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+--- Thread: Furlough Friday coming back (/showthread.php?tid=21712)
RE: Furlough Friday coming back - ironyak - 04-16-2020
randomq - Legalize gambling, recreational marijuana, and prostitution.
The straight dope is that there are not enough whales in the world to replace the 30,000 marks that arrived daily on average in Hawaii during 2019. Only the Federal government can re-up the economy as they are the only ones with fat stacks and bottomless paper. States budgets are strung out addicts watching their stashes run low and getting more desperate by the day. Just a matter of who they're going to roll first to get their fix.
Stoner philosophy 101 - take a look in the mirror.
RE: Furlough Friday coming back - ironyak - 04-16-2020
Chunkster - I've read seven news reports over two days, and none of them mention furloughs, only pay cuts.
Beyond the headline:
"In a news conference Wednesday afternoon, Ige said no final decision has been made yet on pay cuts or furloughs,"
"Although Governor Ige has the unilateral authority to impose furloughs and salary cuts,"
"Rosenlee said it is not clear yet whether the cuts will be imposed as furloughs or across-the-board salary decreases."
"State Department of Education Superintendent Christina Kishimoto said during an online COVID-19 Care Conversation on Wednesday that her department had not yet received any guidance on furloughs or pay cuts from the Ige administration."
If you want to post a source that says it will not be a furlough, only pay-cuts, I'd be interested, but it seems like "pay-cuts" is just being used as short-hand for the possible measures.
Note that if it is a drop in pay the ramifications will be immense as govt employees are keeping many families afloat with private sector work being substantially reduced (unemployment rate is at 10-15% and growing)
RE: Furlough Friday coming back - kalakoa - 04-16-2020
if it is a drop in pay the ramifications will be immense
Again: what are the ramifications of an equivalent tax increase? Cost of an HGEA lawsuit? State filing bankruptcy?
Recurring theme: insufficient data available for an informed decision. "Pay cut %" doesn't tell me enough.
RE: Furlough Friday coming back - ironyak - 04-16-2020
Unless something has changed in the past couple years (or would change soon), states can't declare bankruptcy, although smaller municipalities can. As such states need to balance their books come hell or high tide, and if they want to share the pain, then tax increases would also be in the game plan going forward. If the proposed paycuts are instituted by breaking current contracts, we'll likely get to see the cost of an HSTA/HGEA lawsuit as well (just because HRS 127A says something doesn't make it tried and tested law)
Why choose just one impact when you can have them all?
RE: Furlough Friday coming back - Chunkster - 04-16-2020
ironyak - ". . . it seems like "pay-cuts" is just being used as short-hand . . ."
Yes, that is entirely possible, but "pay cuts" do get prominent mention. Even I can easily see a scenario where the governor falls back to furloughs so the sacred cow state workers don't have to do the same work for less money. And yes, "the ramifications will be immense," but in times where nearly everyone is having to endure hardships of all sorts, how is it fair for one group to be exempted? Oh, wait. This is Hawaii where all animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
RE: Furlough Friday coming back - kalakoa - 04-16-2020
how is it fair for one group to be exempted?
Who enjoys this exemption? Anyone who doesn't work for the State?
Would it be more "fair" to crank up the GET until that revenue makes up the shortfall?
Maybe just a property tax increase? That's "fair" because it gets passed along to everyone, right?
Hoping for something substantive even though I know full well the government "must" go for the worst option in order to generate the most controversy and receive plenty of pushback. After the effort fails they can say "we tried". Really wanting a better outcome here.
RE: Furlough Friday coming back - ironyak - 04-16-2020
Hawaii where all animals are created equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
More stoner philosophy - doubleplus ungood says Seeb...
If nurses are to be protected from pay reductions, then cuts must be made elsewhere, or revenues increased through the Feds, taxes, or other sources.
Who is willing to pay an extra 1-5% GET to offset the cuts to Nurses? How about for Correctional Officers? Police? Teachers?
Who is essential and unable (or unwilling) to do their work for less pay? Again, if Ige's plan is not the right one then come up with a better one and see if you can get support from those that need to make the sacrifices for the greater good. Otherwise all this keep your hands off of my stack fretting BS from the sidelines appears to be juvenile self-centered whinging.
tl;dr - what kalakoa said
RE: Furlough Friday coming back - kalakoa - 04-16-2020
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/04/16/hawaii-news/honolulu-rail-agency-now-expects-80m-for-project/
Losing money while waiting to lose money. But we still need those pay cuts.
RE: Furlough Friday coming back - Chunkster - 04-16-2020
You can yell "stoner philosophy" all you want, but the hard, cold fact is that the state is going to have to make cutbacks somewhere, and personnel is the biggest somewhere in sight.
RE: Furlough Friday coming back - leilanidude - 04-16-2020
Maybe just a property tax increase? That's "fair" because it gets passed along to everyone, right?
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Property tax increases only for those with children in school, because they are the ones who use the schools, right?