People responding to anArgus-Courier online poll Aug. 14, 2008 were overwhelmingly opposed to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s decision to lay off 10,000 state employees and reduce the pay of 170,000 others to the federal minimum wage.
Of those responding to the survey, 82.4 percent were opposed to the pay decision, while only 14.7 percent were in favor.
Respondents were less adamant about the governor’s plan for a temporary 1-cent sales tax increase to help balance the budget. Of those who responded, 58.8 percent were opposed to the sales tax hike, while 38.2 percent approved the plan.
Here are some of the comments of those who participated in the survey:
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“No one can live on minimum wage. There should be a temporary wage reduction. I think retirement benefits should be looked at. Some state employees get more when they retire than when they worked. Retired police, firemen and even teachers, not to mention others, get their same pay or even more pay with benefits they receive. For your second question, a sales tax increase is never temporary. It always stays.”
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“Legislators! Listen up ” stop spending money when we don’t have it. Unions, especially the teachers’ union, the same goes for you. Stop squeezing the public for money you give to the politicians. You are the worst kind of thieves. You take the money ‘for the kids’ and give it to the politicians. Please try and find a sense of ethics and stop spending when you don’t have the money. Revolution is coming your way.”
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“So long as the governor and legislators continue to be paid past the budget deadline, nothing will change. This is a pernicious ritual, the result of politics turning into a professional career rather than a civic contribution of moderate tenure.”
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“Remind me ” why did we get rid of Gray Davis?”
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“How about the legislators giving up their salaries, their perks, etc. And how about the corporations, two-thirds of which did not pay any taxes last year, paying their share! Why does the budget have to be balanced on the back of the poor, the elderly, the children and the people who work for a living?”
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“There is no such thing as ‘temporary’ when it comes to taxes. I’m not at all convinced there isn’t waste in state spending that should be eliminated first.”
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“How about a war tax? Aren’t we at war? Or have we forgotten?”
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“It’s a mess, but the rich must get richer at everyone else’s expense.”
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“Didn’t Schwarzenegger say no taxes?”
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“Seems the Dems and Repubs can’t agree, and therefore delay the budget process. Something has to be done. The governor is cutting here while taxing there. Finally, someone has the courage to balance the budget. Now if we could only get our Congress to balance the budget. This administration has not done a good job, to put it lightly.”
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“We should prioritize spending and eliminate low-priority programs we can’t fully fund at the state level. Across-the-board cuts and tax increases are not the way to solve the problem.”
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“Lowering the salaries to minimum wage is just a way to get the budget signed before the Sept. 1 pay period. It’s just the governor’s way of putting pressure on the Legislature. This whole thing will be over before the end of the month and all the employees know it.”
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“Revenue needs to come from businesses and wealthier individuals. The budget will never, never, never be balanced by cutting social programs. California must ask the upper-echelon classes to pay more revenue, as well as the businesses that do business in California. There is a New York Times article on two-thirds of U.S. businesses not paying taxes in the U.S. Read it!”
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“Why should the essential grunt workers of the state government take the pay-cut hit? It’s the fat-cat salary earners who didn’t do their own jobs. How about reducing the governor salary and his staff’s salary to minimum wage until the budget is passed? That’s more like it!”
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“What happened to saving for a rainy day? California has been a state for many years. There should be a huge reserve fund.”
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“Compromise, you idiots!”
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“Schwarzenegger promised to revisit the commercial property tax loophole in Prop. 13 back when he was pushing to recall Gray Davis. Had he done so, California would never have a budget crisis again. Obviously our governor doesn’t care enough about the people to keep his promises.”