Jerry Brown Takes 7,500 Cars Away from State Government Pencil-Pushers as "Not Essential"

By Jill Stewart

Jerry Brown insisted on using a cheap Plymouth as a young California governor.

You gotta love California Governor Jerry Brown's war on the fat that rose like yeast bread under Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gray Davis. Brown's taking away 7,500 free cars that government workers never had one whit of a reason to be given. Early this month, Brown ordered state workers to turn 48,000 cell phones bought by taxpayers. Woo hoo.

Here's a good quote from his press release: "Fifty percent is a starting point. If we find more waste, we'll make more cuts." Hee hee! Read on for more good news:

First of all, the headline is one you never see from a California governor: "Governor Brown Orders Immediate State Car Cutback"

His press release reads in part:

SACRAMENTO - In an effort to cut the state's passenger vehicle fleet in half, Governor Jerry Brown today directed all state agencies and departments to immediately halt new car purchases and turn in taxpayer-funded cars that are not essential to state business. "There is a lot of wasteful spending on cars that aren't even driven," Brown said. "And we can't afford to spend taxpayer money on new cars while California faces such a massive deficit." Brown said his goal is to halve the number of the state's passenger cars, trucks and home storage permits--which allow state employees to use passenger cars for their daily commute.

Get it?

California taxpayers are paying for the commuting cars for state government office workers -- who have among the fattest pensions in public or private working life in America, and very decent salaries, and can more than afford their own freakin' car payments.

How nauseating.

The governor goes on to say he will also "move underutilized vehicles to new locations, so that the fleet is more efficient overall. Cars that are not needed will be sold."

There are some 15,500 vehicles out there, paid for by working Californians, so that other working Californians do not have to buy a car. Not only that, but Sacramento departments have issued "approximately 4,500 home storage permits, that don't serve a health or public safety function."

Don't serve a health or public safety function. Meaning pencil-pushers, clerks, analysts and the like.

Free cars, for no reason on earth except they begged for them and got them.

Brown's order directs every agency secretary and department director to immediately review their organization's home storage permits and withdraw those that are not essential or cost-effective. He explained that some employees may need a car around-the-clock because their jobs are public health and safety focused, or it is more cost-effective for the state for certain employees to have a car than not. The review will take this into account.

Brown is going to force the various government departments to sell or transfer to non-essential vehicles "within 120 days of the plan's approval."

His order makes clear he understands the sneaky nature of state managers. State managers are masters at ignoring savings proposals and even better at hiding funds.

So Brown, understanding how state managers think, says: "The order additionally prohibits agencies and departments from buying new vehicles for non-emergency use."

That deserves another hee hee.

No word on how many state workers are refusing to turn in their cell phones with every imaginable excuse.

Maybe state workers feel a strong entitlement to own taxpayer-provided phones because mass murderer Charles Manson and thugs in the Mexican Mafia are freely able to get their hands on cell phones while in prison and on Death Row. Hell, if they can have them ...

If you want the full text of Jerry Brown's fresh Executive Order, read on: