Bad economic times hitting the county I live in, hard.....

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

Yikes.....I heard on the news that Nassau County is planning on cutting the salary of every county employee by 7%. That, or there will be massive lay-offs. Nassau county residences can look forward to a "heat tax," as well as increased taxes on various luxury items such as cigarettes, etc. We were told to expect the worst.

Sheesh.....We already pay some of the highest taxes in the country. This is really becoming impossible to deal with.

I sure hope the counties that you guys live in, are doing better then mine.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

I think New York is getting especially hard hit due to the problems in the financial industry and the lost wealth from the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme implosion.

I think New York could be a bit behind the rest of the country since the real estate market down turn has come only recently to this area.

Boy, I hope somebody somewhere knows what they are doing.

[PigsDad Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PigsDad]

I know of at least a couple of decent-sized employers in this city that just went through across-the-board 10% pay cuts. One of those companies also eliminated their 401k match and employee stock purchase program -- that is equivalent to another 10-15% pay cut.

Another company is shutting down 1 week of each month. The employees can use their vacation time first, but then it is unpaid time off. 20-25% pay cut right there.

Of course there are the layoffs that several companies are doing as well, but the US hasn't seen such widespread wage decreases since the 30's.

Kurt

[StressCadet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close StressCadet]

You could live here in California, where we have a 42 billion dollar hole in our budget and the legislature can't seem to iron out any appropriate solution. I can't wait to see how much this is going to cost us in taxes...because it will.

The controller has halted state tax refunds in addition to other payments such as grant funds for college students. The state is currently unable to meet it's obligations.

The state employee furloughs of 2 days a month will start on Friday.

The entire education community is waiting on pins and needles to see who will be left standing after cuts are implemented. Schools are going to take a big whack.

Me, I just keep showing up until someone tells me not to.

The foreclosure rate is our county is up 680 percent from 2 years ago. The new buzz word is "redefault" Folks who had their loans modified are now in default for a second time.

My credit union is under NCUA conservatorship and the bank I moved some of the CU money to basically failed but is now under operation as another bank.

There for a while, my head would swirl as every day it was a new bank failure, a business closing or a layoff.

I don't feel that way anymore. I think I might be numb

[idahodude Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close idahodude]

The state of Idaho is requiring most state entities (including the University I work for) to cut their budgets by 6% or more. Luckily my department is funded largely by clinical revenue and grants, but we're still going to have to trim somewhere.

A major local employer is requiring all employees to take six weeks off without pay during the first part of the year and also requiring them to take some of their vacation time as well. Although my friends will get some time off, it essentially means about a 10-20% pay cut.

Still, I don't think things are quite as bad here as much of the country. Home prices haven't dropped much, although homes aren't selling quickly. Construction is down, but a local hospital will be starting a huge expansion soon, which should help with the contruction industry locally.

Even though the state's cutting back, I'm pretty comfortable that my job is secure. It helps to soothe the ache that I felt when I realized how much more I could be making if employed elsewhere in my profession.

[Holly Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Holly]

...Boy, I hope somebody somewhere knows what they are doing.

They don't. No one has any idea what to do. The government "bailouts" are just throwing good money after bad.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

BB

I think New York is getting especially hard hit due to the problems in the financial industry and the lost wealth from the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme implosion.

No question....It's so sad to walk around the city, and see so many restaurants, and stores closing up. for the first time in my lifetime, I have many friends that have either been laid off, taken pay cuts, or are afraid of losing their jobs, or businesses. I have to be honest, it's scary!

Boy, I hope somebody somewhere knows what they are doing.

I sure hope so too. If not, we're in big trouble!

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

They don't. No one has any idea what to do. The government "bailouts" are just throwing good money after bad.

Let's hope that someone, somewhere knows what they're doing, and things will get better with the stimulus package.....Not trying to make this a political thread. It's just a rough time for our country, and seems like most people are witnessing what appears to be the worst time for our country since the great depression.

It's good to know what other cities and counties are experiencing.

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

I am seeing another bad side effect of hard economic times: employers that are treating workers like dirt. The attitude seems to be, "you're lucky to have a job, now don't whine and do whatever we want". Anyone else seeing this?

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

I am seeing another bad side effect of hard economic times: employers that are treating workers like dirt. The attitude seems to be, "you're lucky to have a job, now don't whine and do whatever we want". Anyone else seeing this?

Absolutely......I'm seeing it, and hearing it from everyone. That's the exact attitude of my DH's employer, and I'm even guilty of saying that to my DH. He hates where he is currently working, and I keep telling him not to jeopardize his job in this environment.

[Ann-Marie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ann-Marie]

I know that there is a lot of fluff within the Nassau County system that can be eliminated. We have been wasting money for a ling time here in NC.

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

I know that there is a lot of fluff within the Nassau County system that can be eliminated. We have been wasting money for a ling time here in NC.

Eliminating the fluff would be great, but I have a feeling that we're going to get tax increases, along with a cut in services. Seems that the "fluff" is always the last thing to go. I hope that I'm wrong!

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

What would be news is any group, company, government body, area, etc., that is not on an austerity program. I could list the ones here and it would sound like everyone else's report.

[Marti Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Marti]

Bad economic times hitting the county I live in, hard

Nassau County is a suburban county in the New York Metropolitan
Area east of New York City in the state of New York. USA

As of 2008, Nassau County is the second richest county per capita
in the State of New York and the 10th richest in the nation, with a
median household income of $85,994

*

Suozzi Delivers Emergency Budget Address at
Special Session of Nassau County Legislature

Nassau County

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

The state of Idaho is requiring most state entities (including the University I work for) to cut their budgets by 6% or more. Luckily my department is funded largely by clinical revenue and grants, but we're still going to have to trim somewhere.

A major local employer is requiring all employees to take six weeks off without pay during the first part of the year and also requiring them to take some of their vacation time as well. Although my friends will get some time off, it essentially means about a 10-20% pay cut.

Still, I don't think things are quite as bad here as much of the country. Home prices haven't dropped much, although homes aren't selling quickly. Construction is down, but a local hospital will be starting a huge expansion soon, which should help with the contruction industry locally.

Even though the state's cutting back, I'm pretty comfortable that my job is secure. It helps to soothe the ache that I felt when I realized how much more I could be making if employed elsewhere in my profession.

One common operating strategy as production falls is to consolidate operations in fewer locations. Better to operate one plant at 110% capacity than one plant at 70% and another at 40%. When companies do that, they naturally consolidate at the location that has the lowest costs.

I personally know of several companies that are consolidating operations into Idaho because Idaho is a low cost state. I know of one other company that is actually doing well and will be doing most of it's future expansions in Idaho solely due to the greater ease of setting up operations and the lower cost of doing business.

IMHO - states that attempt to increase business taxes now to plug holes in their budgets will find that the projected increases don't raise as much money as projected (as companies redirect operations away from those states) and the states will develop (or buttress) reputations as high cost, anti-business states.