Officeholders Tap Pensions to Run for Low-Paying Jobs
Gov. Rick Perry has opened a whole new realm of campaign finance.
Perry is taking advantage of a wrinkle in state law that allows a state officeholder to collect a pension while also collecting a paycheck. For the governor, that’s a $92,376 annual pension on top of a $150,000 annual salary.
Sweet, right?
Old news, too, so let’s move on to 2014, and how this figures into that year’s elections. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is running for Senate, and a number of his political colleagues figure his state job will be open in 2014 whether ...
Comments (16)
Emilio Aerjorn
Now that Joe Driver is a convicted and sentenced FELON, why hasn't he either resigned or been expelled from the TX House of Representatives? Doesn't the State constitution or some law make felons ineligible for any state office?
j. davis
Emilio,
He's not a convicted felon. State District Judge Wilford Flowers on Monday approved the plea bargain in which Driver got a $5,000 fine, five years of supervision and deferred adjudication, which means he won't have a felony on his record if he doesn't violate supervision conditions
Carolyn Moon via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Fiscal conservatives. Yep!
Rick Scott McGuckin via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Disgusting. Really sick of the hypocrisy!
Tim Jones via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Weasel that he is!
Stacey Allison Steinbach via Texas Tribune on Facebook
The Lt. Gov. makes $600/month. How could anyone but the uber rich run for the job unless they could claim retirement? I get the raised eyebrows at Perry's double-dipping, but Patterson's position is very different and justifiable. Unless you just want this state run solely by people who can afford to work for free?
Emily Miller via Texas Tribune on Facebook
He's honest, which is more than can be said for certain current officeholders.
Atech Homenet via Texas Tribune on Facebook
It's never enough for ANY of us. Tell me you wouldn't take the money if it was free and clear-suggests donating it to charity now since the public needs this drama.- think about it on another level! Pro football is wrong! We all go along with that! It's ruining our society but everyone just keeps paying and paying and buying all the gear; and it's all crap! If it pays! We do it! regardless of the moral obligations that might be tempting us to behave! And no one listens to their mom anymore. Kingofallclergy Ed
Lorna Presswood via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Representing the people in a government position was never meant to be a career. The original plan was to have representatives of the citizens serve at certain times of the year while also living their own private lives. The problems we have today in the state and national political area are due to "career politicians" and the rich staying in office all year and doing nothing else. Maybe this issue with retirement in Texas combined with serving in office will at least get people to talking and thinking about the best way for representatives of the people to serve
Tracy Griffith via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Or he could just retire...
namoyer
Crocodile tears for Patterson! Lt. Gov. and members of TX Lege get paid by the lobbyists. If his retirement ain't enough, stay home in Pasadena. What a schmuck!
Clay Boatright via Texas Tribune on Facebook
The solution is to have full time legislatures which enable any citizen to run for office, and limit the "career politician" problem by implementing term limits. The problem with part time legislatures is that only the independently wealthy, those with employed spouses, or the self employed with jobs that allow them to take off 5 months every other year (lawyer, doctor, CPA, etc) are the only ones who can run for office. If you're the single wage earner for your family, working in a traditional office job with two weeks of vacation a year, there's no way you can run for the Texas Legislature because no employer is going to keep paying you for those five months every odd number year when you serve in Austin (and even if an employer wanted to, it would probably be illegal anyway!).
Mimi Purnell via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Please, it is no wrinkle! In addition, Legislators receive their retirement benefits are based on the pay of a State District Judge, not the pay that taxpayers have approved!
gypsy314 ne
Anyone but Obama!
Remember a vote for a democrat is a vote for Obama and illegal aliens , homosexuals and terrorist.
Neil Moyer via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Stay home in Pasadena and suck on your pensions...
Betty DuBose Hamilton via Texas Tribune on Facebook
Why is it that Texas TEACHERS were/are not allowed to do that? I was told that, "Yes, you can continue to teach, but you have to resign and then re-apply IF YOUR POSITION IS IN DEMAND AND UNFILLED." Then we were told that we could not teach at our "regular" salary.