I want to work for the Cal. Govt.

[McLovin]

$270K, plus full benefits, and a nice juicy lifetime pension, too, to be a nurse in a prison.


Overtime pay may be putting a dent in state's furlough savings - Los Angeles Times

[Jim Richards]

Reporting from Sacramento — Like many other state employees, prison nurse Nellie Larot was hit last year with furloughs that cut her salary: It dropped $10,000, to $92,000.

But she more than made up for it by working extra shifts, raking in $177,512 in overtime, according to state records. Her total $270,000 in earnings last year eclipsed the $225,000 paid to Matthew Cate, head of the entire state prison system.

Nice earnings! What number of overtime hours were worked by this nurse? Are you willing to work that much, McLovin?

[dd74]

What was that plan about sending Cali prisoners to Mexico?

[Schumi]

I have a friend who is a nurse in a state prison. He rakes in a little less than double monthy what his normal salary would pay due to the near unlimited overtime he gets. I guess they are really just understaffed but aren't allowed to hire anyone else, so to complete the rounds they let him work overtime. He works 18 hour days several days a week.

[TSNAPCRACKLEPOP]

I'd just tell them "we are not accepting any new patients at this time".

[porsche4life]

Thats insane.... I was looking on the VA careers website today... and the best paying Pharmacist position they have open is in Cali.... and only pays 130k.

Guess that is fed not state though....

[Superman]

Once again:

Government has a legislative branch, an executive branch and an administrative branch. The administrative part provides the services. Police, fire, prisons, drivers' license, blah blah.

Oftentimes, administration is told they must lay off a certain number of workers. The remaining workers need to carry the workload, using overtime. This way, the legislative and/or executive branch can boast that they "cut xx,xxx jobs" from the payroll.

Budget is similar. I worked in an office that processed around 70,000 forms, filed by construction contractors on public works projects, that needed to be processed in order for those contractors to get paid. There were times when we had well over two months' backlog. That held up about a billion dollars. A fee was charged for our processing, and those fee revenues went into a special account and could not be used for other purposes. But.....the entire fee revenue was not allocated by the legislature. This way, the legislature could boast that it "cut expenditures by xx,xxx dollars."

My point is, and I have made this before to deaf ears here, that the administrative portions of government are not where the shenanigans are. Quit *****ing about DOL and DOR and your local DOT. They're trying very hard. Their problem, and yours, is at the elected level.

[island911]

" . ..too, to be a nurse in a prison."

but is she hot?

Oh wait, this isn't about the CA movie industry, is it?

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by island911

" . ..too, to be a nurse in a prison."

but is she hot?

Oh wait, this isn't about the CA movie industry, is it?

They had to get the ideas from somewhere, right? It's not like some guy thought up the script with several wet scantily clad women in prison exploring their friendships and budding sexuality...

Guys don't think that way.

[Evans, Marv]

Seems like there are plenty of government employees who enjoy pay and retirement benefits many of us would like. For instance for the City of San Diego, employees get very good salaries, but supposedly make more in retirement on top of getting a 6 figure payout at the time of retirement. And as Superman says, it's because of the elected officials running the city. It is said they are in the pockets of the city unions and supported for reelection by them. For that reason the unions have negotiated pay and retirement packages that are bankrupting the city.

[dd74]

+1 Supes and Marv. The complaining has to happen in the voting booth. Crying about Arnie now won't solve a thing. Besides which, someone has to cover those furloughed shifts.

El Cuidad de Los Angeles has major problems like this: ex. a sinkhole developed across the street from City Hall -- two months ago. The solution: a large piece of plywood and a couple sawhorses now cover it.

[Brando]

Originally Posted by Superman

Once again:

Government has a legislative branch, an executive branch and an administrative branch. The administrative part provides the services. Police, fire, prisons, drivers' license, blah blah.

I think you meant Legislative, Executive and Judicial. Unless of course you were being satirical in meaning there is no more justice, just more administration...

[McLovin]

Whatever the reason it is what it is, it is what it is, and is unsustainable.

I knew a guy who worked for the Sheriff's office many years ago, I knew him from work and would see him from time to time. Seemed like a fairly young guy. So I was surprised one day to see a cake, balloons, etc. around his desk. Asked him what was up. He said it was a retirement party!

I couldn't believe it, I thought he was in his 30s. As it turned out, he was in his 40s, and had been working at the Sheriff's office since he was 18.

He told me about how his pension was based on his last year's salary, so in the last year he had taken all of this OT work, work at the airport (which for some reason had some pay premium?), etc. to "pump up" his numbers.

