Furloughs: They’re not just for soldiers and prisoners! Starting next week, some 100,000 state workers could be required to take a one day, unpaid furlough from work. And as you can see from this photo of a massive protest outside the State Capitol yesterday, they are not happy about it.
Yesterday the Legislature voted to approve Paterson’s emergency spending bill, which extends funding to keep the state government running. The furloughs, which the Legislature would have to renew on a weekly basis until a budget deal is reached, are expected to save $30 million a week, which is a drop in the bucket compared to the state’s $9.2 billion deficit. Exempt from the furloughs are workers deemed “essential,” such as state troopers, correction officers, nurses, and—of course—employees of state lawmakers.
Yeah, because God knows employees of lawmakers are crucial to the function of the government. God forbid some dopey State Senator from the Catskills be without his secretary on a Friday.