California\'s latest stupidity

[lizcam]

So California is having issues getting it\'s government to sign the budget. It\'s been a stale mate for a while now. Our esteemed Gov. Arnold came up with a plan to balance the budget.........

All state Emplyees will now earn the state Minnimum wage. Not the federal minnimum wage, the State minnimum wage. Federal is $6.75 and hour and state is $6.50.

This means that our teachers, cops, firemen, road crewa, etc will be earning less than their pimply faced kids do at McDonalds. I have friends at work whose husbands work at the state prisons around here and they are now going to bring home about $650 a month for keeping murderers, rapists and thieves behind bars. Our teachers will make less than the kids they teach.

I think that transfer to Ireland is looking pretty good about now.

 

[atacam]

California unemployment is going to sky rocket.
I can see Arnold being voted out and losing his position, if that is how it works in the States. He can then go back to what hes good at...acting....er no he wasnt much good at that either

 

[Ritual]

$6.50 an hour!! That is nothing! Noone with any kind of \"sellable\" skills will want to work for that.

 

[Prophet]

It ain\'t gonna\' happen. It\'s just grandstanding on Schwarzenneger\'s side.

 

[No Such Agency]

Maybe he\'s just trying to point out how depressingly low the minimum wage is.

 

[paintingploddy]

He\'s Republican - maybe he is trying to point out how unrealistically high it is.

 

[Dragonsreach]

\'Kin \'L Thats £3.48 an hour.
Currently in the UK it\'s £5.52 or $10.30. (For over 21\'s)

Either your cost of living is incredibly low in comparison to ours, or Arnie\'s being an unrealistic A**e.

 

[uberdark]

Originally posted by Dragonsreach
\'Kin \'L Thats £3.48 an hour.
Currently in the UK it\'s £5.52 or $10.30. (For over 21\'s)

Either your cost of living is incredibly low in comparison to ours, or Arnie\'s being an unrealistic A**e.

the cost of lving in cali is extremely high...

when the average home goes for 750,000 to 1,000,000 that says something.

my friend taryn makes 45,000 us a year and can afford a two bedroom apt. for 1200 a month.

heck my mortgage in indiana is 850.00 and thats for a 2300 sq ft. home. there is no way this law will go into effect. the unions will go insane.

 

[generulpoleaxe]

Originally posted by Dragonsreach
\'Kin \'L Thats £3.48 an hour.
Currently in the UK it\'s £5.52 or $10.30. (For over 21\'s)

Either your cost of living is incredibly low in comparison to ours, or Arnie\'s being an unrealistic A**e.

exchange rates don\'t work when calculating that sort of thing mike.
what costs us a pound in most cases costs them a dollar.

$6.50 min wage is better than hours, but for proffesionals (teacher,police, fire service etc) being paid that rate and expected to do a damn good job, not be corupt, and stay working in the public sector is a joke.
minimum wage is usualy used by companies that can replace their workforce with ease (mainly retail based including waiting staff) due to the demand for jobs.
to expect trained and educated people to work for minimum wage (or near enough) is a disaster waiting to happen.

 

[No Such Agency]

Originally posted by paintingploddy
He\'s Republican - maybe he is trying to point out how unrealistically high it is.

Arnie\'s not exactly your everyday Republican. He\'s his own dog - Like his Predator\" castmate Jesse Ventura I don\'t agree with many of his ideas, but at least he is willing to throw rigid ideology to the wayside.

 

[evil tendencies]

It isn\'t supposed to be a permanent thing. He\'s just trying to force the legislature to approve a budget, which they should have had months ago. When they finally feel like getting around to this, all workers affected by this will get their normal wages, plus back pay to make up what they lost.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by generulpoleaxe

Originally posted by Dragonsreach
\'Kin \'L Thats £3.48 an hour.
Currently in the UK it\'s £5.52 or $10.30. (For over 21\'s)

Either your cost of living is incredibly low in comparison to ours, or Arnie\'s being an unrealistic A**e.

exchange rates don\'t work when calculating that sort of thing mike.
what costs us a pound in most cases costs them a dollar.
Sorry Chris but your point isn\'t \"Clicking\" foe me. If they (USA citizens ) are paying $1 for each of £1 value, than they are still gettig the sh*t end of the stick, as they are still paying the same percentage of income at a 50% level of our minimum wage.

$6.50 min wage is better than hours, but for professionals (teacher,police, fire service etc) being paid that rate and expected to do a damn good job, not be corupt, and stay working in the public sector is a joke.
minimum wage is usualy used by companies that can replace their workforce with ease (mainly retail based including waiting staff) due to the demand for jobs.
to expect trained and educated people to work for minimum wage (or near enough) is a disaster waiting to happen.
I totally agree, expecting the same level of service from Public servants at such a pay level, especially considering the risk levels in some professions is Stupid and blinkered. (*)
Let\'s see Arnie live on those wages, raise a family and pay a mortgage.

