Man, you really hit the jackpot.
See, while we the people were hustling to scrape a few dollars together, get some food on the table and maybe take the family to Disneyland during the kids' summer break, you pulled a fast one. You gambled that we wouldn't notice, and you were right.
To be fair, the odds were supremely in your favor. We hire civil servants to keep things chugging along, faithfully pay the taxes that blanket our lives like moldy multiple layers of puff pastry, and hope that, at the end of the day, things come out pretty close to even. The vast majority of us don't give you even a passing thought.
I, for one, never suspected that I was supporting an ever-growing class of American royalty. Yet, with each passing day, and every shocking tidbit that is revealed, it becomes harder to avoid the reality that our governing bodies are the bloated leeches sucking the morale out of the people of this country.
Let me ask you something, Robert Rizzo. What exactly is it that you do to justify your annual salary of $787,63?
What's that?
You're the Chief Administrative Officer of Bell, one of the poorest cities in Los Angeles County?
Oh.
Well, it must be enormous, with a vast territory and a population of millions, whose welfare and quality of life have greatly improved since you assumed your position almost 20 years ago.
Say what?
It's a city of 37, 000 residents? Whose claim to fame is that in 2000, 55 Oscar statuettes were stolen from a loading dock located there?
Huh.
Ok, look, I'll take part of the blame. We silly common folk were asleep at the wheel, and the temptation was just too much for you. I get it. You're human. So, if you'll just reverse that 12% yearly raise you've guaranteed for yourself, and maybe cut some time off the 5 week annual vacation you enjoy courtesy of us tax payers, we'll just forget the whole thing.
An apology delivered in a sincere tone wouldn't hurt, either. No one says you have to mean it. Go ahead, Robert Rizzo, defender of the people, the floor is yours.
"If that's a number people choke on, maybe I'm in the wrong business," he said. "I could go into private business and make that money. This council has compensated me for the job I've done."
It would seem that you need some time to clear your head and come to terms with the knowledge that the jig is up. No problem. Take a moment. Maybe one of your minions will step up and do the right thing.
Assistant City Manager, Angela Spaccia, (annual salary $376, 288), would you like to make a statement?
"I would have to argue you get what you pay for."
This isn't going quite the way I had imagined it would.
Well, alright. I'm willing to keep an open mind. What exactly have we been paying for?
Ladies and gentlemen, I present the Mayor of Bell, Oscar Hernandez.
"Our streets are cleaner, we have lovely parks, better lighting throughout the area, our community is better," Hernandez said. "These things just don't happen, they happen because he had a vision and made it happen."
Oh, well, why didn't you say so in the beginning? We could have avoided this entire embarrassing incident. Your streets are cleaner, you have lovely parks and better lighting.
And your community is better.
Actually, please bear with me, Mayor Hernandez. I need a few moments to digest the complex information contained within your statement.
...
Yeah, after careful analysis of your data, I'm not convinced that we've gotten what we paid for.
UPDATE:
John and Ken, of radio station KFI 640 AM in Southern California, are interviewing a resident of Bell, who also happens to be a professor at USC. According to her, the citizens of Bell have been trying to get answers about the doings of their ruling class for years, and have been left frustrated and ignored. Also, apparently the Bellsians practice predatory policies to suck up as much money from their serfs as humanly possible.
This makes me so happy:
http://basta4bell.com/
UPDATE:
John and Ken, of radio station KFI 640 AM in Southern California, are interviewing a resident of Bell, who also happens to be a professor at USC. According to her, the citizens of Bell have been trying to get answers about the doings of their ruling class for years, and have been left frustrated and ignored. Also, apparently the Bellsians practice predatory policies to suck up as much money from their serfs as humanly possible.
This makes me so happy:
http://basta4bell.com/
Bell, California – 2.5 square miles containing “lovely parks”, some clean streets and allegedly nifty lighting. And home to about 37,000 fence posts.
ReplyDeleteOh, did I say fence posts? I meant to say voters/citizens/taxpayers.
Even the appearance that I’m defending Rizzo or the others makes me hate myself, but the fact is, they legally (so far) ACCEPTED what was OFFERED.
Those salaries were set by the City Council. The City Council has been repeatedly been put in place by the fence posts.
And now the fence posts are outraged that after only 17 years of keeping their heads up their own asses (so they could run around complaining that someone turned out the lights) they’ve been ripped off.
There are two lessons here:
1. The average person in this country is not qualified to vote, even on American Idol.
2. You get what you deserve.
Joey-Baby, as usual you are the voice of wisdom and reason. I can't disagree with a word you've said.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to take a minute here and look in the mirror. Do I know what the civil servants in my local community get paid? Nope. I've never even thought to check. Why? Because I have a life that needs tending, and I go on the assumption that the cogs in the wheel of society are pretty much where they're supposed to be.
I can't go around checking up on every city, county, state and federal official's compensation package and roster of duties. There's a substantial amount of trust involved in keeping a society functioning. And, of late, it's become increasingly apparent that the people we elect to run things have been violating that trust, grabbing all that they can, and giving very little, if anything, in return.
Let's not even get into the topic of the type of person who chooses a life in politics or the public sector.
It's true, we have become a complacent, consumerist-minded population, lulled into dimwittery by a failed educational system and a lowest common denominator "entertainment" industry run by cowards slaving under the whip of quarterly returns.
