On the heels of his public complaints about floundering in quicksand with no support from the legislature, Governor Paterson is asking them for “extraordinary authority” to furlough 100,000 state workers, as he continues to attempt to combat the state’s $9 billion-plus deficit. After his talks with the public-employees union to reduce workforce costs didn’t produce savings, the governor is specifically looking for “one day of furlough in each appropriation that we make from here on until we pass this budget,” he said, adding for dramatic effect: “The crisis is worsening and we must take action.” [Knickerbocker/NYP]
