There was once a day when the word “pension” inspired not jealousy, but pride for having done hard work to earn it. Yet these days, pension seems to be a dirty word, while “golden parachute” seems to be all the rage. Take our two candidates for governor.<\/p>\n
Meg Whitman has been trying to pin the infamous “double-dipping” tag on Jerry Brown. Brown’s service in state government in addition to his tenure as Mayor of Oakland would offer him two different methods of a pension. Outrageous cries the Whitman campaign, he’s probably taking billions of money from public coffers. I should know, I looted eBay on the way out the door. And all that.<\/p>\n
However, it seems Whitman speaks from too much personal experience and not enough actual knowledge of the situation. Brown released his pension records<\/a>, and he is due slightly under $80,000 per year when he retires. (With his selected option of keeping his wife on as a survivor.)<\/p>\n As for Ms. Whitman, let’s go back to that looting of eBay<\/a>. Her exit from eBay can be best described as a gentle nudge by the Board after some controversy with rising fees (taxes?!) and some issues on the stock front. She stuck around at eBay on the Board for a few years after she left, and it was during the time immediately after she left the CEO gig that her successor laid off 10% of eBay’s workers. Meanwhile, Whitman was receiving a fat golden parachute.<\/p>\n But, you see, Whitman earned that! Right? Right? <\/p>\n So, to summarize, it is great, nee awesome, to raise fees on small businesses so you can get a phat golden parachute. But to work for 25 years as a public servant to get a modest pension? Outrageous!<\/p>\n Why is Brown’s pension even an issue? Or is this one of those Karl Rove jujitsu moves where she’s attacking where she’s weak? Fact is, that Whitman carted off a billion dollars worth of loot from small businesses trying to create jobs. Do as I say, not as I do, I suppose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There was once a day when the word “pension” inspired not jealousy, but pride for having done hard work to earn it. Yet these days, pension seems to be a dirty word, while “golden parachute” seems to be all the rage. Take our two candidates for governor.<\/p>\n Meg Whitman has been trying to pin the infamous “double-dipping” tag on Jerry Brown. Brown’s service in state government in addition to his tenure as Mayor of Oakland would offer him two different methods of a pension. Outrageous cries the Whitman campaign, he’s probably taking billions of money from public coffers. I should know, I looted eBay on the way out the door. And all that.<\/p>\n However, it seems Whitman speaks from too much personal experience and not enough actual knowledge of the situation. Brown released his pension records<\/a>, and he is due slightly under $80,000 per year when he retires. (With his selected option of keeping his wife on as a survivor.)<\/p>\n