State workers chanted Thursday outside the Capitol to assail Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plans to pay 200,000 state employees the federal minimum wage until a budget is signed, providing some of the most compelling budget-related scenes of angry Californians this year.

It may have been what the governor wanted all along, even if they shouted his name in disgust.

The governor's draft executive order to withhold a portion of state workers' pay, obtained Wednesday by The Bee, has generated public attention for the state's budget situation in a way that months of Schwarzenegger town halls never could.

Whether Schwarzenegger's attempt to up the ante will prove effective is another question. The logic he's employing goes something like this: If more people feel pain from a prolonged budget delay, lawmakers will be pressured – or shamed – into compromise.

"When a president does this, they call it the 'Washington Monument strategy,' " said Dan Schnur, new director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California and a former GOP strategist. "The idea is that if the American public sees the Washington Monument being shut down because of a budget stalemate, people are going to be a lot more upset because the consequences are so visible. We don't have a Washington Monument here, so this is the next best thing."

The budget is almost four weeks late as Democrats and Republicans remain divided over how to bridge a $15.2 billion shortfall in a $101 billion spending plan.

Lawmakers face little threat of losing their safe political seats and have stood their ground on principle, while Schwarzenegger has expressed frustration with the languid process.

The executive order Schwarzenegger plans to sign would save about $1 billion per month, administration officials said. It would cut pay for roughly 200,000 state workers to the federal minimum wage of $6.55 per hour starting in August. It also would terminate about 22,000 retirees still working part-time for the state, temporary workers and seasonal employees, as well as impose a hard hiring freeze.

State workers would receive their back pay in full once a budget is signed.

Schwarzenegger officials said the governor fears the state will run out of cash by September if he does not sign the order.

"We know this is not a popular proposal and we understand how difficult it would be, but the fact remains the state will run out of cash very soon, and it's the governor's responsibility to keep the state solvent," spokesman Aaron McLear said.

Democrats believe Schwarzenegger's surprise stratagem may do nothing more than drop his poll ratings and anger workers. Some compared it to past Schwarzenegger stunts designed to drive media attention more than achieve a policy objective.

"It's a political ploy; of course it is," said Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. "But it's a pretty cheap political ploy because the people who work hard for the public don't deserve to be put in the middle of a budget fight."

Democratic state Controller John Chiang, who pays the state's bills, reiterated Thursday that he believes the state can pay full salaries through the end of September without a budget agreement. Chiang said he plans to defy Schwarzenegger's executive order should he sign it.

"I'm going to go ahead and pay employees full wages for the work they perform for California," Chiang said. "I would encourage the governor not to engage in litigation."

If the governor signs his executive order and Chiang continues to issue full paychecks to workers in August, Schwarzenegger likely would have to sue the controller's office to ensure his order is carried out. Such an action would test whether the state can pay only federal minimum wage under a 2003 California Supreme Court ruling, White v. Davis.

Schwarzenegger administration officials believe the governor has the authority and the responsibility under the state constitution to conserve cash by temporarily paying workers only minimum wage. McLear said he would not speculate on the governor's legal plans.

Call Kevin Yamamura, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5548. Jim Sanders of The Bee Capitol Bureau contributed to this report.