But, I see the tide turning. I think we the people have had enough.
I have had enough. Where do I sign up for a chance to get off this f-ing merry-go-round? yes, I am just a little ray of sunshine today.
ReplyDeleteA resident, professor or not, claiming "it's not our fault". Shocker. Was this city taken hostage? Did they still have elections?
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me any or all council members who wouldn't disclose pertinent PUBLIC information should have been voted out. Or maybe recalled.
The L.A. Times found the information. And they easily compared the salaries to other cities around the state and country. Must not be that hard to find, even if you have to go to court.
And here is the part that makes it worse for the fence posts: I first heard this story over a year ago, and I think it was John and Ken then also. and it just now matters to them?
I reject the professor's argument entirely.
Mustard made a good point that we don't have time to constantly monitor elected officials doings, and a certain amount of trust is needed to make things move along. But come election time at least, and if you're going to vote, take a half day and learn about who you're voting for and what they have done.
If they aren't forthcoming or they are trying to keep public information private, don't vote for that asshole, no matter how much the charisma gets to you. That is part of the definition of being qualified to vote.
I'd like to think the tide is turning, but I always remember Marion Barry got re-elected right out of prison.
I have no use for fence posts.
What is the correct course of action in elections where none of the candidates is desirable? Prime example, the last presidential election. I voted for the Libertarian candidate just out of sheer frustration.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I remember hearing something similar on John and Ken last year. But, I'm sure that was about another city. Maywood, maybe?
ReplyDeleteMustard, I think most elections have an incumbent and one or more challengers. If you're faced with a crooked or out of control incumbent, you vote for a challenger.
ReplyDeleteIt probably wont happen too often that a challenger has a performance history that matches an incumbents, so whatever you consider undesirable but unproven would at least stop the crap and send a message to any others that think they are safe for life.
If that doesn't work, it just means the fence posts are going to remain just that.
Your vote in the presidential election was the same as not voting at all. While I fully agree there was not a candidate worth voting for, It's my view to vote in a manner to prevent damage.
As such, I believe McCain was a better vote, but not a better candidate. By default he at minimum offered the chance to neutralize a stacked congress and a careening out of control bat shit fool like Nancy Pelosi.
The hope and change - we are the ones - zombie campaign should have been stopped. Period. But the voting public, ever susceptible to charisma and hoodwinking, doesn't think there are any qualifications needed to holding important positions. "I think he's cool" one alleged adult gave me as his reason for his voting that way. Well isn't that special, now go fuck yourself.
And it was Bell in the news last year for the same thing. Maywood had their own fun what with a council member hiring a hit-man to take out another council member and all.
It is interesting that Maywood just totally dismantled the city and farmed out all of the services. No more city council, no more employees, no nothing.
Larger, wealthier and older empires than this one have collapsed under the weight of the entitled narcissism of it's citizens.
I think I'll read Lord of the Flies again.
Thanks for posting that link, Mustard.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Songy. :)
ReplyDeleteJoey-baby, The Anointed One was sure to win CA, so my vote for McCain wouldn't have mattered anyway.
Looking ahead at the governor's race, once again I am stumped. Jerry Brown? Are you fucking kidding me? Meg Whitman? She doesn't even know where she stands on issues from one day to the next.
As for the fence posts, I say better late than never. There has to be a starting point for everything, and if things have to hit rock bottom before people will lift their heads, take a look around and do something, then so be it.
Mustardy, I don't disagree with your vote. What I wrote was my theory when faced with two evils.
ReplyDeleteApplied to the governor race, Brown is a known entity, having been governor already. He didn't get the name "Moonbeam" for nothing.
My favorite Moonbeam stunt was he when decided that if the state stopped improving and building roads and freeways, people would stop moving here and that would control population growth.
That didn't quite work out, and is a good example of the whacked out left belief that if you can think it, it must be true. I've had it up to my eyebrows with illogical and irrational dummies running things.
Whitman, to me, is far, far more experienced in fiscal. management and organizational matters.
I don't care if she changes her mind on issues, I don't see anything destructive. Actually, changing one's mind if the information changes is a good thing. The ideologue way of "this is how it is no matter what" is foolish. But that's me. I don't do dogma.
I'm all for the Bell citizens and the Tea Party or anything else that will give the career politicians a wedgie.
And I believe every elected position in the country should have term limits and be paid on the low side. People who genuinely want to make things better would not be deterred by that.
And Musty, Run for office.
I hate it when amusement comes to an abrupt end, and the city of Bell must have known this, cuz here's some real fun:
ReplyDeleteThe former and current fence posts, now up in arms over these salaries, have now found out that when they fire Rizzo, as they are demanding, He will get his pension, the first year of which is in the area of $900,000 and then goes up.
Truly the gift that keeps on giving.
Yes, I heard about that yesterday.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if we can take him to court and nullify his contract. Apparently, the "committees" that these bastards were supposedly serving on, and for which their base salaries were richly padded with, met for a minute or two, piggy backing the regular city council meetings.
It seems to me that there is fraud committed here. Surely, he can't continue to benefit from his illegal activity?
So far there is nothing illegal at any level, and fraud is difficult to prove as it is.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that once you step in a pile of Rizzo, it's on your shoe for life.