(*As an example the lowest Technician wage scale in my team is £9.00/hour and that\'s better than a GW Full time employee, but not much, for someone who has the responsibility to work and maintain IT in direct contact with Children and where Criminal Record Checks are Mandatory.)

 

[airhead]

Originally posted by Dragonsreach
\'Kin \'L Thats £3.48 an hour.
Currently in the UK it\'s £5.52 or $10.30. (For over 21\'s)
...

I like the idea of two minimum wages. Most of our minimum wage jobs are not really ment to support a person. (High school - after school jobs, part timers, etc.) What\'s the minimum wage for under 21?

We start inspectors off at $14 an hour here. But they are expected to be math proficient and able to work well with little supervision.

 

[supervike]

Originally posted by No Such Agency

Originally posted by paintingploddy
He\'s Republican - maybe he is trying to point out how unrealistically high it is.

Arnie\'s not exactly your everyday Republican. He\'s his own dog - Like his Predator\" castmate Jesse Ventura I don\'t agree with many of his ideas, but at least he is willing to throw rigid ideology to the wayside.

Exactly right!

Not that I support Arnie, but if more politicians could find the courage to stop towing this idiotic Party line crap, and start solving problems with innovative ideas, maybe more people would not be so disillusioned with American Politics.

Regardless of the beginning intent, it seems all politicians fall prey to the very same things they claim to abhor when the intitially run.

Our Two Party system SUCKS!!!

 

[lizcam]

Here\'s what my friends from work have said about this. This IS in effect and is temporary and they will get all the pay they missed at some indeterminate time down the line. They are getting their first paychecks at the new rate on the first. There is no time limit for how long this will last and most will lose their homes, cars, ect. if it lasts more than 3 months.

Even in the Antelope Valley, the armpit of Southern California, your mortgage is $1200 a month average. Gas (for cars) is @ $4.00 a gallon but this is California and most of the women in the valley that have jobs have them down near LA so we\'re talking a 45 min-1.5 hour commute with a public transportation system that is barely able to get a person withing 2 miles of where you need to be. Jobs here in the valley are few and mostly Minnimum wage, with my office one of the few exceptions unless you have a degree in aerospace engineering. Even in the good times most people here are living paycheck to paycheck.

Even if temporary this law is going to force a good portion of the state workers in this area to have to either take a second job or lose everything. One of the few descent jobs in this Valley is being a corrections officer as there are a couple of prisons in the area. If this measure lasts for any length of time it\'s going to floor an already saturated unemployment pool. Good for local businesses as they will have their pick of bodies to fill the few extremely low paying job vacancies here in the Valley, but this will drive the average starting wage of those jobs lower than they already are.

We\'ll see what happens with all this but just making it day to day is stressful right now. Even for someone in a job that\'s not related to this my job security is low. I\'ve been watching people I\'ve been working with for 7 years get the axe without any warning. I could be next and not even know it. <sigh> All this because the company see that they can replace us all easily with lower paid bodies. I checked this morning and I\'m already at the lowest end of the pay scale for the job I do. I have to mind my P\'s and Q\'s until the ecomony turns around.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by supervike
Our Two Party system SUCKS!!!

Our Multiple party system\'s no better.

Not that you can tell any difference between the three major parties any longer.

Originally posted by lizcam
Even if temporary this law is going to force a good portion of the state workers in this area to have to either take a second job or lose everything.

I situation I understand, however terms of our employent now mean that virtually every worker for our council who attempts to get a second job must subject themselves to a CONFLICT OF INTEREST check. Which basically means that if there is a Council Bye-law or Regulatory duty on that company/area of work they cannot maintain the two jobs. So they have to choose between the Council empoyment or the Second Job.

 

[mud duck]

This pay drop is for all state employees right? Are not Arnold and all the members of the Congress and what not, also State Employee? Sounds like he\'s trying to get the message across \"Do the job that the People hired you for, or don\'t get payed.\" Plus it is a wake up call to the people to give a Sh!t about the people that they vote into office.

 

[lizcam]

Originally posted by mud duck
This pay drop is for all state employees right? Are not Arnold and all the members of the Congress and what not, also State Employee? Sounds like he\'s trying to get the message across \"Do the job that the People hired you for, or don\'t get payed.\" Plus it is a wake up call to the people to give a Sh!t about the people that they vote into office.

It would be really nice if that were true. Would restore my faith in humanity. Alsa, no. There a a handful of positions that are exempt. Those jobs are among them.

 

[PegaZus]

Originally posted by lizcam
It would be really nice if that were true. Would restore my faith in humanity. Alsa, no. There a a handful of positions that are exempt. Those jobs are among them.

Alas, that\'s always the case right?

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by PegaZus

Originally posted by lizcam
It would be really nice if that were true. Would restore my faith in humanity. Alsa, no. There a a handful of positions that are exempt. Those jobs are among them.

Alas, that\'s always the case right?

Yep: As I Say, Not As I Do.