      Kaʻonohiʻulaʻokahōkūmiomioʻehiku
      Spreading the virus of ALOHA.
      Oh Chu. If only you could have seen what I've seen, with your eyes.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: State government furloughs

        Used to be that working for the state (or county) was a "safe haven," with (almost) guaranteed job security, paid-for health care for life for retirees, plenny vacation and sick leave. Now no more . . . although I assume the public employee unions are working on a challenge to the furloughs.

        With a 14 percent pay cut, I assume some state employees may opt to take their newly-imposed days off and find part time pick-up work somewhere to try to make up THEIR 'deficit.'

        What nex' . . . ?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: State government furloughs

          Personally, I think furloughs are a good idea. That it’s just part of the Lingle Administration’s approach illustrates just how dire the situation is. It’s really the only option Lingle has in her arsenal to deal with a current fiscal year budget crisis at the 11th hour. That being said, it may come down to a battle of estrogen. Linda vs. Colleen:

          ...the attorney general’s office argued that furloughs are not subject to mandatory negotiation. The attorney general’s office determined that furloughs are not akin to layoffs and that negotiating furlough procedures with unions is permissible but not required.

          “I don’t think she can just unilaterally implement a furlough,” Hanabusa said, adding that Lingle could face a court challenge.
          Lawyers feel free to chime in.

          We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans.

          — U.S. President Bill Clinton
          USA TODAY, page 2A
          11 March 1993

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: State government furloughs

            Are all state workers going to be furloughed on the same three days of the month, so that on those three (normally) working days of the month, the state government will be closed, as if it were a weekend/holiday? That would make sense if you're also trying to save on infrastructure costs like electricity, A/C, etc.

            Or are they going to stagger furloughs and try to maintain regular office hours?

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: State government furloughs

              Originally posted by TuNnL View Post
              Personally, I think furloughs are a good idea.[...]
              I tend to agree with you, TuNnL. To my way of thinking it beats laying people off so that they end up in the unemployment lines. And, as Kimo suggested, furloughed employees have the option to look for part-time work on their furloughed days. That might be easier to accomplish than to find full time work. I could easily be missing an important piece to this puzzle, but it seems a cut in pay, while not optimal in any sense of the word, is still better than no pay at all. And, I assume, furloughed employees retain their benefits, most importantly, health insurance. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: State government furloughs

                Originally posted by Kaonohi View Post
                The State needs to save money because they spend more than they collect (deficit).
                The State needs to improve the economy (get more tax money).
                So, they give State workers less money to spend by cutting paid hours, so the State will collect fewer dollars in excise taxes.
                Then they'll need to save even more money!
                With regard to the second step, I'm not so sure the State government can really do anything to improve the economy. While it can't really do much to stimulate or improve the economy, it can certainly hurt it by raising taxes.

                The government simply needs to cut back now, sit back, and wait for old-fashioned capitalism to revive the economy. These things go in cycles.

                Too bad we're going to come out of this with suffocating debts weighing on the backs of all taxpayers.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: State government furloughs

                  Originally posted by mapen View Post
                  With regard to the second step, I'm not so sure the State government can really do anything to improve the economy. While it can't really do much to stimulate or improve the economy, it can certainly hurt it by raising taxes.
                  Who says the state isn't raising taxes?

                  The hotel room tax is going up from 7.25% to 8.25% starting July 1st. And then in July of 2010, it is going up to 9.25%. This,.... in the face of record low hotel room occupancy rates!

                  (And for those of you who don't patronize the local hotels, this tax is in addition to the sales tax, which tacks on another 4.712% for everyone on Oahu, 4.166% for the neighbor islands.)

                  Also, the state tax exemption on gasoline is scheduled to expire in July, which will jack up the price of gas another 10 cents per gallon.

                  What the folks at HGEA need to realize is this.... tax rates are already being increased. Departments have already had to cut their budgets. But despite these measures, the state is still facing a shortfall. The bottom line is that the state bureaucracy is too bloated and needs to be cut back.

