Jim Gettens

BLOATED STATE PAYROLLS, PERKS, PENSIONS, AND PROGRAMS

In 2008-2009, while approximately 109,000 Massachusetts private sector workers lost their jobs, and many thousands more suffered pay and benefit cuts, our reckless and irresponsible INCUMBENT legislators and governor added a net 2000 ‘on-budget’ state employees, bringing the total to 98,000, as reported by the Boston Globe. The ‘on-budget’ state payroll now totals approximately $4.5 billion annually. These figures do not include the many thousands of ‘off-budget’ state employees in the various so-called ‘independent state authorities,’ such as the MBTA, MWRA, and new Transportation Authority, we taxpayers also bail out. All of these so-called ‘public servants’ enjoy perks and pension benefits unheard of in ‘the dreaded private sector.’ It is time to end this legislatively constructed, taxpayer funded, class system. Wasteful state payrolls, perks, pensions and programs must be gutted and eliminated to free up more money for local aid and education and to reduce the taxes and fees extracted from ordinary, hard-working, Massachusetts citizens and taxpayers.