The real "inconvenient truth"

According to a 2005 study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, public-sector employees earn 40 percent higher salaries and 60 percent greater benefits than private-sector employees. Is it any wonder why so many towns/municipalities across the country have such tremendous deficits? Again I need to ask the question, when did becoming a public servant become a road to massive wealth accumulation? I missed the memo...

In our formative stages as a country public officials were civil servants in the true sense of the phrase---they were not paid. The main impetus to changing this was the fact that the general public felt this only allowed wealthy individuals to serve in government because the middle/lower class literally could not afford. They could not donate a large portion of their time to a job from which they would receive no compensation. The concern was that if only the wealthy could afford to serve in government then policies would be made to only serve the interest of one class/group of people. In an effort to make things more egalitarian an agreement was reached stipulating that public officials would receive a modest compensation so as to make these positions available to everyone; basically to provide for an equal opportunity and to avoid being elitist. Fast forward two hundred years and what you see is that public service is not what it was intended to be, nor what it should be. I have looked at the numbers of only one major Massachusetts public institution and the numbers are mind boggling, truly disturbing.



This is not a democrat/republican issue; it's a taxpayer one. And when you posit that mind frame on it and look at through that lens there is only one conclusion to draw. For example did you know that you and I, the taxpayers of Massachusetts, paid a janitor $48,650.00 last year, seriously a fifty thousand dollar janitor.

Building Maintenance - MHS Custodian $48,650.00



Now let me be clear that my intention is by no means to belittle or demean this person (which is why I left the name out), or their job. The larger point is that only at a government job could someone make $48,650.00/year as a custodian. At the bottom of this article there is a link where you can see for yourself that these numbers are accurate. To further illustrate this point ask yourself how many people who graduate college this year will get a job making that kind of money? Sadly this is not even the tip of the iceberg. Once you factor in the custodians benefits and state pension he/she must be in the neighborhood of a sixty five thousand dollar per year tax liability to us, the taxpayers of Massachusetts. If there is someone out there who thinks the tax payers should be paying a janitor almost 50k/year I would love to hear from you.



In fiscal year 2008 the Massachusetts Turnpike had a projected budget of $81,777,225.64 but the actual budget was $108,324,800.29, only an over run of $26.5 million dollars! The over run is largely due to the state troopers who are assigned to the Pike, and while I am sure it won't be popular to rail against police pay it must be done. Now I do not begrudge a police officer an honest days pay, but what happened to the days when men and women became police officers out of a sense of civic duty not a cash grab? After all the badge reads "to serve and protect"; to serve is the first half! To serve necessarily entails not living in the lap of luxury or being in the richest 1-2% of the entire country.

EARNED vs PROJECTED
State Police Lieutenant $240,809.52 $121,838.79
State Police Lieutenant $240,493.24 $0.00.
(You can not make this stuff up; this officer had a projected pay of $0.00 but made almost a quarter of a million dollars).

It strikes me as humorous, even ironic, the manner in which "the masses" and the Democrats rallied around the Obama cries of taxing the rich and those who make more than 250k/year or even 200k/year, but I guarantee those same people would not support the elimination of trooper details on the Mass. Pike. Did you know that last year that 9 state troopers on the Mass. Pike payroll made over $200,000.00? The highest one pulled in an astonishing $240,809.52!! That officers projected salary for fiscal year 2008 was $121,838.79. Now even if I accepted his projected salary as being agreeable, you can not convince that it is ok for him to nearly double his pay through overtime and details. In 2008 alone 96 state troopers on the Pike payroll made over $150,000.00. Many, if not all, of them almost doubling their pay through overtime/details. The tax liability to the people of Massachusetts once these officers retire is an undue burden and needs to be eliminated. This is waste and mismanagement; there is no other name for it. These officers artificially inflate their salary at a tremendous cost to us.

Further proof of the waste and cost over run is the pay of toll collectors. Here are just three examples (again the names are left out but the link below will verify the numbers)

EARNED vs PROJECTED
MHS Toll Collector $71,053.47 $53,022.70
MHS Sr Toll Collector $76,110.02 $58,749.02
MHS Sr Toll Collector $97,588.92 $58,749.02

Honestly I do not know which one is more ridiculous a fifty thousand dollar janitor or a toll collector making just under one hundred thousand dollars!!!

The real "inconvenient truth" is that public employees are grossly overpaid! One can not even make the argument that the cost of living in Boston is so high which is why they need to make more money b/c so many of them live in western and central MA and are rich when compared with the average salary of a private sector employee in that region. A toll collector making 70k/year living in the Springfield area is tantamount to making double that if they lived in Boston. We are affording these civil servants a life of luxury, there is no other way to put it and do not be fooled, it is all at our expense.

