People are beginning to move out from our small hamlet. Local schools keep tabs on who checks in and out, and they report steady decline, even more than they had anticipated back last June, before the economic downturn, before the news of economic troubles hit the nation.
California, south of us, has worse problems, slashing its state budget,forcing employees to take unpaid leave. In effect, all state workers in California will be taking a 3%-5% cut in wages and benefits. Unions are going to fight these cuts as unfair labor practices, as the pressure to save jobs and prevailing wages mounts all around us. Most folks remember what Reagan did to the traffic controllers back in the 80's and they are ready to fight back.
Everybody expects cuts to occur. But nobody expects the new administration to trash contracts and destroy union memberships. The temptation will be there for corporations and municipalities to stay solvent by all means. We hope that human rights and workers' rights are not slashed as well.
