Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he doesn't have a problem with state workers making $63,815 in average base pay, but he does not think the "unbelievable benefits" they receive are sustainable.
"I think that it doesn't bother me as much that a state worker makes $60,000," Schwarzenegger said. "What bothers me more is when you have those unbelievable benefits that cost the state an enormous amount of money on top of that. So at one point or the other, something has to give."
Schwarzenegger answered a wide range of questions from The Bee's editorial board and online readers during an hour-long Web interview. The video will be available for replay later today at www.sacbee.com/live.
The governor said that while he may not feel the same way, "people" tell him they believe state workers should share in the economic pain that the private sector is facing.
He already has required state workers to take twice monthly furloughs. Last month, he began laying off 5,000 general fund employees and asked the Legislature to cut state worker salaries by 5 percent. Altogether, the salary cut and furloughs would reduce state worker pay by 14.2 percent.
"People come up to me and they say, 'What are those state employees complaining about?' " Schwarzenegger said. "'I mean, you just made a cut of 5 percent, layoff, in the general fund area only. Not in the special funds, just in the general fund area, 5 percent layoff. And they are screaming and complaining. Are they in touch with reality, that the outside, the private sector has 11 percent unemployment? Where is their 11 percent unemployment.' So those are the questions, that's not my question, those are the questions the people are coming up to us with."
Schwarzenegger added, "I think the bottom line is, we all have to chip in. It's a crisis."
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