Corzine Plays Grinch With State Workers

New Jersey state workers used to have the day after Thanksgiving off as a paid holiday. Gov. Jon Corzine said that the policy would end after last year. State workers are busy complaining about the change.

New Jersey state workers already have 13 paid days off in addition to their vacation time. That's not the part of the story that I found most fascinating.

It was this:

Carla Katz, the president of CWA Local 1034, the largest New Jersey state workers union local, said there's practical reasons to closing state offices the day after Thanksgiving, such as saving money by turning off lights and heat in state buildings for four days.

"The decades-long tradition of allowing for a Thanksgiving holiday -- when schools are closed, kids are home from college for the long weekend and people travel to be together -- is a family friendly tradition that should continue to be honored," Katz
said.

That is one irony laden quote. Katz has been romantically linked to Corzine, but that's not the part that really strikes my fancy.

It's the part where she says that the state could save money by closing offices and turning off lights and heat in state buildings for four days.

If the state can save money by shutting down for the four day holiday weekend, how many hundreds of millions could be saved if the state shut down for far longer? Given the state's huge budget deficits - which range into the tens of billions of dollars, maybe the state would improve its fiscal shape if Trenton shut down the state offices, especially the Legislature, for an extended period.

Not only would the state save tons of money in the process, but the Legislature would not have the opportunity to proffer another tax and spend scheme in the process.