Generically, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the CA budget something like 50% higher today than it was a decade ago, despite the population being up only half that amount? If that’s anywhere close to being correct, then… it would seem that cutting back the excess shouldn’t be that painful to the populace.
Regarding firemen, policemen, teachers, etc, here’s the hard reality. Even if you were to eliminate the “benefits” and even lower the pay… there would still be FAR more applicants for these jobs than there are available spots. That’s just reality. The unions have effectively hi-jacked the free market for these jobs and here we are – with overpriced labor.
Let all inmates in prison for non-violent drug convictions out of prison. Assuming they have no violent crimes on their record at all. Just a wild ass guess, but I bet that would shrink our prison roles by 25%.
This ain’t rocket surgery. But the politics surrounding all of this – and the unions’ death grip on the compensation issue – makes it all but impossible to solve, absent bankruptcy.
