Contract It Out. All Of It.

The city of Maywood, Calif., has come up with a rather extreme solution to its budget woes: The New York Times reported this week that city leaders have outsourced all of its government jobs.

That's right, from police to crossing guards, all of Maywood's employees -- who only totaled about 60 -- saw their jobs eliminated. Many were then immediately rehired under contract. Police functions were shifted to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The townspeople don't seem to mind. "Remember the Soviet Union?" Hector Alvarado, who heads a civic advocacy group, told the Times. "They had a lot of bureaucracy, and they lost. Maywood was like that. Now people know if they don't work, they will be laid off. Much better this way."