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Comments

1. #1
   On May 27th, 2009 at 5:56 pm, Rorschach said:

   So what exactly would a “Special Nurse” be doing for $350,000 a year one wonders?

2. #2
   On May 27th, 2009 at 5:56 pm, Netfest said:

   Do these numbers include benefits and pension? Run them with the benefits & pension, and learn why California is going under.

3. #3
   On May 27th, 2009 at 5:58 pm, Freddy said:

   And of course, here in California, some of us just got a notice for yet another election in an effort to sell some more ‘local’ bonds since the greedy state is stealing from the cities and counties. No doubt, this will help considerably!

4. #4
   On May 27th, 2009 at 6:01 pm, AlohaGuy said:

   So what exactly would a “Special Nurse” be doing for $350,000 a year one wonders?

   Something tells me Gavin Newsome would know…

5. #5
   On May 27th, 2009 at 6:06 pm, Ragspierre said:

   http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/26/fdic-treasury-banks-too-big-to-fail-opinions-columnists-sheila-bair.html

   This guy is freaking brilliant…! He agrees with me.

   The term “too big to fail” should lead anyone who utters it to be “re-educated” around the head and shoulders.

   ANY federal money going to bail out this nest of vipers in CA should be out of the question!

6. #6
   On May 27th, 2009 at 6:08 pm, William Amos said:

   On May 27th, 2009 at 5:56 pm, Rorschach said:
   So what exactly would a “Special Nurse” be doing for $350,000 a year one wonders?

   San Fransisco Botox treatments ?

7. #7
   On May 27th, 2009 at 6:09 pm, California Red said:

   As a California citizen I desperately hope that the Federal Giverment does not bail us out. We made this bed and it is time to lie in it. If the Fed bail us out it will cover up the true cost of liberal feel good policies and big union control that are bankrupting the state.

8. #8
   On May 27th, 2009 at 6:13 pm, reutersrutter said:

   Be careful what you say! Obama, “lawyers in touchy cases could be disbarred” #:)

9. #9
   On May 27th, 2009 at 6:16 pm, vsatt said:

   I always wondered how those young CA couples on House Hunters were able to buy $800,000+ homes with neither of them being doctors or lawyers. Now I know.

10. #10
    On May 27th, 2009 at 6:17 pm, LoneRanger said:

    I shook the dust of California off my boots 15 years ago and it took two years to convince the tax people that I now lived on another coast. I have never lived in any other state that was so intent on waging war against its citizens.

11. #11
    On May 27th, 2009 at 6:20 pm, Hangfire said:

    I met a “Special Nurse” in Bangkok a long time ago, and she probably made close to $200,000 a year.

12. #12
    On May 27th, 2009 at 6:22 pm, pecze said:

    Maybe Michelle O is on to something by telling us to go into public service.

13. #13
    On May 27th, 2009 at 6:35 pm, robhic said:

    “On May 27th, 2009 at 5:56 pm, Rorschach said:

    So what exactly would a “Special Nurse” be doing for $350,000 a year one wonders?”

    Happy ending?

14. #14
    On May 27th, 2009 at 6:38 pm, katherine. said:

    to be clear…I wanted to point out these are San Francisco CITY employees (from 2007)….not state employees. Big difference.

15. #15
    On May 27th, 2009 at 6:39 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    Those are SF salaries, click the links near the bottom for California and Univ of Cal salaries. How about $1,979,362 as a Professor of Medicine?

16. #16
    On May 27th, 2009 at 6:44 pm, Ragspierre said:

    Aloha:

    I was wondering who are all those chiefs are that need so much dental work…

17. #17
    On May 27th, 2009 at 6:46 pm, pecze said:

    Wow…18 of the top paid state employees work in some fashion with various retirement plans. I added them all up from the list, and those guys made over 8 million per year for an average salary of almost 450k.

18. #18
    On May 27th, 2009 at 6:47 pm, tonyr951 said:

    Ha, that’s peanuts compared to what you make in the University of California School System:

    LINK

    Here’s another list that shows CA state workers pulling in over 500k annually:

    LINK

19. #19
    On May 27th, 2009 at 6:53 pm, Ralph Gizzip said:

    On May 27th, 2009 at 5:56 pm, Rorschach said:

    So what exactly would a “Special Nurse” be doing for $350,000 a year one wonders?

    She’s probably the head nurse.

20. #20
    On May 27th, 2009 at 6:54 pm, hawkeye54 said:

    I met a “Special Nurse” in Bangkok a long time ago, and she probably made close to $200,000 a year.

    I once saw a “Special Nurse” featured in Playboy.

    Say, there was an article about the top 100 L.A. city pension abusers, earners, most raking in $100K + annually, in one of the local papers. Former police chief and current councilman Bernard Parks topped the list @ $22,000/mo. It ain’t just the state.

21. #21
    On May 27th, 2009 at 6:57 pm, tonyr951 said:

    In tax year 2007, the State of California had more than 38,000 full-time employees with total pay over $100,000. More than 100 state workers earned more than $100,000 just in overtime pay. Others boosted their regular pay with bonuses, premium pay, lump sum payouts and other extra earnings. Find out who they are, what departments they worked for and how much they made by searching the database below.

