January 13, 2009

  • There is a saying: Stand up for something or you will fall for everything.

    My boss put that saying into practice today when he stood, along with the other California Constitutional officers, and said that he would not implement the furlough that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger put in his Executive Order to close agencies two days a month and cut their pay by ten percent to reflect those days. To say that I am happy would be obvious. Sure, my boss' decision only applies to me and my fellow coworkers. I could easily say that as long as I am not affected, it is all good. We all know I am not like that.

    I am sure, now more than ever, that the courts will block this Executive Order when they review it on January 29, 2009. It really is unfair that so much of the burden of the defict would be placed on a small fraction of the population. I would rather that taxes be raised for all than a certain sector of society be targeted by virtue of their career path. It would be like singling out all hospitals.

    Some people have thrown around a flat tax, as opposed to the tax tables that bracket the tax rates based on income, and the various tax loopholes that exist in the current system. I wonder if that would really help the situation.

    What I do know is that while I am not living as luxuriously as many, I am better off than many, and am helping some of those that could use some charity. For that, I am thankful and appreciative.