I am very involved in local politics. My little town and the surrounding towns as well as the county.
I never see any of these "guvmint workers make too much" crowd show up at the Council meetings or the Supervisor's meetings.
I don't even have to look at this listing to know that it isn't much more than propoganda bull-s to make "small government" conservatives feel good.
IF there were so many who cared then they should show up at their local meetings and say something about it. But they don't.
The reality is that there are abuses and they are mostly occuring in management and public safety. But where there are abuses fix them. Dont condemn every government employee as an avaricious tit-sucker!
The first thing that comes up on the link provided is the City Manager of the City of Bell. Come ON that guy is in jail or will soon be.
The janitor is in NYC. Please.
Sewage worker is NYC also please.
The lifeguard is just another greedy bullshit fireman/womem raping the system. Remember in Alameda Ca a couple of years back when they wouldn't save a drowning man because they were in a contract dispute? And then the Fire Chief said "I don't have to answer to the public"????
The Universities are another issue entirely. I went to UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC San Francisco and a community college. The Chancellor at Davis makes $600,000 a year and is given $5000/month housing allowance. The PAY is 600 g's. The benefits are another $150,000--$200,000. PLUS retirement. Same, approximately, for the others. And the justification is that they have to pay that much to compete with the private sector. Really? Why do they have to compete with the private sector? Get some ambitious professor and pay him/her 1/10 and I bet it will be just fine. (btw there are "heads" of the individual colleges/departments within the university that are making similar types of money).
The California prison system, like the state is broken.
And finally an NYC plumber.
Most of these are from special districts...like schools, universities, housing authority which ARE really imperious to the NON-EXISTENT small government conservatives anyway. Have you ever tried to contact a special district manager? Have you ever tried to attend a meeting? Was it easy?????
Well the people who complain about government workers and don't even go to council meetings which ARE accessible can't be held to account to go to a meeting where it would REALLY inconvenience them. But "speaking out" about it here, anonymously, will certainly make a difference. NOT>
You will note that ALL The examples come from NYC and the State of California.
There are probably some examples like this from your area as well but to single out NY and Calif is BS just based on the cost of living difference alone is far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far, far greater than it is for most of the people on this board. $60,000 /year for a position might sound great if you are in Salina or Boise or OK City even. But when you consider that it costs $70,000 to live here then that is a full time job at $60g's and another job to make up the difference...nights and weekends.
Now here is something from experience. A council wanted to cut/gut staff (so they could put more money into their neighbors' pet projects) and referred to the head of building maintenance as a "custodian". Bldg Maint is much more than cleaning toilets and if you don't know that you could stand to learn it. His salary was $67000/year after 20 years on the job. He was an expert in repairing all the undermaintained buildings in the City and had private sector journeyman experience as carpenter and plumber. He also was certified as HVAC and had a degree in engineering. So much more than a custodian. The council falsely said that his benefits accounted for another $67000 and then proclaimed that a custodian made $134,000/year.
It was a complete and total lie. And the media reported it without question. And petty-foggin wannabe conservatives in the community jumped on it, without, a single thought. Although pension benefits are a little glamourous, but consider that a dump of a house in this area costs more than $400,000 (1100 sg ft on 6098 lot built in the 60's) that $67g's means that person will never be able to afford to buy a home and be a real member of the community he serves.
Yeah, that is effing great.
Meanwhile, the part time council gets full medical benefits. That costs the City just under $30,000 a year. There is 5 of them...so 150g's.
PLUS they get the same retirement pension as the people who ACTUALLY work! The coucnil meets twice a month for 3-4 hours each time and it is clear that not a single member ever reads about the issues ahead of time. So these "part-timers" (say 15 hours a month to be generous) in benfits alone get about 40,000 a year. That is about 180 hours a YEAR!!!! Myself...I put in at least that much at my business in a MONTH.
Yeah, so poop on the guy who is going to come out in the middle of the night (at no cash out of your pocket) to clear your sewer line (even though your own family probably effed up by putting CRAP down the toilet/drain that doesn't belong down there...like grease or baby wipes)
Or the guy who toils to keep the parks nicely maintained. The people who stretch every dollar of their budget.
Meanwhile the councils are busily spending money on global warming and other bullcrap.
I guarantee you that your stupid little neck of the woods, like mine, have climate protection task forces. And transportation committees. And Tree Committees. They have programs to make sure indigent children get breast milk or not..depending. They have recreation programs that are little more than free babysitting.
But yeah. The people who work in government, who man the counter, who bill the utilities, who maintain the water distribution lines are all effing parasites.
Give me a effing break.
If this bothers you then show the eff up at a effing city council meeting and complain instead of being a keyboard conservative.
Why should a police officer retire at age 50 with 70% of his salary and full medical for life? Oh, and most of them find a "medical" reason to retire. And don't tell me that they are "putting their lives on the line". Unless if you mean by that that they are letting their guts distend far over their belts (because of donut consumption) they are not putting their lives on the line. It is far more physcial dangerous/harmful to dig road ditches than it is to be a cop. And so what anyway? There are 500 qualified/trained candidates for every single job that comes open in law enforcement and fire protection.
Why should a City Manager make $160,000/year for a city below 5000 in population? That city manager can work for a city for 1 year and make more (nearly 50% more!!!) in retirement than for the rest of their lives (usually at 55) then the above mentioned "custodian" will EARN on the job.
Yep, but all of that requires just a moment of thought and it isn't nearly as satisfying as whining about "ridiculously overpaid" workers.
Maybe I will see you at the next council meeting? I always sit in the front row.
I doubt it though.
By "you" thoroughout this post I meant a theoretical you. Not the original or any subsequent posters. I am just bothered by the lack of participation.