    SEARCH

22. #22
    On May 27th, 2009 at 7:00 pm, zorro said:

    Now add all that up with the money stolen by catering to the illegal alien vote. What a scam.

    No bail out for the states. Balance your own budget!

23. #23
    On May 27th, 2009 at 7:06 pm, Southpaw said:

    Well, now the rest of you know why those of us fiscal conservatives in the state died an unpleasant death a long time ago.

    The government and public policies in the state of California over the past 30 years: FAILURE.

    Do not bail out this mess.

24. #24
    On May 27th, 2009 at 7:12 pm, DagneyT said:

    I have a fellow alumni from my So Cal high school who told me at our 40th class reunion (5 years ago) that her neighbor was a retired fireman, who moved out of state because he felt guilty about his 6-figure retirement paycheck. Go figure.

    Oh well, maybe it’s just leftist guilt?

    Bottom line, they now live in either Vegas or Phx! Not CA!

25. #25
    On May 27th, 2009 at 7:20 pm, Southpaw said:

    Keep in mind, rather than address these extreme abuses of taxpayer money, the governator and the politicians are prepared to cut funding to the truly needy, cut school programs like music and athletics, and release 30,000 prisoners onto the streets.

    But the illegal aliens get to keep their share of the resources. Sweet, huh?

26. #26
    On May 27th, 2009 at 7:25 pm, tarpon said:

    Meanwhile the peasants labor for $50 grand a year. ISn’t this how it always works out.

27. #27
    On May 27th, 2009 at 7:29 pm, CJ said:

    If non-California taxpayers bail out California, they will have a vested interest in the way California politicians spend the money. Shouldn’t the residents of the other 49 states therefore be allowed to vote in California elections? Is it taxation without representation if my tax dollars go to politicians for whom I cannot vote?

    And what about all those nice services California residents get that I currently don’t qualify for? Shouldn’t I, as a contributor to the California budget, also be eligible for those services? For example, shouldn’t my children be eligible for in-state tuition if my tax dollars are paying for the running of California state universities?

28. #28
    On May 27th, 2009 at 7:37 pm, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

    Why not bail out the People’s Republic Kalifornica? Those states who have lived within their means just need to loan their employee’s pension funds to Arnold-what is left of the pension funds after the devaluation of Chrysler and GM bonds.

    And I am sure a $40,000 a year Arizona Highway Patrolman would be glad to take a 15% cut to fund the People’s Republic Kalifornica’s Green Studies program, the Transgender Esteem project or any of the other wacky ideas Moonbeam and friends think of-perhaps a Botox Detox Center in San Francisco or a new state of the art bath house.

    I now await Sean Penn’s position paper on the subject.

29. #29
    On May 27th, 2009 at 7:43 pm, WisCon said:

    That is just awful. These scumbag Democrats feel the need to keep upping the minimum wage and taxes which hurt businesses, and they allow public officials to make salaries like these?

    NO FREAKING BAILOUT.

30. #30
    On May 27th, 2009 at 8:14 pm, cthelight said:

    Double EXPLITIVE…wow

31. #31
    On May 27th, 2009 at 8:15 pm, BlameAmericaLast said:

    On May 27th, 2009 at 6:38 pm, katherine. said:

    to be clear…I wanted to point out these are San Francisco CITY employees (from 2007)….not state employees. Big difference.

    Oh yeah, and they have rent control in San Francisco — EVERY rental place. No exceptions. They tried to change that a year or so ago, and it failed. So, a fat salary, pension and benefits and cheap rent.

    Typical liberals.

32. #32
    On May 27th, 2009 at 8:21 pm, BlameAmericaLast said:

    Here’s a breakdown of the Nurse’s pay (from the SFGATE.com website)

    Employee name CHRISTIAN KITCHIN,SPECIAL NURSE
    Department DPH-Community Health Network
    Regular pay $117,262
    Overtime pay $216,277
    Other pay $16,785
    Total pay $350,324

    Looks like that double-time pay is really paying off! Not sure what the category “other pay” means, but this guy must work an extra 36 hours or more a week @ double-time, in addition to working a regular 40 hour workweek.

33. #33
    On May 27th, 2009 at 8:33 pm, ThackerAgency said:

    wow.

    That is absolutely amazing. I can’t believe those salaries aren’t cut in half. These guys probably led the charge against what the wall street guys got paid.

    No way a government official should make that much. That’s why everything is so expensive there. . . it’s artificially inflated.

34. #34
    On May 27th, 2009 at 9:16 pm, AlohaGuy said:

    I was wondering who are all those chiefs are that need so much dental work…

    One guy is a prison dentist – probably full-time work there…

35. #35
    On May 27th, 2009 at 9:17 pm, rightisright said:

    Can’t hardly imagine why Khalifoniea is broke and that’s without mentioning hundred of millions spent on illegal aliens every year. Is it any wonder all the cities, counties, states and the federal giverment are in financial trouble? I have to wonder do these blue government politicians and employees run their personal budgets in the same manner? Oh yeah, probably so, I forgot about Fannie, Freddie and the banking collapse in the wealthiest country in history. Unbelievable, I want my country back and in 50 pieces not 57 or 60 or how ever many that intellectual Odopey thinks there is.

