barriomulas.com - Public Layoffs and How to Go About It

Puerto Rico's monstrous bureaucracy is over-staffed. There are few public officials and citizens that debate this. Though there exists a consensus on the issue, few have suggested any initiatives other than early retirement programs. Nobody has dared to suggest layoff - a word that would quickly incite rebellion among the public sector's well organized unions.

As hard as it is to admit it, downsizing the public work force in one way or another is our only option for a fiscal government. Here are two suggestions as to how to go about doing it:

Paid leave. Lay off the employee but keep him on the pay roll for a few months (three months sounds fine to me.) This gives the person sufficient time to seek alternate employment in the private sector. In order to parallel this with increased economic activity in the private sector (which would directly create new private sector jobs) this action could be paralleled with budget cuts, tax cuts (now possible through budget cuts), or raises for other employees.

Business loans/grants. Upon laying off the employee give him the option to draw down a business loan or grant. This amount could total his year's salary and be taken from the same funds that would have been used to pay his salary. Though the government would have to bite the bullet for a year, the following year they would be with a payroll less. This program could be enhanced with small business training offered by the government's Exportation and Commerce Company.

Transfer. Some agencies are money-generating entities with fiscal autonomy. New for-profit public corporations could be founded and employees from agencies dependent on the state's funding could be transfered. These employees are already trained and would require little adjustment. This would eliminate the need to layoff employees to begin with while decreasing the pressure on taxpayer's pockets.