Senate President Colleen Hanabusa has warned Governor Lingle of “unintended consequences” of her furlough plan, including creating a financial “windfall” for some low paid public employees who could qualify for unemployment benefits to make up for lost wages.
Hanabusa’s warning came in a letter to Lingle dated June 30, 2009.
In addition, Hanabusa raises questions about the actual size of the budget deficit and the amount of savings or revenues needed to fill the gap.
She suggests that Lingle may be overstating the budget deficit, and proposes dumping the furlough plan and instead negotiating either a 1-day per month furlough, or a 5% across the board salary cut for all public employees.
Discover more from i L i n d
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I thought it was a very serious and well written letter. I hope she throws her hat in the gubenatorial ring.
Assuming that all her statements are correct, Lingle is making a big mistake. But… it should also be noted that we need to take a look at how our unemployment insurance is structured if people can make more money by working less.