36. #36
    On May 27th, 2009 at 9:25 pm, frontierguy said:

    This “special nurse”, male, San Francisco, probably an LPN and not an RN, this guy works at the AIDS clinic (Community Health, think about it). He gets paid 350k plus a year to be a flabotomist (Don’t know how to spell it and not looking it up) and tell people that they should be careful when having sex. This is where I think I may be all for an illegal taking his job so we can get the work done cheaper. to boot, California raised my taxes this year…California deserves to fail.

37. #37
    On May 27th, 2009 at 9:28 pm, Republicanvet said:

    On May 27th, 2009 at 5:56 pm, Rorschach said:

    So what exactly would a “Special Nurse” be doing for $350,000 a year one wonders?

    “Special” things 350,000 times?

    …all for her fellow union members I bet.

38. #38
    On May 27th, 2009 at 9:32 pm, rightisright said:

    If the Fed bail us out it will cover up the true cost of liberal feel good policies and big union control that are bankrupting the state.

    the state and the Federal Givernment

39. #39
    On May 27th, 2009 at 9:35 pm, kardinal said:

    I work in So-Cal law enforcement I can tell you that not every Officer/Deputy is raking in that kind of dough. I know some of us did well when OT was plentiful, but $200+k a year? I can see that for a police chief or sheriff of a large city or county like LA, SB or Riverside but line staff making that much? That sounds a little weird. But, it is San Francisco so who knows. Same with firefighters, I mean they make good money, but it’s not six figures. Captain, sure, BC’s too. I do remember two deputies that, on a bet, worked 340 or say days one year. They made more than the sheriff. Policy changed after that.

40. #40
    On May 27th, 2009 at 9:37 pm, Cicero said:

    Michelle, they make so much because government service attracts the very best people in their fields.

    Now excuse me while I SNORT

41. #41
    On May 27th, 2009 at 9:38 pm, Republicanvet said:

    On May 27th, 2009 at 7:29 pm, CJ said:

    And what about all those nice services California residents get that I currently don’t qualify for? Shouldn’t I, as a contributor to the California budget, also be eligible for those services?

    Sure….once you move to California and start paying even more taxes.

42. #42
    On May 27th, 2009 at 9:42 pm, kardinal said:

    What’s really killing the state is the retirement benefits that have been extended just about every public employee. It used to be that cops and firemen “safety retirement” or 30% at 50. It was a retirement plan that was intended to take care of folks who took on a risky career and who statistically, rarely made it to retirement. Before we knew it, EVERYONE got sweet deals. 3% @50 means you get 3% for every year worked. So someone who does 30 years on the department get 90% of his/her salary at 50 or older. No, overtime does not count. The number of cops in so cal who last 30 years on the job are few. The number of cubicle drones that last 30 years are plenty.

43. #43
    On May 27th, 2009 at 9:57 pm, Tennessee Dave said:

    Compare your salary to a California public employee’s

    UH……the paycharts didn’t go that low.

44. #44
    On May 27th, 2009 at 9:58 pm, jangar said:

    And they want you to bail them out?

    K.M.A.

    California is forever off the list of places to vacation.

    kardinal said:
    I work in So-Cal law enforcement I can tell you that not every Officer/Deputy is raking in that kind of dough

    Just depends on which branch of state government you work for. Some are seen as more valuable than others. And when the threat is made to cut the budget, it’s the essential services that get threatened first. Positions that are created out of thin air for friends and associates (especially those that have a knack at lobbying) are the ones last in line to cut. CA is a micro-example of the pitiful state of DC politics. Let both burn down and we’ll all be better off.

    Like I said…K.M.A.

45. #45
    On May 27th, 2009 at 10:10 pm, Speakup said:

    Salary
    Cadet – $4,030 – $5,064

46. #46
    On May 27th, 2009 at 10:36 pm, in_awe said:

    Then there are the holidays:

    For state employees the holiday season never seems to end. Their first relief from the back-to-work grind comes in January with Martin Luther King Day.

    In February, they get two holidays four days apart: Lincoln’s birthday and Washington’s birthday. Then they get off on Cesar Chavez Day on March 31.

    Almost all wage earners — private and public — get paid holidays on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. But in the fall, state workers also sneak in Columbus Day and Veterans Day. The day after Thanksgiving counts as a state holiday as well.

    Add in one “personal holiday” and the annual total for state employees is 14.

    Most of state government shuts down on seven declared holidays that the private sector works. LA Times January 15, 2009

    Schwarzenegger proposed lopping off two paid holidays, Lincoln and Columbus days, reducing the total to 12. That’s closer to what other states offer but still more generous than the federal government, which grants workers 10. The private sector averages eight.

