We Are Not Alone

Usually I like to let a posting soak a while before I post again. I posted my last article a little after midnight, and not many people are reading blogs at 4am on a Saturday. I read an article in this morning's paper, though, that I felt compelled to share.

The city of San Jose is facing a $116M budget deficit. They've asked the firefighters to take a 10% pay cut as part of a broader program to close that gap. The debate they're having sounds similar to ours.

Read the article here

This debate is happening over and over again in cities and towns all over America. We had a city here in the Bay Area actually go bankrupt. Public agencies are all dealing with massive shortfalls in revenue. The problem isn't unique to LASD.

Some folks have suggested that I don't understand the differences between private sector employment and public sector. The firefighters have very compelling arguments why they feel the city is making bad choices, and that their entire contract should stand as is. The City, though, has a $116M hole that they just can't fix. Sounds familiar...

(By the way, please make sure you see the article below on why I changed my vote)