Now, I appreciate the good work he did, but really, can a state afford to pay a roughly 43 year old "retired" man his entire salary (taking out the "1 year of OT" he is getting his entire "real" salary. Adjusted yearly for cost of living, of course) and his healthcare, for the REST OF HIS LIFE?

That could easily be another 40-50 years. Is that a sustainable model?

[dd74]

Originally Posted by McLovin

Whatever the reason it is what it is, it is what it is, and is unsustainable.

I knew a guy who worked for the Sheriff's office many years ago, I knew him from work and would see him from time to time. Seemed like a fairly young guy. So I was surprised one day to see a cake, balloons, etc. around his desk. Asked him what was up. He said it was a retirement party!

I couldn't believe it, I thought he was in his 30s. As it turned out, he was in his 40s, and had been working at the Sheriff's office since he was 18.

He told me about how his pension was based on his last year's salary, so in the last year he had taken all of this OT work, work at the airport (which for some reason had some pay premium?), etc. to "pump up" his numbers.

Now, I appreciate the good work he did, but really, can a state afford to pay a roughly 43 year old "retired" man his entire salary (taking out the "1 year of OT" he is getting his entire "real" salary. Adjusted yearly for cost of living, of course) and his healthcare, for the REST OF HIS LIFE?

That could easily be another 40-50 years. Is that a sustainable model?

I really don't think a package that generous will be around much longer. The state just can no longer afford it, no matter what the unions say.

[turbo6bar]

Originally Posted by McLovin

Whatever the reason it is what it is, it is what it is, and is unsustainable.

Have a look at state and federal budgets. The growth in the last decade is beyond absurd. The legislators whine about lack of revenues. The problem isn't revenues. In TN, the yearly budget is up 110% over the past 10 years and over 50% in the last 5 years.

How many Americans saw similar rises in income, investments, or otherwise?

[dd74]

Five of my H.S. classmates now work for the City of L.A. Another five went to Ivy League schools. Assets, of the ten, seem almost to be even. Five of them get off at 5PM on the dot. All ten drive nicely-appointed German cars to single family dwellings.

[KNS]

QUOTE: "I really don't think a package that generous will be around much longer. The state just can no longer afford it, no matter what the unions say".


Actually, The Phoenix Fire Dept (and many other Arizona municipalities) have very similar retirement plans. They retire at a relatively young age with a very pretty penny. Phoenix is broke by the way...

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by KNS

QUOTE: "I really don't think a package that generous will be around much longer. The state just can no longer afford it, no matter what the unions say".


Actually, The Phoenix Fire Dept (and many other Arizona municipalities) have very similar retirement plans. They retire at a relatively young age with a very pretty penny. Phoenix is broke by the way...

Oh, but that's where you're wrong, David. For the County of Los Angeles/State of California is too big to fail. Just watch.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by dd74

Five of my H.S. classmates now work for the City of L.A. Another five went to Ivy League schools. Assets, of the ten, seem almost to be even. Five of them get off at 5PM on the dot. All ten drive nicely-appointed German cars to single family dwellings.

Does LA have those crazy pensions and lifetime free health insurance?

If so, your city friends are way ahead of your Ivy friends. To duplicate the pension and health insurance, your ivy friends would have to save a bunch of money, and make some very good investments to duplicate that pension and health insurance.

That pension and health insurance is the equivalent of owning many, many apartment units, free and clear (except without the headache and risk). That's what your ivy friends would have to do to generate that kind of passive income after retiring.

[Brando]

Our systems here have become too bloated. They still want to spend money like Prop 13 never happened, like the .com bust was fake, like everyone here is above the water financially.

CA's answer to financial problems is to "seek more revenue". That's right, bend over and take the tax hike. I've heard that in Los Angeles (county? city?) $.85 of every $1 in tax revenue goes to pay employee salaries, pensions and benefits.

No wonder the roads are so crappy; the schools so defunct; highways are congested; sales tax is 9.75% -- The highest in the country!

The bill is coming for all of the social[ist] programs this state offers and the fat administrations. In what other county in another state does a County Board Supervisor get $3M as a "discretionary fund"? Cut out the bloated middle management, "administration" (that's for the public schools), sedentary paper-pushing cubicle sheep and get to the basics.

We don't need a program for semi-disabled non-legal residents applying for a scholarship to Pasadena's community college. Subsidized both state and federally.

Stop spending like its 1999. And make public unions illegal. They could never get the same types of benefits programs at a private company (limited assets) but somehow they think it's perfectly alright in the public sector (theoretically unlimited assets [the private sector pays]).