Editorial: Legislative furloughs are cynical politics

For the fiscal year that ended June 30, tax revenue coming into state government coffers was $1.9 billion below the previous fiscal year. And a continuing economic downturn - unemployment in Georgia has inched past 10 percent and could get as high as 12 percent next year - is a strong indication state government will face continuing difficulty in providing even basic services to the people of the state for some time to come.

Already, the state's public university system has asked for, and received, permission to furlough professors, if necessary, to cope with the continuing lag in state funding. Many of the state's K-12 public school systems are trimming staff and furloughing teachers. State parks and historic sites are cutting back on operating hours.

So what do state lawmakers reckon is their personal responsibility in helping the state through its current fiscal challenge? Well, their leaders - House Speaker Glenn Richardson, and Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, Republicans both - announced earlier this week that they, and the members of their respective legislative chambers of the legislature (Cagle presides over the state Senate), would graciously deign to furlough themselves one day per month. The sacrifice is set to begin Aug. 1 and continue through the end of the calendar year, at which time the House and Senate will consider whether their largess to the taxpayers of this state should continue.

And just what is the total fiscal impact of this bold directive from the uppermost ranks of state government?

Well, a more-than-fair back-of-the-envelope assessment, predicated on the assumption that the one-day-per-month furloughs will continue uninterrupted from August through June, and that Gov. Sonny Perdue will be shamed by the legislative leadership into also not taking 11 days of salary, puts the number at less than $200,000.

Here's a quick look at the math:

Each of the 236 members of the state legislature takes a $17,341.68 salary from state taxpayers. Based on the assumption that, although they are in session in Atlanta for only about three or four months a year, they actually work a total

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