Schwarzenegger threatening to cut state employee's pay

The Sacramento Bee is reporting that the governor is threatening to temporarily reduce the pay of 200,000 state workers to the minimum wage to preserve state funds during the budget impasse. The Bee got a hold of an executive order that it says Schwarzenegger will sign later this week.

Funny, when I last did a story on the budget, the state controller's office told me that the government had enough cash to run smoothly at least through September. So, this couldn't by any stretch of the imagination, be a way for Schwarzenegger to bring pressure to bear on lawmakers whose campaign funding comes from state unions that will surely be howling about any pay cuts that will be imposed on their members, could it? I'm sure nobody in state government would try something that devious.

Of course, once the budget impasse is over, the order says, the employees will get the rest of their salaries paid back.

Incidentally, the legislative wing of the government, including lawmakers, appointees, and their staffs, already are not getting paid at all. Earlier this month, I did a budget story on the subject, where I reported that the bulk of these employees get zero-interest loans from a Sacramento bank to tide them over until they get their pay checks back:

The Sacramento-based Golden 1 Credit Union offers state employees who are credit union members no-interest loans in the amount of their salaries for the duration of the budget impasse. Once the budget is passed, the loans are paid off by the state.

I wonder if Golden 1 has enough capital for 200,000 more zero-interest loans?