    Schwarzenegger figured he’d save the state $116 million over 18 months but the Dems in the legislature told him no.

    He suggested all state workers take 2 unpaid days off each month (a 10% reduction in pay) that would save the state $1.3B over 15 months and avoid the possibility of layoffs. The Service Employees International Union and other unions told him to pound sand.

    Unfortunately, the state is prohibited from declaring bankruptcy and so there is no easy way to force renegotiation of worker compensation. And Obama came in and told Arnold that since the state is accepting federal dollars he can’t cut back on services.

    The future of the federal government cost structure is being written in CA. Take note.

    Me? I’m praying I can land one of those cushy civil service jobs…

47. #47
    On May 27th, 2009 at 10:37 pm, Pasadena Phil said:

    There is NO ONE in California who expects the feds to bail out the state. Arnold tried to sell Barry on getting the Treasury to guarantee CA muni bonds but even that is not likely to happen. The credit rating on Treasuries is on the brink of downgrade and opening the Pandora’s box of bailing out CA or guaranteeing our debt could push that AAA rating over the edge so what would be the value of a Treasury guarantee?

    After today’s Treasury bond market performance, the reality that we won’t be able to print so much money without triggering hyper-inflation is finally setting in. With all of the market manipulation by banks buying each others’ stocks via their proxies mutual funds buy and financed by TARP money while regulators tell everyone to keep quiet about it, and with the IMF manipulating the price of gold, investors are finding other avenues like buying oil, copper and other commodities. Meanwhile the dollar is once again falling and that is spooking foreigners into selling their longer maturity US Treasuries.

    The wheels are flying off of the bailout wagon. And tomorrow, the Treasury is going to be auctioning off about $60B more 7-yr notes. Look out below.

48. #48
    On May 27th, 2009 at 10:47 pm, vickisoup said:

    These are San Francisco employees; not State employees.

49. #49
    On May 27th, 2009 at 10:48 pm, in_awe said:

    Just a note – since 1985 the taxpayers of CA have been net contributors of income taxes to the federal government. The latest number I saw reported that CA got $0.76 back for every $1.00 sent to Washington D.C.

    So, for the past 23 years taxpayers in CA have been subsidizing the other 49 states…

    Having said that, as a CA taxpayer I do not want a federal bailout – but the federal government should pony up the $10B per year we spend on providing services to illegal immigrants in CA. (Yes, $100B in the past decade CA taxpayers have paid because the federal gov’t refuses to secure our borders!) It wouldn’t balance our budget, but it would make a sizable dent in the shortfall.

50. #50
    On May 27th, 2009 at 10:53 pm, jangar said:

    The wheels are flying off of the bailout wagon. And tomorrow, the Treasury is going to be auctioning off about $60B more 7-yr notes. Look out below.

    When will Obama use Americans as collateral? He’s laid claim to just about everything else.

51. #51
    On May 27th, 2009 at 10:56 pm, kahall said:

    Great. I realize that it cost a bit more to live in CA but good lord.

52. #52
    On May 27th, 2009 at 10:56 pm, jangar said:

    Meanwhile, the hungry beast is growling.

    Voters really need to get their heads on straight and take issue at the ballot boxes from now on.

53. #53
    On May 27th, 2009 at 10:57 pm, frontierguy said:

    (Yes, $100B in the past decade CA taxpayers have paid because the federal gov’t refuses to secure our borders!)

    LOL, when you have a state that advertises services and benefits for the illegals to go there. When the state actively states that they have “safe” zones where they refuse to cooperate with the feds when it comes to immigration, then no, California does not get to have it both ways. If California cooperated with the feds, stopped providing services to people illegally in the country, stop with the come one come all mentality that fills up its prisons, then no, California gets what it deserves.

54. #54
    On May 27th, 2009 at 11:06 pm, frontierguy said:

    oh, in awe, sorry, i agree with everything else you said (I accidentally deleted half of my post), I do not blame Arnold, I blame California voters. Arnold did what they wanted and that was a spend big governor who stayed out of union’s business. Please take note Americans, this is what you are going to get for the whole country.

55. #55
    On May 27th, 2009 at 11:31 pm, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

    Schwarzenegger proposed lopping off two paid holidays, Lincoln and Columbus days

    13 paid holidays (plus 1 floating holiday) for State of California workers- rather generous for anyone I would think. Oh well Kaliforica’s taxes and regulations caused our largest supplier to move to Arizona and save us tens of thousands of dollars a year in freight.

    They moved on a “slip”. They built their operation here and parceled out the business on a diminishing inventory basis over a matter of months. On a Friday they informed the Teamsters Union and the State Compensation fund that XYZ Suppliers Kalifornica was closing and going out of business. All bills, taxes, fees and salary commitments were paid but they were out of the Union contract and Kalifornica.
    All service contracts and remaining inventory were sold to XYZ Suppliers Arizona–I imagine the lawyers made out like bandits. More than a thousand families lost their jobs but their were well paid jobs they lost.

    Thanks Kalifornica!

56. #56
    On May 27th, 2009 at 11:56 pm, atheling said:

    OT, but good – leave it to the Brits:

    If Barack Obama was a Serial Killer, Would the US Media Consider it a Story?

57. #57
    On May 27th, 2009 at 11:58 pm, atheling said:

    Oops, it’s from The Onion.

58. #58
    On May 28th, 2009 at 3:41 am, cabrerski said:

    SF police inspectors make more than $200K…you think Dirty Harry would have been a better dresser.

59. #59
    On May 28th, 2009 at 4:41 am, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

    atheling said:

    OT, but good – leave it to the Brits:
    atheling said:

    Oops, it’s from The Onion.

    It’s about the difficulty that America’s brown-nosing liberal media might have in reporting an unflattering story about Obama

    It seems some of the Brits are challenging the story as not true! Damn I love the Onion!

60. #60
    On May 28th, 2009 at 5:50 am, tpitman said:

    For state employees the holiday season never seems to end. Their first relief from the back-to-work grind comes in January with Martin Luther King Day.

    In February, they get two holidays four days apart: Lincoln’s birthday and Washington’s birthday. Then they get off on Cesar Chavez Day on March 31.

    Almost all wage earners — private and public — get paid holidays on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. But in the fall, state workers also sneak in Columbus Day and Veterans Day. The day after Thanksgiving counts as a state holiday as well.

    Add in one “personal holiday” and the annual total for state employees is 14.

    Most of state government shuts down on seven declared holidays that the private sector works. LA Times January 15, 2009

    They’ve got to give Veteran’s Day off to give them ample time to protest at their local Marine Recruitment Office.

61. #61
    On May 28th, 2009 at 6:19 am, RetFireman said:

    DANG!!!! What fire department were these guys working for? Heck, before I got broken and made to go home, I was making no where near what the one fireman they listed was making. Especially as it is supposedly before overtime and such.

    We had some guys who were just frontline firemen no Capt., A/O, or Chief) who were making over 6 figures a year, (135,000-150,000) but they were working every single possible overtime shift they could. They signed up for it every 4 day and took as much as was offered. One guy would even go out on vacation, and pick up shifts while he was out. They worked constantly and STILL did not approach that amount. Even our Chiefs were no where near those amounts.

    I can only assume those were from San Francisco, L.A. or something like that. Those depts. are notorious for being outrageously paid.

    As for CHP, they don’t reach those amounts either. They highest paid Law Enforcement in Calif. is the CDC guards. Their union has some mighty sweet contracts.

62. #62
    On May 28th, 2009 at 8:30 am, jbh45 said:

    As a tax-paying Californian who is being squeezed to death….these state salaries really piss me off. CUT CUT CUT! If any of these “chiefs” want to keep their level of salary, publicly justify it in front of a bi-partisan group of TAXPAYERS!

63. #63
    On May 28th, 2009 at 8:33 am, Veretax said:

    The sad part is in my home state of West Virginia the average income isn’t even a tenth of the lowest of those salaries.

64. #64
    On May 28th, 2009 at 8:48 am, Paul Revere said:

    That’s more than I’d make in a decade. Must be nice!

65. #65
    On May 28th, 2009 at 9:01 am, ArizonaNeanderthal said:

    Every two and four years the good people of Califorica have a chance to vote out the bums who caused this mess–from City Council, School Board, County Commissions to the Capitol and Foreigner in Chief.

    As with my state they have some local board elections with a turn out of +/- 8% of registered voters. It is the activist and public employee unions making up too big a part of that 8%.

    In a state with a huge welfare roll, public employee unions and wacked out greens and reds the rest of the people best get off their dead ass and work for and vote for the adults. A 21% turn out for the propositions is not encouraging. Or they can say “Nothing can be done” which becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.

    And when they have the Merit Retention vote on judges vote NO on all of them. Damn people it is your state.

66. #66
    On May 28th, 2009 at 9:06 am, RedDog said:

    Sadly, many more states have a similar gravy train. I have a “conservative” friend in Florida who is outspokenly conservative until you talk against his Florida state union retirement contract.

    Disturbing to say the least.

67. #67
    On May 28th, 2009 at 9:08 am, diggafromdover said:

    And it’s all so diverse. I love it. I’ll bet there aren’t 5 straight white men in the lot of them.

68. #68
    On May 28th, 2009 at 9:16 am, tre said:

    I have a Bachelor degree in electronics, and am making only about 50k a year.

    Those people retire with those good salaries, then move to places like Arizona, and here in Oklahoma, and start “Californicating” those places.

69. #69
    On May 28th, 2009 at 9:58 am, englishqueen01 said:

    Let’s see…

    $28k/year…that means some of these people make 10x my salary.

    If either my husband or I made that much, the other would be a stay-at-home parent. Thankyouverymuch.

70. #70
    On May 28th, 2009 at 10:03 am, stillontheroad said:

    tre said:

    Same here. After my first layoff – I went to CA about 6 years ago and lived there for 2 before coming back to Kansas. I still receive threats from the DMV about renewing my registration for my car, twice I have written back saying I do not live there. I even had one letter threatening to attach my bank account to pay this.

