You might ask what does the newest savior of Husky Football have to do with a Port CEO being overpaid? Great question. Did many of you know that Husky Head Football Coach, Steve Sarkisian is actually a government employee. And not only is he an employee, he is currently the highest paid state employee.
In a year of economic downturn, politicians nationwide are asking us the loyal tax payer to tighten up our belts and be prepared to do with less. Yet Congress voted to receive a cost of living increase for there "steller" performance. Wealth Daily's, Ian Cooper has a great article discussing congressional pay. Now just when we in Seattle thought our politicians couldn't stoop to any lower lows, we hear today courtesy of the Seattle Times, that The Port of Seattle is deciding whether or not to go ahead with a 10% raise for its Port CEO Tay Yoshitani. I find myself having the urge to vomit every time I hear a "public servant" ( I use that term very loosely) getting another wage increase. I think the key word that is misused is servant. What happened to the era of people going into city and local political positions because they wanted to make a difference. With the soon to be highest paid Port CEO in the country we have to wonder where that servanthood went. As a firefighter locally in the King County area, I get paid a fair wage and work hard for it, sacrificing my time and body to help the community. Can we really say the same for many of our highest paid local government employees. Some will argue, that the government employees getting paid what they do, is fair because they are only being payed what they are worth Yet in government where the politicians decide there own pay how can this be a substantiated fact. With lobbying and back door handshake agreements how can we trust the decisions our politicians are making on our behalf? Do you ever remember voting to increase Governor Christine Gregoire's Salary after hearing about our huge budget shortfall. Or after looking at the sorry state of Washington's local roads did we vote to increase WSDOT Employee Wages. Absolutely not. I know this is a bit hypothetical but it begs the question. Anyone have a thought or fact on this topic?
I am not a conservative but until the Port gets off the property tax there is no way the CEO deserves a raise. That's tax money.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I love how the staff recommended a 10% raise to the commission. "Hey, Boss-Did you see how I told the commission to hook you up? WHo loves ya?"
And in this economy!
Sad.
I hear ya, and you don't have to be a conservative by namesake to understand what is going on. Maybe your more conservative than you think. Either way thanks for posting.
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