                  Understandably, furloughs are a bitter pill to swallow. But the state workers need to realize that many of their private sector counterparts have already experienced shortened work hours,.... if not laid off entirely. For them to think that their status as "public employees" magically shields them from the ravages of a drastic recession that is cutting into govt. tax revenues,.... those people are in serious denial.

                  And yet, what kind of comments have some of them been making to the Advertiser?

                  The Advertiser talked to several state workers after Gov. Linda Lingle announced her intention yesterday to furlough them for three days per month, resulting in a 13.8 percent pay cut. The workers interviewed asked that their names not be printed. Here's a sampling of the comments:

                  "This might convince me to get another job."


                  Well sir or madam,.... if you have the skills and connection that can get you a job that pays and gives you better benefits than what you have now, go right ahead! But I would imagine for most other state employees, now is not the ideal time to go job hunting. At a time when many (if not most) companies are cutting work hours or laying people off, good luck finding a job that offers you comparable pay and benefits.

                  Here's the slap of reality for y'all: Everyone (public and private sector) is feeling the effects of this recession. Everyone is being forced to deal with falling revenues. Nobody's exempt from this. Unfortunately, some public workers (of which I used to be) have been living in a bubble shielded from economic realities for too long.
                  This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: State government furloughs

                    Originally posted by Glen Miyashiro View Post
                    Are all state workers going to be furloughed on the same three days of the month, so that on those three (normally) working days of the month, the state government will be closed, as if it were a weekend/holiday? That would make sense if you're also trying to save on infrastructure costs like electricity, A/C, etc.

                    Or are they going to stagger furloughs and try to maintain regular office hours?
                    Conservation of energy is almost too much to ask from the "State of Hawaii"
                    Be Yourself. Everyone Else Is Taken!
                    ~ ~
                    Kaʻonohiʻulaʻokahōkūmiomioʻehiku
                    Spreading the virus of ALOHA.
                    Oh Chu. If only you could have seen what I've seen, with your eyes.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: State government furloughs

                      Originally posted by tutusue View Post
                      I tend to agree with you, TuNnL. To my way of thinking it beats laying people off so that they end up in the unemployment lines. And, as Kimo suggested, furloughed employees have the option to look for part-time work on their furloughed days ... it seems a cut in pay, while not optimal in any sense of the word, is still better than no pay at all.
                      ’Aint that the truth. I was appalled by the state worker interviewed by KGMB9 News the other night, complaining about being “targeted” by the Lingle Administration. She seems oblivious to the fact that the unemployment rate in Hawai‘i is at its highest level in decades. Frankie’s Market nails it succinctly:

                      Originally posted by Frankie's Market View Post
                      ...tax rates are already being increased. Departments have already had to cut their budgets. But despite these measures, the state is still facing a shortfall. The bottom line is that the state bureaucracy is too bloated and needs to be cut back.

                      Understandably, furloughs are a bitter pill to swallow. But the state workers need to realize that many of their private sector counterparts have already experienced shortened work hours,.... if not laid off entirely. For them to think that their status as "public employees" magically shields them from the ravages of a drastic recession that is cutting into govt. tax revenues,.... those people are in serious denial.
                      Really, I think we haven’t seen the bottom of this crisis as we’re only preserving the status quo with federal “stabilization” funds. Rainy Day fund? It’s raining!!! The focus with the state needs to be on how to make the services they provide self-sustaining, or at least build a roadmap on how to get there. With UH, David McClain estimates the “furloughs” will cost $100 million over a two-year period. Though some on this board disagree with me, I think we need to pull the plug on UH West O‘ahu, at least temporarily. The maintenance backlog at the university is now up to $368 million, and the last thing we need is yet another campus to maintain.

                      We can’t be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans.