71. #71
    On May 28th, 2009 at 10:41 am, cheapseat said:

    it’s the pensions folks. a 20 year old becomes a california firefighter, by fifty he recieves 90% of his pay for the rest of his life. even gm didn’t give out that lucrative a pension. and the theory that 30 years in due to death and disability as a fireman is based on statistics not seen in this country since the fifties. average life expectancy today, 78 years, what percentage of firefighters in america today are killed on the job. if it’s 1/10 of 1% i would be amazed. and let’s not get into injuries/disabilities because hangnails are 30% disabilities when dealing with police and firefighters unions. ever heard of that dreaded plague on america called asthma, which of course we used to call allergies. but then we never had adhd, carpal tunnel syndrome, or addictions to everything from sex and gambling, to facebook viewing. the rise of sociologists and psychologists.

72. #72
    On May 28th, 2009 at 10:43 am, tre said:

    On May 28th, 2009 at 10:03 am, stillontheroad

    Well, CA is broke. They’ve gotta find SOME way to get some money! So, they’re reduced to trying to extort protection money from non-residents.

73. #73
    On May 28th, 2009 at 10:50 am, Teddy Kennedy said:

    Errah, why doesn’t the gooberinator change all retirees benefits to a flat rate per employee as a start. It seems unlikely that he has the cajonnes to do something this forward thinking.

74. #74
    On May 28th, 2009 at 11:03 am, stillontheroad said:

    tre said:
    You think thats bad – a friend of mine sent her daughter to UCSD, payed all the tuition and fees and began receiving letters asking for 300 to 400 dollar donations to help with parking.

75. #75
    On May 28th, 2009 at 11:11 am, cabrerski said:

    So the “Special Nurse” is making nearly three times the salary by putting enough overtime. I have several lines of thought on that:

    1. Is anyone really checking the time card versus the work performed? Is this person on the clock when sleeping at home?

    2. At what point does it become more economically viable for California to see if they can hire another person, have no overtime, and realize some savings?

    3. Awfully cruel of a sensitive state like California to make this person work as much as they do? When was slavery brought back in fashion? Aren’t they afraid of burning this person out, then having to pay workmen’s comp for stress for the rest of this worker’s life?

    4. The “Special Nurse” has got to be an in-law or sleeping with some big poliical cheese. Who is it…really? And if so, what kind of kickbacks are paid to aquire this kind of dough?

    5. Can we see the expense reports these people file as well? When they spend this much time at the trough, they usually find additional ways to spend more time.

76. #76
    On May 28th, 2009 at 11:19 am, Ilovemycountry said:

    How can you compare cooking moonshine for a living to running the Administrative Services Department of the world 5th largest economy?

77. #77
    On May 28th, 2009 at 11:39 am, DBNinKY said:

    How can you compare cooking moonshine for a living to running the Administrative Services Department of the world 5th largest economy?

    Do you have any idea of just how much a half-quart of ‘shine goes for these days? Those guys make a mint!

78. #78
    On May 28th, 2009 at 11:39 am, kardinal said:

    A special nurse is more than likely the director of some city department. Disgustingly overpaid, but still not the norm. As mentioned before, a 20 year old can get hired as a firefighter and retire at 50. Yeah technically true, but I know for a fact that 20 year olds don’t get hired by fire agencies in California. Maybe CDF or the FS but that’s seasonal work on a Hotshot crew or cutting line. Firefighting is way too competitive. The CDC, yeah they got hooked up pretty good, but I not the highest paid in the state.I think CO’s nationwide should be paid better but that’s another topic. Agencies like LA and San Diego aren’t paid nearly as much as the smaller departments like Pasadena, Ontario, or the beach communities.

    I earn $70k a year after 10 years on the job and I’m topped out at my rank. Sounds like a lot but it’s not when you factor in cost of living and such. My wife and I live comfortably but only because we budget and spend our money wisely. We were schooled by Dave Ramsey. Most others in Cali live to check to check. There is an obsession with materialism here that I have not seen anywhere else in the country, save for Manhattan. Please don’t right us all off, there are some good folks here and I think their voices are being heard. As for me, I want out. Texas is on my radar and I when I get there, I promise not to Kaliforniacate anything. I will miss In-N-Out Burger though.

79. #79
    On May 28th, 2009 at 11:42 am, RetFireman said:

    We still lose over 100 firemen a year to Line of Duty Deaths. And the life expectancy is 5 years after retirement. And do you really want to make he injury claims that you are?

80. #80
    On May 28th, 2009 at 11:47 am, Jim M. said:

    The salary levels are indeed shocking. But, I sit here and wonder just what their future exposure is going to be in terms of retirement and retiree health benefits.

    General Motors got to the point to where over $1000 on every new car sold went just to cover retiree health benefits. Given the impending retirement boom for the baby boomers, I wonder just how big California’s exposure is going to be.

