As the recession continues, the furloughs that were given out are now being replaced by a new strategy: cuts in pay. Local and state governments as well as some companies are now trying to make people work the same hours while reducing the actual pay that people get. This attempt is to try to prevent laying off people. When the recession first started, the average hourly pay was still higher than what it is now. As the actual pay is being cut, it brings worries that the economy has weakened even more and that we might even go into a deflation. Deflation is when the prices of products decrease and people still continue to save and wait for the prices to decrease even more. These pay cuts are appearing more and more often within business because of the budget pressure. As their budgets keep getting cut, they have to find a way to maintain themselves financially, and that way is to cut actual pay instead of laying off people. The governor of New York, David A. Paterson, has sought a 4 percent cut off the wage of state employees. Although these cuts will have a huge effect on the income of many people, itâÂÂs better than getting laid off. Companies are trying to find an alternate way of maintaining themselves while avoiding the option of laying off people. Making less money is better than not making any money at all, especially in the current economic state that we are in. Although these cuts in the payment of people’s wages will save many people from getting laid off, I believe that the cuts should not be too drastic to the point where the people are making less money than they actually need to survive.