Now is a good time to die

Because apparently Hell has frozen over and you've got a better chance of going elsewhere.

The Statesman reports on Gov Otter's efforts to reduce the Idaho Dept of Human Resources and the Dept of Administration. Some of the legislators are skeptical of this, with the really surprising result that some conservative legislators are actually praising state workers.

It's kind of difficult from the article to identify the source of this statement, but it looks like Maxine Bell.

Otter originally intended to cut about 30 jobs in the mail room and Capitol Mall maintenance and landscaping by outsourcing those tasks. But the legislative budget committee [JFAC] reacted badly to this, saying the state got great service from these workers at a relatively low cost.

State workers. Great service. Low cost. Unbelievable. Normally you hear how state employees are lazy and overpaid.

Also, I sense that the legislators are feeling a bit run roughshod over by the new Gov. First the capital expansion, then axing departments, then moving people around to de facto accomplish the dismantling before getting legislative approval. If legislators get feeling pushed around or taken advantage of, they could push back, and that could be a problem for the Governor.