California faces a $42 billion budget deficit through June 2010. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has a plan.
Two-day-a-month furloughs (without pay) to all 238,000 state workers. Of course two employee unions had challenged Schwarzenegger’s executive order, saying he did not have authority to order furloughs.

Judge Patrick Marlette disagreed. In a preliminary ruling, he said the governor has “express authority to make the challenged order.”

Schwarzenegger has declared a fiscal emergency and he said the reduced-work plan will save California about $1.4 billion through June 2010.

Marlette said “The current circumstances constitute an emergency,” and “The challenged order is reasonable and necessary.”

So the furloughs are scheduled to start Feb. 6.

Schwarzenegger also has sought other concessions from state employees, including eliminating two of their 14 paid holidays.

The governor said “To me labor has the choice, and I made this very clear: That they can help us in making the decision in how they save the $1.4 billion,”.

From my perspective it’s a pretty simple decision … you take the cuts as individuals or you lose your job. My husband always says “half of something is better than all of nothing” … it is prudent to think along those lines sometimes in the real world.

Perhaps Barack Obama needs to pick up the same gauntlet with the federal government job force.
The public is called on to chinch in their belts … lets see Nancy P. spearhead the movement in her house.
That would be refreshing wouldn’t it?