My opinion on the government, maybe

The front page of today's Herald Dispatch reads:

W.Va. government considering 4-day work week

I will try to discuss this in a matter that doesn't reveal my opinion until later on. If you know me, then you already know my opinion. Here is a clip from the article.

Some lawmakers state that reducing the state government employees will reduce gasoline consumption. It may lead to greater job satisfaction, less turnover and less stress.

Gov. Joe Manchin's spokeswoman, Lara Ramsburg, said Friday that the governor is open to looking at creating a four-day work week for state employees, but government services are required all-week long. "Our dilemma is we have services we must provide," she said.

Diane Holley, spokeswoman for the state Department of Administration, said state agency directors have had the option of adopting a shortened work week for years.

The Joint Committee on Government Organization could launch such a study later this year.

You can read the entire article here.

My first reaction was "You have go to be kidding me." I did try to think it though. Again for those of you who know me, It is hard for me to think through things on the spot. It takes some time. I did think through it a bit before typing and bring you these fine points:

• When has the government been fast with anything? Generally, they don't move quickly with much. How is cutting their work week going to get them to move any faster?
• Although I am not totally against government, I really think they stay out of our way for the most part. Not getting things done in a timely manner gets in the way.

• If government workers work another 2 hours for the first four days of the week(that's four ten hour days), is it going to lead to less stress in the work place, and more job satisfaction, and less turnover?

The solution that I think would be the best answer, is to cut government services back, so that the state can run more efficiently. I don't know if efficient is in the government's dictionary or not but it hasn't demonstrated it to me yet.

Cutting the government would:

• decrease taxes
• decrease spending
• prioritize spending (roads and signs, not the "Robbert C. Byrd highway" signs every ten miles on State Route 60, either.)
  
• Make the people rely more on them selves them letting the government step in that try "to help them out" of what ever situation they are in.

Overall I think, West Virginians in particular, want their cake and eat it too. They say they are all for states rights and independence, and gun this and gun that, BUT they want the government programs as well. Again, not all West Virginians are like this, but enough to notice.
I looked up some stats form the census bureau there are some pretty interesting stats there. I am not pretending to be a stat guy, but it is interesting none the less. Again, I am not running for office, I DON'T have all the answers, but I do have an opinion just like everyone else. I thank you for reading mine.