Pretty soon state government employees won’t be able to take that call outside the office—at least not on the taxpayers’ dime. Governor Jerry Brown announced today that he’s ending cell phone plans for 48,000 state employees and confiscating their phones by June 1. Apparently that’s just half of the cell phones currently in use by government workers. It’s hard to imagine why 40% of state employees have taxpayer-financed cell phones.
For the governor’s first executive order, cutting government spending is an encouraging sign. It’s estimated nixing the cell phone usage in half will save the state $20 million. Governor Brown should be applauded for taking his first swipe at cutting government waste. But, as evidenced by his budget proposal yesterday, it’s going to take more than token cuts to solve the $25 billion+ deficit.
Pension reform and ending collective bargaining for state employees should be near the top of the list of any meaningful changes. But kudos to Governor Brown for at least taking the first step in ending this ridiculous government expenditure.