                      — U.S. President Bill Clinton
                      USA TODAY, page 2A
                      11 March 1993

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: State government furloughs

                        More psycho talk from the HGEA:

                        http://www.starbulletin.com/news/haw...rash_talk.html

                        In reaction, Perreira said it is Lingle who is misleading the public.

                        "It is the governor who has been lying to the press. She has been lying to the Legislature about how close to an agreement she is with other unions," Perreira said. "Now she is fooling herself into thinking that people agree with her."


                        HGEA Executive Director Randy Perreira is the one fooling himself if he thinks that the majority of the taxpayers in this state (i.e. the people who pay the salaries of his constituents) agrees with him! Wake up and smell the coffee, Randy! EVERYBODY IS HURTING! From the restaurant worker whose tip collection has dwindled, to the cashier at the grocery store whose work hours has been cut.

                        Yesterday, Lingle said she is able to furlough state workers without union approval because there is no state law about furloughing state workers.

                        The governor can lay off workers if there is not enough work or money for them, Lingle says, so it follows that if you can lay off, you can also furlough.


                        Perfectly sensible. Would the HGEA prefer layoffs over furloughs? The governor might be forced to do just that if the union is stubborn enough to legally challenge the furloughs. Hopefully, the union rank-and-file are akamai enough not to shoot themselves in the foot by blindly taking their cues from pied piper Perreira.

                        Lingle also insisted she has negotiated with the unions, saying that she has held individual meetings with all four of the state union leaders, and met with the University of Hawaii and Board of Education officials, but has been stymied by the unions.

                        "They wanted to wait," she said. "They thought they could get the Legislature to raise taxes. There was a reluctance on their part to come in.


                        And that's the truth, folks. The HGEA wants to raise your taxes so they can avoid furloughs. They don't care if these tax increases come in the midst of private sector employees having their work hours cut. No,.... their salaries are much too precious. That's the Aloha spirit, for ya!

                        How bad is the state budget shortfall? So bad that the state has even had to recently start charging homeless people rent in order to stay at emergency shelters like the one in Kaka'ako. But hey, Randy Perreira wants us to feel sorrier for his HGEA members facing a 13.8% cut than homeless people who now have to dig into their shallow pockets just to find a safe place to lay their heads down for the night.

                        Someone is definitely out of touch with reality here. And it's not the Governor!
                        This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: State government furloughs

                          http://www.khon2.com/news/local/stor...qMfuFFoLQ.cspx

                          Wouldn't the film industry and gambling in Hawaii bring more revenue for the state and less need for furloughs?

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: State government furloughs

                            I can't address gambling but eliminating the Hawaii Film Office is financially stupid. The film office not only generates millions in income for the state but it also more than pays for itself. Sorry, I don't have a cite. In addition, the film industry helps to promote the tourism industry, often at no cost to the state. Without the film office, mainland and foreign producers will take their big bucks to other tropical locations which will help promote those destinations.

                            The Hawaii Film Office is a win-win situation for the state that Gov. Lingle wants to turn into a lose-lose situation. This makes absolutely no sense at all. Commissioner Donne Dawson is top notch as is the staff she's put together. We can't afford to lose her or the office. Both our local and local/Japanese film industries are all over this possibility right now. It's caused quite a stir.

                            Did I mention dumping the film office is...
                            >>>>>S.T.U.P.I.D<<<<<

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: State government furloughs

                              State Film Commissioner Donne Dawson says she hopes a resolution can be made that does not involve layoffs, instead she says she prefers furloughs or pay cuts.

                              Yes, the state Film Comissioner prefers furloughs/pay cuts over layoffs. Which is EXACTLY the same thing the Governor was saying before the unions legally challenged her in circuit court.

                              Perhaps had folks like Dawson and the rest of her staff at the film office spoke out in support of the Governor's furlough proposal at the start and tried to talk some sense to the HGEA/UPW leadership, then things wouldn't have gotten to this point.
                              This post may contain an opinion that may conflict with your opinion. Do not take it personal. Polite discussion of difference of opinion is welcome.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X