An honest day's work for an honest day's pay

Stars! They're just like us! In that, as ew.com is reporting, some of them may not be getting raises and may even be getting laid off this year.

CBS Paramount is asking the stars of some of the dramas it produces to forego pay hikes this year in an effort to keep production costs down, tossing in the dire threat that if they don't agree, sundry co-workers could lose their jobs and they don't want that happening.

(To ride out the recession, "CSI: Miami" star David Caruso is cutting back on his sunglasses budget.)

"I think they're desperate," said a producer who apparently can't even afford a name because none was given in the story. "Prime-time viewership is way down, and the advertising base is being devastated by the recession."

Actually, at CBS, viewership is actually up a smidgen, making it the only network to enjoy a ratings uptick in years.

But, given that stars make tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of dollars per episode, here's guessing that they'll be able to weather this storm.