Saturday, April 05, 2008

Hold the Presses!!


Another unsavory, former Mass employee has a state pension. Rewrite the page-one headline!

Is it just me, or has state pensions joined anti-immigration hate speech as the third rail of Massachusetts politics? Former state employees of 20 years or more who have a pension shouldn't be a front-page story in the Boston Globe. There are soldiers dying in Iraq for a war the President lied about. Let's get a grip.

7 comments:

Tom said...

see video: See Body of War, Hear Body of War
Help Phil Donahue promote this important movie, directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, send this video link to others to make people aware of Tomas Young's story. Buy Tomas Young's double album and help the cause:
http://representativepress.googlepages.com/bodyofwar

Anonymous said...

Don't forget gambling. Every year we get a faux-outraged article about NCAA or Super Bowl pools in courthouses, schools, or police stations. Public employees bet on sports! Shocking!

Especially incisive given journalists' well known penchant for putting up an ante.

Anonymous said...

Maybe if you viewed this for what it's worth instead of yelling FAKE NEWS!!! this kind of shit wouldn't be going on and Deval wouldn't have to push for casinos to fill holes in the budget.

Ryan said...

I've explained the "Fake News" tag before. You seemed fine with it then. http://ryanpadams.blogspot.com/2007/08/fake-news-tag.html

Anonymous said...

In your next post you talk about corporate taxes, that's not about the war. We need someone to point out the excesses that are allowed under the state retirement systems. Remember all the perks Billy Bulger got when he left, and then he sued later to get more.

Ryan said...

No. State employees pay vast sums into their pensions and, for the duration of their service to the state, are paid a paltry sum compared to the private sector. Many of these media-craven cases include state workers who could leave the public sector and get a high 6 or even 7 figure salary easy.

It's pretty stupid attacking retired peoples' pensions. They're neither the problems, nor on the path to the solution of our budgetary woes. It's just picking on middle class America and, honestly, I'm quite tired of it. Pensions are the new third rail of Massachusetts politics.

Anonymous said...

Just curious Ryan, are you working full time paying taxes yet? I'm not being a wise-a-- just curious about your perspective on things.

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