December 27
...serving up your daily dish.
Anybody need $175,000 a year? Corzine, like many governors before him, is taking a pass. From Newsday...
In the past 15 years, most New Jersey governors _ all of them career politicians, only one wealthy _ have declined their full salaries.
Corzine, a 58-year-old former Goldman Sachs CEO who is to take office Jan. 17, spent a combined $107 million of his own cash on his successful 2000 U.S. Senate campaign and this year's governor's race. Last year, Corzine's estimated net worth ranged as high as $262 million.
Said aide Andrew Pogue: "The Treasury needs it more than he does."
Department of Treasury records indicate that New Jersey Gov. Jim Florio started the trend of taking partial pay in modern times, accepting $85,000 of the statutorily mandated $130,000 annual salary. Christine Todd Whitman followed suit, as did acting Gov. Donald DiFrancesco in 2001, although by then the official salary was up to $175,000. Former Gov. James E. McGreevey accepted 90 percent of his pay, or $157,000.
Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey, however, accepted his full $175,000 salary for the time he has served since McGreevey's resignation. An aide was quick to point out Codey has refused the salary for which he also is eligible as Senate president. Senators earn $49,000 a year, but extra pay for the president of that body brings the paycheck to $65,333.
Now, if there were only 2285 more Corzines (what a thought, eh? The rate of global warming would double from all the hot air) we'd have enough to fund the "expanded" state-run helathcare program Corzine promised.
Posted by: Right of Center™ | Dec 27, 2005 9:24:25 AM
Now, if there were only 2285 more Corzines (what a thought, eh? The rate of global warming would double from all the hot air) we'd have enough to fund the "expanded" state-run helathcare program Corzine promised.
Posted by: Right of Center™ | Dec 27, 2005 9:24:41 AM
Codey probably needed the salary because he (1) wasn't a Captain of Industry and (2)maybe his pockets weren't being lined with bag money. Good litmus test - if the politician needs the salary, perhaps the politician is honest?
Posted by: Conan the Grammarian | Dec 27, 2005 9:34:18 AM
I'm still wondering (warily) if the "ROC" posting above is the ROC whose posts first led me here, or if he/she is an impostor with some other agenda, simply not imaginative enough to come up with his/her own posting name or is trying to carry on in ROC's "tradition" (sort of like Antonio Banderas did as Zorro in the movie). Would the current posting version care to comment?
Posted by: cathar | Dec 27, 2005 9:44:27 AM
I personally would rather have a governor who *needs* the salary, rather than one who is so filthy rich $175k is something you can throw away.
Posted by: Butch | Dec 27, 2005 11:58:23 AM
Take a look at NJ history. A governor who doesn't *need* the salary will *not* be a governor who takes bribes.
The old adage from Santayana, that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it is true!!
Here are only a few:
In 1954, Harold Hoffman, who was governor between 1935 and 1938, admitted in a letter opened after he died that he had stolen $300,000 over the course of his career in public service. Over two decades as head of the Employment Security Division, Hoffman juggled $16 million in state funds to cover the theft.
Sen. Harrison A. Williams Jr. (1959-1982) was charged in the 1981 Abscam sting, in which FBI agents posed as Arab sheiks and offered bribes to members of Congress. Williams was convicted on nine counts and sentenced to three years in prison.
Sen. Robert G. Torricelli, who served in Congress from 1983 until 2002, dropped his reelection bid in 2002 after a Senate ethics panel admonished him over his dealings with a donor.
Jersey City Mayor Frank Hague (1917-1947) managed to purchase property worth millions, though his salary was only $8,000 a year. He stepped down in 1947 when authorities launched an investigation.
Former Newark Mayor Hugh Addonizio (1962-1970) was found guilty of extorting more than $241,000 from contractors doing business with the city and served five years in prison.
State Sen. and Union City Mayor William V. Musto was reelected as mayor in May 1982, a day after he was sentenced to prison following a bribery conviction for school-construction kickbacks. A Superior Court judge later ruled Musto had to step down, and he served three years in prison.
Former Wayne Mayor Louis V. Messercola pleaded guilty in 1989 to extorting $50,000 from a developer. As he was serving his 33-month sentence, he received an additional 15 months for accepting a $177,000 bribe in exchange for building approvals.
Paterson Mayor Martin G. Barnes pleaded guilty in July 2002 to accepting gifts from contractors and tax evasion. Barnes was sentenced to 37 months in prison, a $1,000 fine, 200 hours community service, and three years' supervised release.
Posted by: don't eat the rich | Dec 27, 2005 3:29:21 PM
'tis I cathar. Though I have now some self-imposed "guidelines" for posting. However, back to the matter at hand. I have my $19 and am ready for my health care plan Mr. Corzine. Anyone seen Matt Stoller? Matt? Can you tell me when the new health care plan will be up and running?
Jon Corzine - a man whose word is his bond!
Posted by: Right of Center™ | Dec 27, 2005 6:57:12 PM
ROC, cathar, Walleroo and Butch... as Yogi Berra would say... it's deja vu all over again!
Posted by: Pam | Dec 27, 2005 9:21:42 PM
