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Golden 1 officials said the bank borrows money at 3.5 percent and would thus lose money on each transaction. They said the policy is necessary because they might have to cover the payroll of the 100,000 state workers who are Golden 1 members.

I know a lot of state workers who work for EDD in Sac. They say if the budget dose not pass they will not work for min. wage.

Too bad I can't borrow @3.5%, what would make these State workers happy, Time off with pay until budget is setteled. Crybabys!

I know a lot of state workers who work for EDD in Sac. They say if the budget dose not pass they will not work for min. wage.

That might not be a sound strategy. When the budget is finally signed, I expect the legislature to pass a bill to make up for any shortfall that arose during the impass. If those folks simply take the time off, I wouldn't expect them to be covered.

OK, I'm tipping my hand here. I am one of those evil state employees. I will tell you that state employees screwed themselves in 1992 when they sued Pete Wilson over IOUs instead of paychecks. THe court ruled that IOUs couldn't be offered, so we got nothing in 1993. Fortunately, with the Golden 1, we got very, very short-term loans -- in essense, those of us with direct deposit could borrow our paycheck, and when it was deposited by the state, the bank took it instead.

Don't go ragging on state employees. We're like all of you, we have mortgages and school bills and car payments. If I don't get paid on the 15th, I have automatic withdrawls that don't get paid, and I get screwed.

HOWEVER, I'm not advocating that they pass a budget just so I can get paid. I think the budget sucks and we should stand firm against ALL tax increases. But don't rag on state employees ... we're not the ones who created this mess (at least, I'm not!)