Upon retirement these public employees will receive lifetime guaranteed pensions, pensions that were originally designed to last from roughly age 65 to age 75. Now a days many are retiring in their early fifties and living into their 80's, collecting that pension for 30 years. However, if any public official mentions pension reform for state/municipal employees they incur the full wrath of police/teacher unions and others who essentially hold them hostage. Their sense of entitlement is disturbing; to serve is not to be entitled. In my opinion the pensions should be eliminated entirely, and public employees should have 401k's with a matching contribution like the rest of us; however, I am pragmatic and understand that is not going to happen so what does need to happen is some basic reform.

For starters the retirement age needs to be raised to 65-67 to be in line with Social Security. If a public official wishes to retire earlier that is fine but they need to be able to afford it on their own, and can not begin collecting the pension until that age. Also pension calculations would only include base salaries (NO OVERTIME), and it should cap around 60% of an employees final compensation. These recommendations are what an independent research firm suggested to the state of CA a year or so ago, and like I said I am pragmatic and although would prefer to see pensions eliminated entirely, I am wiling to use the suggestions as a jumping off point for reform.

With the economy in shambles and hundreds of thousands of people losing their jobs, why is it that government continues to grow? If the economy contracts shouldn't the government and its payroll? Many private companies are forcing employees to take pay freezes, and even pay cuts, yet somehow public officials continue to get raises and get paid a hundred thousand dollars to do a job in which they would be replaced by a bucket. In all seriousness what skill does a toll collector have that warrants that kind of pay? In the real world it is a minimum wage job. The skill set is that of a grammar school child---being able to make change. Those jobs need to be eliminated altogether. If the MTA imposed a mere 5% pay cut and only paid out peoples projected salaries(no overtime) that alone would save the tax payers over thirty million dollars.

However, as we all know , no government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size, so we need to force this reduction in size on the bloated bureaucracy. Sadly we had a chance to force this reduction in size on the government by repealing the state income tax but for some inexplicable reason we chose not to. The wool was pulled over our eyes, and we chose rather to outlaw grey hound racing. How does a populace choose to outlaw grey hound racing while condoning the egregious waste that is rampant in this state? The pay in the public sector is complete out of line with what it should be (due in large part to the unions).

By continuing to support the elected officials, and those unions, is as Ronald Reagan once said, "To sit back hoping that some day, some way, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last---but eat you he will". As long as we have fifty thousand dollar janitors and one hundred thousand dollar toll collectors, you can forget about a repeal of any tax, in fact you are all but guaranteeing higher taxes for us all and bankrupting municipalities.




Link to confirm the salaries cited above :
http://www.bostonherald.com/projects/mta2008

The best minds are not in government

It was recently reported that the MBTA's payroll jumped by 14% last year and that 441 employees made over $100,000. This is the perfect illustration of the point that no government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. How can it be possible that 441 employees made over 100k last year for a company that announced a $160 million deficit on Monday??? Can anyone honestly tell me with a straight face that there are 441 employees at the MBTA that would demand a fair market value of 100k/year in the private sector? Plus benefits and pension? Judging by my experiences on the MBTA I do not think there is one.

We are in the throes of dramatic recession; the stock market, for the first time I think, has a negative 10 year return; unemployment may be headed for double digits and trillions of dollars of wealth has been wiped out in the last 14 months, but yet somehow the MBTA grew 14%. Is there anyone who can explain this to me? How can we the people continue to support such graft, waste and mismanagement? Last November we had the chance to eliminate the state income tax but the government warned that if the state income tax was eliminated there would be massive cuts and cessation of local aid. I would submit that is exactly what is needed. Furthermore, the true cost to the tax payer is significantly higher than we think at first glance. Think about the inane and asinine pensions these state employees will be receiving upon retirement, all funded by yours truly. So the 441 people who "stole" over 100k last year (yes stole, they did not make/produce anything. I defy you to show me what they "made") really comes at a cost much greater than that. If you do not believe me simply ask any actuary but the true cost to you and I is otherworldly and unacceptable.

In December of 2008 in response to the financial crisis FedEx announced a 5% pay cut to its employees, no bonuses and no company match on its 401k in an effort to cut cost. To an average middle manager making 45k/year that is a savings of 2250.00 in salary, roughly 3000.00 in bonus and 3.5% on the 401k match saves another 1575.00. That makes a total savings of about 6825.00 for a run of the mill employee. One of the most well respected international companies is reducing its operating expenses by several thousand dollars per employee during this crisis while one of the most poorly run entities in the world increases its payroll by 14%. Is it any wonder that Ronald Reagan once said "The best minds are not in government. If any were, business would steal them."?