Leading by example (maybe...)

[tigerbob]

I have no particular love for Detroit's new interim Mayor, Ken Cockrel (I don't know much about him yet) but this seems to me like a politician walking the walk.

I just saw it on TV, and there appears to be no link available yet, but in view of the city's horrendous budget deficit, the mayor, while announcing significant cuts, also announced that he is reducing the Mayor's Office budget by £2m, and will also take a personal salary cut of 20%.

I'll be interested to see the fine print but, on the face of it, this sounds like leading by example.

 

[Amanda]

It will be pretty amazing if it's really true.

 

[tigerbob]

Links now starting to appear....

He's presenting the proposal to the unions at 2pm. Now that he has taken a personal 20% cut, it will be interesting to see how they respond to the planned 10% cuts for city workers.

Cockrel calls for 10 percent wage cut for workers | detnews.com | The Detroit News

 

[editec]

I note that the city of New York is planning on laying off 20,000 employees, now.

Now before those of you who hate government go crazy with joy, know that the cuts include fireman and police, tasks which most of you, I think -- even the most skinflinted libertarians -- might agree are a reasonable for governments to fund.

This declining economy that some of youthink needs to correct itself is going to correct itself (if you have your way) in ways that few of you are going to like.

That might be a good thing.

Waking people up to what life is like without much government might alert many of you to what the benefit having governments providing social services really is.

I KNOW that many of you sense that government is 99% welfare and 1% service, so this trying time we are just now beginning to undergo might wake some of you up.

Of course if you're rich enough, none of this will matter, but for those of you who are truly living by the sweat of your brows, this depression might be most illuminating.