81. #81
    On May 28th, 2009 at 12:01 pm, emjem24 said:

    California’s paid public servants are more like public prostitutes. These people are so shameless, and know they’re getting OVERPAID, yet don’t seem to care that the average taxpayer is continually raped to pay for their positions. And people wonder WHY CA is BANKRUPT?

    It really says something for a country when public servants are paid too much and its union continues to shill for their lifestyle and pad the coffers of several Dem congress critters, yet we can only pay our military members a fraction of what these state employees get? No wonder Dems’ lips are eternally stuck to the arse of the unions. Overpaid union workers+unsound fiscal policy= corrupt and bankrupt government.

    Oh, my… LGM would be proud. Is this the change and transparency we can believe in? How ’bout fairness and equality?
    And the Dems think that the bonuses of certain Wall Street executives was unjustified? Wow… hypocrisy in action I guess.

82. #82
    On May 28th, 2009 at 12:32 pm, tiredofit08 said:

    On May 27th, 2009 at 5:56 pm, Rorschach said:

    So what exactly would a “Special Nurse” be doing for $350,000 a year one wonders?

    on staff for the politicians/governor for whatever it is they need?? I can’t think of a thing having spent some time as a medic in the AF what could possibly be worth that much…some physicians don’t make that much…give me a break…

83. #83
    On May 28th, 2009 at 12:32 pm, tre said:

    On May 28th, 2009 at 11:03 am, stillontheroad

    If not for the fact that I dream of traveling the entire length of Route 66, which ends in LA, someday, I see no reason to ever go to CA.

    Oh, and the Lincoln Highway ends in San Fransicko. I’d like to travel the Lincoln Highway someday too.

84. #84
    On May 28th, 2009 at 1:02 pm, stillontheroad said:

    tre said:

    The 1 Highway along the coast is a great trip also. Once you get through San Fran that is

85. #85
    On May 28th, 2009 at 1:40 pm, cheapseat said:

    ret fireman; so 100 die per year, are there more than 100,000 firemen in the u.s. 100,000 x .1% = 100. i’m sure california has more than 100,000 firemen, so firefighters are a hell of a lot safer than construction workers. and yes, i will claim a lot of police/firefighters disability out on unprovable injuries, chronic back ache, etc. who doesn’t have chronic back ache? who doesn’t have arthritis? due to my military service and injuries sustained there i could recieve disability, but i have worked for 35 years taking aspirin and naproxin sodium. cowboy up.

86. #86
    On May 28th, 2009 at 1:52 pm, Ron C said:

    “California legislators get a per diem, worth $35,000 a year, TAX FREE. They also get $400 a month towards a car, a gas card for free gas, and much more.”

    “At the same time they have created a $120 billion debt and almost $100 billion deficit in five years. If the voters won’t throw them out the least we can do is cut off their benefits. They created prevailing wage and AB 32 policies meant to kill your job, then you are expected to give them a free car!”

    Above quotes from Steve Frank who keeps a sharp eye on the doings of CA criminals in office.

87. #87
    On May 28th, 2009 at 4:14 pm, Papa Louie said:

    “Special Nurse:” $350,000+
    Municipal railway manager: $325,000+
    “Administrative services” department head: $280,000+

    Those salaries? Oh, they’re just um, er, ah, er um retention bonuses. Yeah, that’s it, retention bonuses, like the ones given out at Merrill Lynch.

    With all the rich people leaving the state to avoid higher taxes, something had to be done to keep the people who got us into this mess from leaving too. Besides, with all the Hollywood weirdos, including the Governator, running around the state, don’t these people deserve some kind of extra compensation?

    Next, you’ll be asking why California doesn’t fix their budget woes by replacing all these high paid bureaucrats with cheap labor from across the border. Actually, I’d never thought of that before. It might be a good idea. They would certainly have more “empathy” for the common man than some privileged white college grad with a fancy title. And isn’t that the number one qualification now days for any job in Obamaland?

88. #88
    On May 28th, 2009 at 4:21 pm, T-Bone said:

    Be careful about passing judgement on salary levels. After all, Obama wants to be the “Decider” in how much anyone should make. If he thinks you make to much and the janitor makes too little, he will take from you and give to the janitor. Thats redistribution after all. He also wants to set the comp level of corporate CEOS. Why not state employees? And how about A-Rod or Manny Ramirez playing baseball and earning $25 million a year? I think thats too much also.

    However, when you pay people certain amounts and they drive they business into bankruptcy, then I think they may be getting more than they should.

    That goes for State workers and United Auto Workers union members. The market will determine it. Not some political hack in D.C. that has alternative motives (votes). No bailout please. Let them restructure their costs to be in line with their revenues.

89. #89
    On May 29th, 2009 at 3:17 am, RetFireman said:

    Cheap, you really do not know what you are talking about and are coming across as such.

    Chronic back ache? Let me tell you about that when you are moving some 500 pound slug who fell down and can’t get up. Or one that is so huge that you need to take everything out of the ambulance and slide them onto the floor with a salvage cover. Or maybe after a ceiling collapses on you. How about falling through a floor or roof? Or maybe after you put on the 100+ pounds of equipment and then put a High Rise Pack on your shoulder or over your bottle and climb 40+ floors.

