Furloughs? Here?

Well, the state of the California economy has finally deteriorated to the point where it's reached my desk. On Monday our university staff votes on whether to start taking two furlough days a month starting in August. And it should be clear - this will not eliminate the need for layoffs. It will only reduce the need for layoffs.

I'm reminded of our annual union meeting in the spring, which was dressed up nicely as a free lunch buffet featuring build-your-own tacos and burritos. The person who was, for lack of a better word, "emcee" of the meeting said, among other things, that we don't expect to have layoffs because our past history suggests that this would not happen. Really. That seemed a rather ignorant statement even then. California was already in a economic crisis that was best described as "unprecedented". So how can you use past history to determine what may or may not happen in an unprecedented time?

But anyway, I find it sad, if not deplorable, that the state of things has declined so much. It seems, really, that this is the culmination of years of irresponsible economic planning. At least, I hope it is a culmination, and now a first step towards worse times.

It almost seems as if we are caught in a horrible circle. The state is having major problems due to, we are told, lack of tax revenue. So we furlough and layoff people, causing them to be more frugal with their dollars, causing - you guessed it - even less tax revenue. When will it end? Time will tell.