Federal bureaucrats are overpaid compared to workers in the productive sector of the economy.
State and local bureaucrats also are overpaid compared to people in the private sector, though usually the gap is not quite as large.
But “usually” does not means “always.”
The most absurd examples of excess bureaucrat pay generally are found at the state and local level.
Especially in places like New Jersey where politicians and government employee unions have strong alliances against taxpayers.
And California, of course, where fleecing taxpayers has become an art form for some bureaucrats (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).
If you don’t believe me, read these excerpts from a Bloomberg report by Martine Paris.
A Beverly Hills cop tops the list of the highest-paid California municipal employees, 100 of whom took home $439,000 or more in total wages last year. The assistant police chief’s total compensation was $716,284 in 2021, $208,087 in regular income, with the rest for lump-sum and other pay… Marc Coopwood retired last year as assistant police chief in Beverly Hills after 4 years and 7 months in the role… As part of his separation agreement, he was issued a final payment that included 12 months’ salary and benefits, as well as compensation for unused leave, the city said in a statement. …The top 10 highest-paid list includes city managers in West Hollywood, Artesia and Fremont, two fire captains in the city of Los Angeles and a firefighter, as well as a load dispatcher at the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power who booked $400,000 in overtime compensation.
I don’t know what’s more outrageous, the assistant police chief with more than $716K of compensation, or the fact that 100 bureaucrats pocketed at least $439K?
Or is it the bureaucrat who fleeced taxpayers for $400K of overtime?
No wonder so many taxpayers are fleeing California.
In any event, we’ll elect Marc Coopwood, the assistant police chief, to the Bureaucrat Hall of Fame.
But maybe we’ll have an asterisk to indicate that he’s representing the 99 other bureaucrats who hit the $439K-and-above level.
