Cost Savings Measures For NY and NJ

Adopt a 4-day work week? Utah has already done it, so why not New York and New Jersey? New York Assemblyman Michael Genaris has proposed doing it, and compressed work schedules would also fit into the whole green-workplace concept reducing traffic, congestion, and business costs for maintaining offices five days a week.

The problem is that the cost savings from such a move are a drop in the bucket for multibillion dollar budget shortfalls.

In New York's case, changing the budget calendar would be a help. Right now, the budget has to be adopted by April 1, an event that is rarely accomplished. Switching the budget adoption date to July 1 - matching the fiscal year calendar, would solve accounting problems and reduce borrowing costs for schools and municipalities that are constantly left in the lurch as the state misses the budget deadlines every year.

Two other ideas? Reduce state and city workforces to levels seen two years ago (if lower, and excluding police and firefighters). Reduce state spending to the levels seen two years ago. That alone would save billions of dollars - even the so-called austerity budget proffered by Governor David Paterson (D-NY) calls for a increase in state spending of more than a billion dollars over last year. Reducing spending to the level of two years ago would save billions more, without any tax cuts. No one in Albany or Trenton would dare consider such a move, even though out of control spending is the prime reason that both states are in dire fiscal shape.

I open up the floor to anyone else who has ideas on how to reduce costs for budgets in New York and New Jersey, and to leave them in the comments. I'll select the best ones to include as updates.