State Senator Stephen H. Martin of Chesterfield County apparently thinks so.
Martin has introduced S.B 812 to amend the Virginia Freedom of Information Act so that names of local government officials/employees could not be identified along with job titles/positions and salaries.
The first question that comes to mind is what business owner/boss does not know exactly who works for him/her and precisely what they are paid ?
Perhaps we need to remind the good Senator and others who think as he does that all these public employees are paid with our tax dollars, making us the business owner/boss and we have a right to know who they are and what they are being paid. Martin’s bill shows once again what happens when you leave anyone in elective office for too long
The consequences of blindly trusting government to do what is ethical is the kind of folly exposed last year in Belle, California where local elected officials were paying themselves extraordinary salaries and benefit packages.
This clearly demonstrated that MORE attention not less must be paid to those we elect to public office.
As former President Reagan so wisely said in negotiating with the Russians, “Trust, but verify ”
Recently in Hanover County the Mechanicsville TEA Party road signs posted the Hanover School Superintendents $194,528 salary–and this does not include another $47,000 in perks.
Other government salaries and job positions are being closely examined in Hanover and surrounding Counties. We intend to continue educating the public on how their money is being spent, in spite of the roadblocks legislators might place in front of us.
I want to use this opportunity to ask all TEA Party members and those that support us to pick up your phone, call your representatives in the House & Senate and tell them to vote NO on S.B 812
Bob Shannon MTP & KWTP
I agree with your basic premise: KEN YA trust ’em?
Bob,
Just to put you on equal footing with every state employee that makes more than $50,000 a year. Who is your employer, what is your position title, and exactly how much do you make a year?
I’m sure all the criminals in the commonwealth would appreciate knowing whether to target you for identity thief or not. The legislation as introduced simply separates names from the titles and salaries. Makes it a little more difficult for the criminals while still showing how tax dollars are being spent.
Maybe it is time for the Tea Party to identify exactly which publicly funded programs should be eliminated. Maybe VT, UVA, ODU, VCU, JMU and every other state college and university should be privatized. Maybe it is time for the state hospitals to also be privatized.
Does the state really need to be in the ABC retail or wholesale liquor business? Why not just tax the hell out of it to cover the state’s Medicaid and Medicare costs attributed to drinking.
By the way the legislature has been levying taxes of a sort for all of the state’s expense increases onto its employees for years by not giving them pay increases or cutting benefits that at least keep them up with COLA and inflation. Let alone any merit increases or promotion recognition.
The Tea Party needs to put the pressure where it will do some good. Cap highly paid state employee salaries i.e. those over 150% of the average. Low paid employees do need raises just to keep up with the costs of food, rent, gas, healthcare, clothes, and the occasional movie. They aren’t slaves and shouldn’t be expected to give up their hard won salaries and benefits just because the legislature is afraid to levy the needed taxes to balance a budget.
The hard questions: Are federal mandates pushed on the states being fully funded? What state services / departments / agencies are required by the state constitution? Is the I-95 Snowbird Alley fully federally funded?