Government Workers Are Bleeding Taxpayers Dry

Here's a recent example from Philadelphia:

Camille Cates Barnett will get nearly $50,000 annually from the city pension fund for the rest of her life after June 30, when she leaves her post as Philadelphia's managing director after two years, five months, and 24 days.

On the same day that a City Council committee moved to close the loophole that allows short-time employees such as Barnett to buy credit in the city's pension fund based on public service elsewhere, the Board of Pensions and Retirement revealed that Barnett had done just that.

Barnett has paid $122,303 to become vested in the pension plan, according to the Mayor's Office and the Pension Board, a privilege unionized employees are entitled to only after serving five years.

She had already made some payments toward the buy-in this year, and paid the balance of $106,564 on April 15.

She is guaranteed to recoup her "investment" in less than three years,and after that it's all gravy, courtesy of the property owners of Philadelphia.

Closer to home we have:

The council is considering whether to fund an arbitrator’s award, which gives jakes 16.5 percent raises over four years, including a 2.5 percent hike for drug testing. City officials say the raises are boosted to 19 percent with longevity bonuses.

Firefighters have been without a pay raise since 2006. Under the union’s new offer, the 2.5 percent raise for drug testing would be deferred until June 30, 2011, which could save the city up to $6 million in salaries and overtime.

The sweetener 2.5% raise for submitting to drug testing was thrown in by the supposedly impartial arbitrator at the last minute. Random drug testing is becoming a routine requirement in many occupations and shouldn't be treated as a way to boost pay. The fact is that the public has the right to expect that its employees are not impaired when they are on the job. Mayor Menino will fold and take the deal, but he shouldn't.

Teachers, Cops and firefighters because of the nature of their jobs are considered untouchable. Basically, whatever they want they get and the rest of the government union folks ride their coat-tails to ever higher pay and benefits. It's time to draw a line in the sand and tell Ed Kelly that simply deferring a pay raise is unacceptable, the raise should be scrapped entirely.

Boston has a proud history and it's time to add a new chapter. It's time to stand up to the public unions before their pay and benefits bankrupt our cities and towns, our state and eventually our nation.