The New York Times recently highlighted how San Jose, California is struggling to make do with fewer workers. Faced with declining tax revenues, escalating pension costs, and cuts in state aid, the city has had to cut more than a fifth of its employees (1,592 jobs) over the last four years to balance its budget.
The job cuts mean that the city has had to cut public services. This includes closing four of its libraries, reducing the number of firefighters that respond to calls, repaving roads less often, and reassigning police officers from special units to patrols.
