More State Jobs on the Chopping Block

It looks like more state employees are at risk of losing their jobs. In addition there will be other cost reducing initiatives by some states. When will the same thing start happening to Federal employees and the military? I don't think the issue is if this will happen or should this happen. It is a matter of when it will happen. From CNNMoney.com for the complete article:

There will be lots more state workers joining the unemployment line this year.

Public employees are getting hit hard in the latest round of spending cuts as state officials look to close billion-dollar deficits. Governors across the nation are promising to eliminate thousands of positions and freeze or reduce salaries.

Texas lawmakers are proposing shedding 9,300 jobs, while Georgia's governor said he'd erase 14,000 positions. New York's governor is looking to lay off more than 10,000 workers and freeze salaries. And California's and Nevada's governors are proposing pay cuts of up to 10% and 5%, respectively.

Though state workers have suffered years of furloughs and downsizings, this year could prove to be the toughest yet. Federal stimulus money that kept many on the job is drying up, and some newly elected officials are bent on shrinking the role of the state.

"Many politicians have long talked about reducing the size of the government," said Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal in his State of the State address earlier this month. "My friends, we are doing it."

Public sector jobs were long thought to be more secure during economic downturns. But that's not been the case during the Great Recession. State and local governments have shed 397,000 jobs since August 2008, falling to their lowest level since the late 1980s, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. . . .