The Minimum Wage Gambit: Deja Vu
When Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced that he would sign an order to pay state employees at federal minimum wage until the budget is resolved, I got that Yogi Berra feeling: It’s déjà vu all over again.
You see, the court ruling that the governor is relying on came out of a lawsuit I filed a decade ago during another budget crisis in 1998. The case of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association vs. State Controller Kathleen Connell was intended to pressure legislators into coming to terms with the budget. We contended that the state constitution prohibited any spending in the new fiscal year without the authorized budget in place.
A Los Angeles judge agreed, ordering Controller Connell not to pay employees or contractors. The next day, the Legislature passed an emergency spending plan that allowed the employees to be paid.
Workers Comp Reform Saves State and Local Government Billions
With all the current angst in California over taxes and government spending priorities, one might reasonably ask if there is any good news at all about government finances in the Golden State. Indeed there is. Governments throughout California have realized substantial benefits from the reforms of the Workers Compensation system.
These reforms, which were a key platform of Governor Schwarzenegger’s first term, were broadly recognized as improving the states business climate. Of course, an improved business climate stimulates economic growth and job creation, which in turn leads to a host of positive financial outcomes for governments in California, not the least of which is increased government revenue from taxes coupled with lower demand for government provided social services and unemployment payments.
California Adopts New Green Building Standards
The California Building Industry Association supported the adoption of
new mandatory green building standards which will help ensure that
California remains at the cutting edge of the green building movement
while keeping new homes as affordable as possible.
The California Building Standards Commission on July 17 made California
the first state in the nation to incorporate green building standards
into its building codes. The codes, developed by the state Department of
Housing and Community Development, will be phased in over the next three
years. The new statewide standards will help homebuilders move green
building into the mainstream.
California homebuilders are already building homes that are far more
energy-efficient than homes built to national standards, and that also
conserve water and other important natural resources. In fact, the
carbon footprint of a new home built today is already 25 percent less
than that of a home built in 1990.
Where Should The Money Go?
Last week service employees at UC Davis defied a court order and went on strike demanding wage increases, service workers are demanding guaranteed overtime pay, a guaranteed step system for salaries, and uniform statewide wages. Basically more money for the work they are doing and promises of more raises in the future on a fixed timetable (the “guaranteed step system”).
There were no allegations of dangerous workplace conditions, no argument about decreased workplace safety, just a demand for higher salaries. To quote Gail Price, the Union Treasurer, in the article, "They won’t give them across-the-board raises like they will the patient care unit. We’re not letting them get away with it anymore."