November 18, 2005
Limousine Socialism
Today's Seattle Times reports that "Seattle's council members among highest-paid in U.S.". Councilmembers Jan Drago, Nick Licata, Richard Conlin and Richard McIver are scheduled to get a $10,000 raise to nearly $104,000 next year:
Drago, the council president, defended the salaries.
"I frankly think you get what you pay for," she said. "The reason we have had good city government is that we offer a good living wage."
We get almost as much in return from what we pay in City Council salaries as we got from the $200 million that we paid for the Monorail
under Jan Drago's diligent oversight.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at November 18, 2005
09:54 AM | Email This
1. We're getting what we paid for....Shafted.
Maybe it's time to do what San Francisco did and lower their wages through initiative to a more reasonable rate. We diminished the King County Council, and saved millions, we should do it with the Seattle Council also. If they don't like it, Quit! We could use some new representation in that town.
2. Did Drago have a straight face when he said that? Arrogance never ceases. They produce nothing.
3. Er...that is "she."
4. The best at what...mucking it up? I'm going to spend the rest of the day with City of Seattle trying to find out why I am being double billed for permit invoices I have already paid. So much for my friday, and their efficiency.
5. 1) Even though the City Council is a bit of a joke, they do deserve to get paid for their time
2) The City Council salary should be approximately the same as other metropolitan areans w/ 1/2 a million population.
3) I voted for Drago because Casey Corr was portrayed as a Nickels hand puppet.
4) The City Council salary sb = to a comparable city such as Columbus, Ohio
6. What other benefits do these highly paid officials get? Don't they all get outrageous gas allowances for transportation?
7. Drago and her comment..."you get what you pay for" ticks me off big time. We have GI's risking their lives for a few hundred a month. By her reckoning they are no good! I seem to recall that the guys who started all this pledged "their lives, their fortunes and sacred honor" but Drago needs a hundred grand?
8. What ever happened to serving the community for the honor of serving it?? Could Drago earn that much in the private sector BEFORE she was a council member?
9. I wonder what the private sector would be paying Ron Sims? Oh Wait, he has never has a private sector job, probably because nobody could use his
"talents". I see he missed another unincorporated KC councils meeting in Maple Valley last night. He let the staff take the heat again, kind of like during the entire CAO process. Where do East King County folks go for a refund?
10. The problem with the "have to raise pay to attract the best people" (or "you get what you pay for") theory, is that the current people took the job under the old pay scale. Are we to assume they are not the best and brightest that money can buy? And, if so, why do we trust them to make decisions about pay.
11. -------
"I frankly think you get what you pay for," [Drago] said. "The reason we have had good city government is that we offer a good living wage."
-------
Hmm...lessee...by that logic, the more you spend on government, the better it is?
I can't speak for that being a "good" city government, but that's more than just a "good living wage," isn't it? I guess people who work so hard *for the public* deserve to earn more than most of the people they work so hard for, right?
12. The city council is working diligently to eliminate poverty. You have to start at the top to solve these social problems.
How are you supposed to eat with a sub 6-figure salary?
Starbucks coffee now costs about 6 times what a gallon of gas costs.
13. "Living wage"??!! Oh boy, they better start building that light rail and fixing that viaduct pretty soon. Just think of the multitudes who will flock to Seattle once they hear that minimum wage is $52/hr!
Throw the bums out!
14. typo in the last comment, It should read "A gallon of starbucks costs about 6 times what a gallon of gas costs"
15. he says "you get what you pay for"
We pay extortive salaries and we get crooks.
guess he's right
16. he says "you get what you pay for"
We pay extortive salaries and we get crooks.
guess he's right
17. A friend offered me this comment after I forwarded this posting to her. I found it very appropriate to Ms. Drago's comments:
Sounds like grandiosity to me. :-)
Roget's II Thesaurus defines grandiosity as "boastful self-importance or display" and offers the words "ostentation," "pomposity" and "pretension" to further illustrate this definition. In short, it is an exaggerated sense of one's importance, power, knowledge or identity.
The term "grandiosity" is used to describe the larger-than-life feelings of superiority often experienced by those in a manic episode
18. At least Seattle doesn't have 17 council members like Philly.
19. We're talking the land of the moonbats so why should we expect anything different!
20. HEY GREEN LAKE MARK... GET A CLUE BUDDY...
A) SAN FRANFREKO PAYS $72,000 600,000 POP.
B) SAN JOSE " $76,000 1.2 MIL. POP.
C) OAKLAND " $68,000 700,000 POP.
D) SAN DIEGO " $85,000 2.0 MIL. POP.
E) BOSTON " $90,000 1.75 MIL.POP.
DO WE NEED TO SAY MORE!!!!
SOURCE: 2000 U.S CENSUS REPORT
21. IF POLITICIANS WERE PAID ACCORDING TO WHAT THEY WERE WORTH, NOT MANY WOULD WANT THE JOB!
22. K.C.
Thanks for bringing out your Thesaurus...
Reminds me about this saying about "Pretension" that applies perfectly to Jan Drago and the rest of the pompous CLOWNS in Seattle---
I'll bet Jan and the other CLOWNS say this at night instead of their prayers--
"The downside of being better than everyone else is that people tend to assume you are PRETENTIOUS!!!
23. "You get what you pay for?" What are Seattleites really getting for their dollars? Berkeley wannabes? ...and this is a good thing?
24. Thank God I don't live in Seattle and am not paying one red cent to those dorks ! Actually, in that respect; Seattle is screwed.
Drago is someone who is brain-dead asking for a living wage. They also believe in a living breathing US Constitution...cause theyr'e a bunch of whacked out socialists...
25. I don't live in Seattle anymore....but I'm considering opening a mail box rental within the city limits and changing my voter registration to reflect my *new* address....
The way I see it, Seattle is at the heart of our state's corruption. Perhaps it's time for me to renew my interest in Seattle politics and their council....(before the next election...)
Of course this all depends on the outcome of the voter challenges launched by the Republican party...If Dean Logan and our kangaroo courts say it's ok for voters to use false residence addresses when registering to vote..then I'm in there!
26. My prediction: When it gets right down to it, the Repubs are going to need signed affadavits from these people authorizing that they voted from an illegal address, otherwise the charges won't stick - if it is any judge in King County. They like those living, breathing constitutions, ya know.
27. Yeah, that's right! If we were getting what we paid for from these idiots, the would use the tax revenue surplus to pay down monorail debt so that we don't have to pay MVET forever. Instead, they spend it on their pet projects designed to essentially pay for votes.
28. We pay over $100K and don't even get a lap dance?! oh--forgot--the Seattle 4-foot rule; the 4+ feet of councilmembers kicking us in the kidneys again;
29. The Seattle Times is reporting the union members got 2% increases, but here are the increases these fat cats handed themselves:
"The council received significant pay increases in 2002 and 2004, because council members received both "catch-up" raises based on the previous four years, and forward-looking raises for the next four years. Four council positions got pay increases of about $16,500 each in 2002. The other five received a $12,000 pay increase in 2004.
And now they are getting another 10% increase in their wages, all this so they can earn a good living wage.
I want to thank each and every one of these fat cats in advance, and I doubt you will see any of them doorbelling for donations at Christmas!
Throw the bums out, all of them!
30. I think the pay for almost all public leadership positions should be zero. If you've made it in the real world, then you can have your chance to govern. Most of these people are just power lusters who would not last a day in a real job. And having a zero salary would focus on what the positions were intended for in the first place. Limited public service as more of a duty. Today's politicians are treated like celebrities. It's ridiculous. They should stop the posturing for the camera and just do their jobs and move on, back to the private world. Career politicians are the problem. Too bad Chappaquidick did not happen more recently, Teddy never would have gotten away with negligent homicide today.
31. So the Seattle City council makes this much money and they ship the homeless to tents in Bellevue?
(can't have those dirty people messing up our streets!)
The council see's fit to give themselves a raise - yet Seattle just can't find a way to hire much needed police officers and fire fighters....hmmm...And I'm sure the Seattle public school system wouldn't benefit from a few extra dollars.....Teachers just don't rank among the elite council members....
I could think of a million better ways to spend money in Seattle than on the city council...