    I could go on. My injury has left me crippled for life. FOR LIFE. You gonna tell me that I don’t deserve the paltry amount I now have to live on while being told that the city I worked for refuses to care for or treat it? Maybe you would like to tell my kids your little theory about back problems. They would love to hear you explain to them about all the things that they have missed out on because of a paltry little sore back. Or maybe my estranged wife who had to deal with what she had to deal with on her end until it got to be too much.

    You want me to go on?

    Ort maybe you would like me to talk to you about the exposure issues. Maybe you would like to hear about the MRSA, the AIDS, the rare cancers that firemen come down woth because of all the exposures to chemicals and other crap we are forced to breathe and come into contact with. I have two widows that would LOVE to hear your version as to why their husbands had to die from a rare, incurable stomach cancer, or from a rare, incurable brain tumor.

    Hey, I know, why don’t you talk to everyone about what the stress of being jolted out of whatever you are doing, especially on the rare chances it is sleep, by a loud alarm, making you go from 0-100 mph instantly, 10-30 times a day. Maybe you would like to talk about what that does to the person’s heart and nervous system.

    I called it LODD deaths. There are far more that die as a result of things that happened on the job, but took a lot longer. Then there is the fighting that goes on just to be treated and taken care of by the departments and municipalities who like to say things like, “Pre-Existing Condition” even after you passed the rigid pre-employment physical without any “pre-existing” anything?

    You ahve no idea what you are speaking of, and are coming across as someone who is nothing more than jealous, and maybe even someone who applied for one of these jobs and, for whatever reason, was turned down.

    Sorry, you know I don’t really disagree with you on anything…but in this instance, you are incredibly wrong about all of it.

    And it is not just that I know people, I AM one of those people. I have had to deal with my “on the job back injury” for 5 years now, and it has cost me damn near everything that ever mattered to me.

    So do NOT lecture me or anyone else on this subject.

90. #90
    On May 29th, 2009 at 3:20 am, RetFireman said:

    And I did not even mention the exposure I had that left me in the hospital for a week and within 2 hours of dead.

91. #91
    On May 29th, 2009 at 4:47 am, RetFireman said:

    Sorry Cheap…but this truly is a sore subj. and one that the public really knows little to nothing about. I am not meaning to insult you.

92. #92
    On May 30th, 2009 at 8:13 pm, cheapseat said:

    ret fireman; i’m not speaking of any one’s specific injury, not yours or anyones. but just as some define waterboarding as torture, and spanking child abuse, if someone can’t show me an injury on a x-ray, i tend to doubt the prognosis. i was in a jeep in nam which hit an antipersonnel mine, which broke my ankle, my leg, sent a steel piece of the jeep through my lower leg and out my knee. i have had chronic leg and back problems since. that’s life. i met my wife laying in a hospital not for a week, but for over 2 months. did i mention agent orange. we will all die from something. some jobs are more dangerous than others, but in my humble opinion, firemen in todays world is not a dangerous job. they sit on their ass 99% of the time polishing their truck or their monkey, as do soldiers, interspersed with times of high anxiety and terror. to me, most suburban cities would be huge dollars ahead to just carry self insurance for fire, let the couple of houses per year that catch fire burn to the ground, and pay the owner the value. in my old town, webster groves, they actually sprayed water on average 6 times per year. they spent 36 million per year not including vehicles, and pensions. that’s 6 mil per house. there wasn’t a house in webster that approached 2 million. life’s tough, then we die. nobody has the right to live off the sweat and work of others. this is why we are where we are. we give ss disability to drug addicts and drunks. we give disability to adhd kids, for life. everyone knows someone disabled from the police or firemen, which seems an abnormally high level for professions which suffer so few deaths, fire so few bullets, spray so little water. construction crews get hurt way more often and way more severe, but they get workers comp while they recover. disability retirement, what’s that? they have to go to ss disability which my brother can’t get into despite having ms and been in a wheelchair for 7 years with no feeling below his waist and now can’t feel his hands. when i get to feeling the pity party, i go to my local ford dealer, where a young man who is a thalidimide baby works the service counter. his arms are maybe a foot long, and his one hand is only a single digit, while his other actually has 2 digits allowing him to grab. he’s a terrific young guy, and never fails to make me say my pains are trivial. he’s the guy i will pay disability for, but he isn’t asking for it. he’s working. you should see him on his knees stretching his arm into the coke machine to get his drink, with no thought of asking another to fetch it for him. that’s guts and a lesson in life. don’t take my ramblings personnally as i have no idea what your situation is, but look at the collective and tell me honestly that as a fireman you never saw disability for some colleagues that you said, hmmmm. i’ve met too many retired/disabled gubmint workers on the golf course, at the beach, in the rv parks, doing fine with their bad back in lifting that grill, jacking that rv, swinging that club and hauling that bag. just saying.