Double Dipping and Contradictions

Isn't it fascinating how government works? Do what I say, not what I do seems to be the watchword too often.

I was struck this weekend by an article in the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle that reported on the increase in 'double dipping' at state agencies and by people employed by the state over the past year (who knew it's been going on for years?). That is, people collecting a state pension and also working for the state in some capacity. You can read the article by clicking here.  You can also go to the statewide data base by clicking here. Be warned, this may get you disturbed or frustrated. It did me.

Now there is an argument to be made that those are the rules and people are just doing what's very legal and available to them. Ok, so we won't personally begrudge them I guess. But we can certainly question the practice and also point out the hypocrisy of state leaders who preach austerity and hold others to a different standard in a self righteous manner.

Recently Gov. Cuomo signed an executive order limiting the salaries of non-profit executives. He and the legislature expressed outrage at the reckless actions of non-profits and non-profit boards in paying salaries that seemed to him to be out of line. Really? There were certainly a few cases highlighted by the press that were pretty outrageous but the number was really a few and there were methods and responsibilities for state agencies to regulate these situations. But instead, let's revisit grammar school and punish the class or the whole school for the actions of a few. Well done. My faith in government has been restored. Played well in the press and to the public and now we move on to the next government intervention.

So in the past week articles have appeared noting the governor's and state agencies' frustrations with the fact that some agency heads and commissioners are making less then the people they supervise and that the salary levels of these folks make it hard to recruit good people. These are the same arguments made by the non-profits who just had their salaries capped by the way. Interesting isn't it?

Now the latest news - a long list of state employees legally double dipping, some to the tune of $200,000-$300,000. Legal. Following the rules. Following a culture in government. It also needs to be pointed out that most people in the private sector don't have pensions at all. People may have had 403B or 401K plans but none of these were very lucrative.

Contradictions like this are all over the place when we take a close look at elected officials and their rhetoric. Or is it possible the Governor didn't know he was in charge of and responsible for thousands of former and current state employees and pensions and policies. Hard to believe he was or is unaware. Wouldn't it be nice if we could just count on some real honesty in government instead of scapegoating and finger pointing at people and groups who usually don't have sophisticated lobbying or media support? I'll wait along with everyone else but let's not just accept inconsistencies.