Overspending: Letters to the editor for Thursday, May 15

Thank you to The Daily News for the list of salaries paid to Los Angeles City employees. These are services we pay for and we have a right to know what we are being charged!

But, it gets worse: an employee who makes $70,000 annually (for a job he dislikes) was heard to exclaim he has a right to that rate of pay “because he’s been here so long”! Why is length of employment an attribute worthy of higher wages and the most prevalent measure used for rate increases? Not only are taxpayers paying more than we should, we’re getting less than we paid for.

The taxpayer also foots the bill for the ‘perks’: bonuses, pensions, 401K’s, travel, education, mileage, vehicles, cell phones, clothing, childcare, medical benefits with dental and vision, therapy, rehab (w/paid leave), secured parking, legal representation, etc. etc. LA City employees also have a better chance at mortgage and refinancing than do the stakeholders who pay their salary.

Don’t rush to defend the right to privacy of the employees. The worst offenders are the employees themselves who spend hours (on City computers) checking all their co-workers and superiors’ rate of pay; now the buzz is,‘Why should I do my job? He/She makes more than I do, let them do it!”

Finally the disproportionate rate at different levels has caused the inevitable: theft. Whether it’s theft of time or theft of materials, unhappy people find a way to balance what they feel is unbalanced. And yes, many employees are unhappy. No normal job pays what city government pays; they have developed a lifestyle they can’t pay for any other way. They are stuck in a job they can’t afford to leave and taxpayers are stuck with city employees we can’t afford to pay.

‘No Sympathy in Sunland’
Name with held by request 5/15/08

Gas & Nixon Solution
In the 1970's, we went through a rise in Gas Prices. Nixon overrode the House and Senate, he put a Freeze on all costs. What about it Bush?
Luba Gaitanis
Canoga Park