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January 20, 2006
Porky J. McGreedy update
I received an e-mail from a reader, asking me if I was talking about retired judges.
Actually, no, I wasn't. A close look at Porky J. McGreedy reveals that he's not sporting the latest in judicial robes.
Retired judges are in a different class. First of all, they're employees of the state, not the county. Second, and most important, there's a shortage of judges, which is why Sacramento needs retired judges to come back and keep the courts from grinding to a halt.
The problem I've described involves local government positions that could be filled by any one of thousands of eligible applicants, many of them eager to begin new careers (at entry-level wages). The litigants and criminal defendants waiting for a courtroom cannot depend on anyone other than the black-robed retirees to hear their cases.
Someone else asked if it's unfair to ask someone to work for free, to do a job that offers a decent salary.
Well, I guess that depends. If the person seeking employment hadn't done the job before, then, yeah, they ought to be paid for it. But when it appears that greed has induced someone to game the system to get two dollars for every buck they got for doing the same job before, then I'm afraid I've no sympathy for their "situation."
See, we're back to the whole concept of "retirement." It's supposed to provide an income so a worker can enjoy his twilight years -- and not have to continue doing the 9-5 that got him the pension. If you don't want to retire, don't; you can continue earning that salary until you're ready to retire.
Hell, come on out of retirement, like a punch-drunk boxer, go a few more rounds, then hang up your gloves and reenter the ranks of the shuffleboard set.
Let me be clear. I've never said this practice is illegal (although it's shameful and quite frankly disgusting). I just think it stinks.
Anyhow, it's my blog, my opinion.
Your mileage may vary.
Posted by Mike Lief at January 20, 2006 07:54 AM