New Speaker Grants Assembly Pay Hikes

New speaker grants Assembly pay hikes

www.sacbee.com

New Assembly Speaker John A. Perez gave his top aide an annual pay increase of nearly $65,000 - about $5,400 per month - upon becoming leader of the lower house, records show.

Sara Ramirez, Perez's chief of staff, was one of eight Capitol aides receiving pay hikes or promotions from the Los Angeles Democrat on March 1, the day he was sworn into office, according to documents obtained under open-records law.

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In years past, it has not been unusual for a new Assembly leader to give pay increases to key or underpaid aides in recognition that their duties are likely to expand as

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[edit on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:02:38 -0500 by MemoryShock]

So the politicians, despite the crunch being felt by the rest of the state and nation, are further padding their pockets.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has sent redundancy notices to 20,000 government employees and shut down California’s last remaining public works projects yesterday, as state politicians failed to pass a budget that will prevent his administration from running out of money.


The Governor of California, who is spending billions more each month than he can raise in taxes, has insufficient funds left to settle outstanding bills and is days away from being forced to start issuing “IOU” notes to creditors and civil servants.

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Furloughs for state employees, a major impact on the educational system and the first thing John A. Perez does after being sworn in is to give $65,000 to his aide.

The political system is broken. I am not really one to comment in these areas usually but this is kind of outrageous.

Many of Pérez's legislative efforts have been consistent with the image he has cultivated as a crusader for the marginalized and powerless. He said he's most proud of a bill that authorizes a study of foul drinking water streaming from taps in the small, poor city of Maywood in his district.

But he has also championed causes that seem directly at odds with his political persona.

In 2009, his first full year as a lawmaker, Pérez carved a lucrative exception into state law for billionaire developer Philip Anschutz. He also introduced a bill at the request of Enterprise Car Rental that would have helped boost the company's bottom line by stripping away a significant consumer protection.

Before his election to the Assembly, while a member of the Los Angeles redevelopment commission, Pérez voted to give millions in government subsidies to a giant real estate firm that contributed heavily to his union's political fund.

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The rich become richer and the poor become poorer.

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I honestly have moved passed the point of thinking that these politicians were just ignorant and lacked the intelligence necessary to grasp simple economic principles, to now thinking they understand all too well and are intentionally scavenging what they can before this ship sinks. S&F, We need to secretly send notices to all the non-politicians in California to evacuate so we can go ahead sink the state into the Pacific. The captain must go down with the ship.

[edit on 18-3-2010 by djvexd]

I believe it is vital that people mark these events and 'raises' or 'benefits' that the so-called representatives, in their wisdom, allow themselves.

I won't be the one to debate whether they deserve it or not; but I firmly believe it is OUR responsibility to know when and how it happens... because if they could get away with doing it secretly, or somehow sweeping into a dark corner, they would. I suspect even THEY know they are not doing the right thing.