Now Playing at Reason.tv: Steven Greenhut on Public Employee Paychecks, Perks, and Plunder

Steven Greenhut,  Editor in Chief of CalWatchdog.com and author of the new book, Plunder! How Public Employee Unions are Raiding Treasuries, Controlling Our Lives and Bankrupting the Nation sat down with Reason.tv's Ted Balaker to discuss the widening gap between public and private sector employment.

Approximately 9 minutes.  Shot by Alex Manning and Paul Detrick.  Edited by Austin Bragg.

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Comments

[John]

http://latimesblogs.latimes.co.....gning.html

A Bell councilman kept his nearly $100,000-a-year city salary even after stepping down, according to city records.

Victor Bello resigned for undisclosed reasons in August 2009. Almost immediately after he left the council, he became the only full-time employee at the city food bank, working as an assistant to the facility's coordinator, according to Bell's chief administrative officer, Robert Rizzo.

Rizzo said no one had the job before Bello.

But remember, California is going broke because the people are not taxed enough.

[Episiarch]

I still don't understand why someone isn't making this a campaign platform. It would be hugely popular, and even though the public sector employee unions are powerful, they are nothing compared to the general public.

[Warty]

It would take pretty big balls to run on a platform against the police. Why would someone that ballsy run for public office? He'd be too busy spending his time making billions and banging supermodels.

[Episiarch]

"Look, yes, I have banged hundreds of broads, internationally, but know this: I wrap my rascal TWO times 'cause I like it to be joyless and without sensation, as a way of punishing supermodels."

[John]

Yeah, but they will call you a ratbagging teafucker.

[Pip]

Video of a racist hate crime:

http://www.wdtn.com/dpp/news/c.....eel-attack

[John]

All the more reason to conceal and carry. Oh sorry sister you seem to have brought a shoe to a gun fight.

[the women]

he hopes the women will turn themselves in

He hopes wrong.

[Warty]

So the dude tried to be a white knight and save a hooker from her pimp. Did he think she'd marry him and they'd live happily ever after?

[Episiarch]

Pretty Woman is a documentary, right?

[kilroy]

Seems a bit more like True Romance to me.

[Lowdog]

Why didn't the dude get back in his car when he realised they didn't want his help? Dumb ass.

[John]

Here is some good news.

ATLANTA ? Georgia was lauded four years ago by conservatives for passing one of the nation's toughest sex offender laws. But the state has had to significantly ? and without fanfare ? scale back its once-intense restrictions.

Georgia's old law was challenged by civil liberties groups even before it took effect. After losing court battle after court battle, state legislators were forced to make a change or a federal judge was going to throw out the entire law. Now that the restrictions have been eased, about 13,000 registered sex offenders ? more than 70 percent of all Georgia sex offenders ? can live and work wherever they want.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/07.....z0uFkbPYq2

[?]

Video of a racist hate crime:

Nah. Racism just made it fun.

The thing there is that Captain Save-A-Ho didn't know that a woman getting her ass beat in public is, with so few exceptions it doesn't matter, so into that shit that she'll react violently to anyone who tries to stop it.

Of course it's wrong to say that, but if you live it, you get to not get stabbed in the face.

[John]

Don't confront someone unless you can back it up. It all goes back to conceal and carry. If he would have had a handgun, he could have done the world a favor by preventing those women from stealing anymore of the world's oxygen. And given the next one pause for thought before they went after someone in a car.

[The Gobbler]

Not that I have any right to complain, but...

Madison's highest paid city government employee last year wasn't the mayor. It wasn't the police chief. It wasn't even the head of Metro Transit.
It was bus driver John E. Nelson.
Nelson earned $159,258 in 2009, including $109,892 in overtime and other pay.
He and his colleague, driver Greg Tatman, who earned $125,598, were among the city's top 20 earners for 2009, city records show.
They're among the seven bus drivers who made more than $100,000 last year thanks to a union contract that lets the most senior drivers who have the highest base salaries get first crack at overtime.

http://host.madison.com/wsj/ne.....002e0.html

[R C Dean]

Well, to be fair, the bus drivers are providing a useful public service, unlike the mayor, police chief, and head of Metro Transit.

[John]

And I bet they worked their asses off in over time to get that money. That figure really doesn't bother me that much.

[MJL]

Might not turnover rates be an indication of how good a job is?

http://www.nobscot.com/survey/index.cfm

[Some Guy]

There needs to be an outright ban on public employee pensions, as well as all other forms of taxing the future to pay for the present.

The only thing that should be legal are bond offerings to pay for construction or one-time maintenance/renovations, which can never be extended past 30 years (or the expected life of the thing being built, whichever is less.)

[Robert]

Up until just hours ago I was recommending as the equalizer that everyone get gov't jobs. But now I read here that jurisdictions are cutting their staffs so they could afford their high rates of pay, so it appears they've cut off the equalizer option. The elite isn't interested in sharing.

[Drew]

Sure they are, as long as the money they're sharing is yours...

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[Rod]

As a retired federal govt employee I get $39K each year. During the 30 years that I worked for the Defense Dept I contributed a grand total of $64K toward my retirement. So if I live 30 years after retirement I will collect $1170K and my contribution will have been 5.5 percent of what I collected.

[fresno dan]

http://www.city-data.com/city/Bell-California.html

My own view is that the mayor, police chief, and council members of Bell have performed a very valuable public service - if they had been ripping off the public moderately, they would have remained unnoticed. This may very well be the spark that gets people to notice the benefits of public service, and that the old sterotype of low pay in exchange for job security is a crock - its good pay, exceptional benefits, and job security.

disclosure - I am pretty much the same as "Rod" - I am grateful for my pension when the time comes, but it won't be secure if we have a two tier system of over paid bureacrats while private sector citizens are totally abused by gubermint officials.

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There needs to be an outright ban on public employee pensions, as well as all other forms of taxing the future to pay for the present.

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