This is a bit of a political rant, so let me start by saying I have never claimed to be politically savvy, nor do I particularly aspire to be... But I sometimes get an opinion, and here's where I share it.
The legislature approved mandatory furloughs for all Nevada State workers over the next biennium. Basically I'll have to take an extra day off without pay every month for two years. This equals to about a 4% reduction in pay to help balance the state budget without doing some damage to programs or layoffs. There was concern about losing bailout funds/federal dollars too if we lost salaries outright, and I'm not entirely certain how that relates to my paycheck, but ok. In the big picture, I'm alright with this. At least I get a day off and we don't lose positions.
What infuriates me is the game our Governor played to get this (IMO). This guy is actually considering running for reelection, and I'm amazed at this. So, his original campaign promise was NO NEW TAXES. He started the new biennium budget war with trying to steal six percent from our paychecks. When most legislators and employee representatives blasted him, he started panic...programs and services will go barren, layoffs would be on a gigantic scale, blah blah blah. Yes, NV is in trouble. But we are a no income tax state. Ok, that's worked for us in a lot of ways. I get it. However, our school system sucks, public services are already in trouble, and nobody wants to pay taxes to fund any of it. I'm a bit opinionated when it comes to to talking about my salary, as well. If you look at private sector, county and city governments for jobs that do what I do? I'm paid the least. The one thing I have on private sector are the benefits...but many are paid on a higher scale with less benefits. I believe it gets close to a balance.
When Gibbons' smaller scare tactics weren't working... He went on a huge media campaign, stating any taxes would be catastrophic to Nevadans, and he's gonna have to take 11-16% of my pay now, and he's still holding the layoffs card. Gibbons is no dummy. Now that extra day off with 4% less in pay sure doesn't sound so bad, does it?
I didn't vote him in, my conscience is clear!
The legislature approved mandatory furloughs for all Nevada State workers over the next biennium. Basically I'll have to take an extra day off without pay every month for two years. This equals to about a 4% reduction in pay to help balance the state budget without doing some damage to programs or layoffs. There was concern about losing bailout funds/federal dollars too if we lost salaries outright, and I'm not entirely certain how that relates to my paycheck, but ok. In the big picture, I'm alright with this. At least I get a day off and we don't lose positions.
What infuriates me is the game our Governor played to get this (IMO). This guy is actually considering running for reelection, and I'm amazed at this. So, his original campaign promise was NO NEW TAXES. He started the new biennium budget war with trying to steal six percent from our paychecks. When most legislators and employee representatives blasted him, he started panic...programs and services will go barren, layoffs would be on a gigantic scale, blah blah blah. Yes, NV is in trouble. But we are a no income tax state. Ok, that's worked for us in a lot of ways. I get it. However, our school system sucks, public services are already in trouble, and nobody wants to pay taxes to fund any of it. I'm a bit opinionated when it comes to to talking about my salary, as well. If you look at private sector, county and city governments for jobs that do what I do? I'm paid the least. The one thing I have on private sector are the benefits...but many are paid on a higher scale with less benefits. I believe it gets close to a balance.
When Gibbons' smaller scare tactics weren't working... He went on a huge media campaign, stating any taxes would be catastrophic to Nevadans, and he's gonna have to take 11-16% of my pay now, and he's still holding the layoffs card. Gibbons is no dummy. Now that extra day off with 4% less in pay sure doesn't sound so bad, does it?
I didn't vote him in, my conscience is clear!
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We thank you for doing your part to help out our state budget in these times of crisis. Now if you'll just go out and buy a new Crysler we will be even happier.
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