Skip to main contentI'm not anti-government or anti-cop, but your article about the astronomical amounts of overtime pay being doled out at the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office infuriated me ["Overtime Busts," WW, Jan. 9, 2013].
The situation reinforces accusations by anti-government types who claim that government employees think they have a blank check signed by the public and they can write whatever dollar amount they want on it; that they live in a bubble protected from the realities of supply and demand that the rest of the world lives in.
There is no way this would happen in the private sector. If a manager/administrator allowed hundreds of thousands of dollars to be spent on overtime pay instead of simply hiring more employees so that it was not necessary to pay "time-and-a-half" wages, that manager would be replaced. But in government, that manager says he was unaware of the problem, utters a slogan about wanting to have "good stewardship of the public's money," and nothing changes.
In the private sector, there is an owner who thinks "all that overtime pay is money coming out of my pocket." In the public sector, there is no such person. I'm not suggesting everything be privatized, but to utter another well-worn phrase: We have to build some accountability into government.
That is just sickening, really. I am amazed. Where is the leadership on this issue? It is one thing to make some overtime, but tens of thousands of dollars over already well-paying jobs?
—"Travis Williams"
FBI AND "PHONY" TERRORISM
It ought to be very clear to everyone ["Mohamed and 'The Terror Factory,'" WW, Jan. 9, 2012]—the fact that the FBI routinely uses drug addicts, snitches, known liars and petty criminals in order to try and secure convictions for its completely ginned-up phony "terrorism" cases proves that these federale pigs are not all that concerned with enforcing or respecting the rule of law.
—"Damos Abadon"
PET PROJECTS SINK ROAD UPKEEP
While there is no doubt the gas tax has not kept up with inflation, the problem here is lack of competency ["A Fork in the Road," WW, Jan. 9, 2013]. It does no good to have increased revenue if it is wasted on pet projects while less interesting, but much more necessary, projects are ignored. Remember the biodigester that [ex-Mayor Sam] Adams wanted to use street-repair dollars on? Why was the city even involved in that?
Prior to being elected, Adams mentioned that he thought a bond measure would be needed to help cover street repairs, and I believe he simply looted the Portland Bureau of Transportation for pet projects in the belief that the taxpayers would then be forced to pony up for another bond issue.
—"Greg"
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