Today's Boston Globe reports on the case of convicted felon Richard W. McDonough (of the Dorchester McDonoughs?). It appears that McDonough, while working in the DPS (Dreaded Private Sector) as a million-dollar-a-year lobbyist (natch) fixing deals like the Cognos software contract for convicted former Speaker DiMasi, was also on the public payroll holding down a no-show job as "director of pubic affairs and government relations" (lots of hard skills needed there) at something called the Merrimack Education Collaborative (just the name sounds sketchy).
Records show that while an employee of the "Education Collaborative", McDonough had no desk, no phone, no secretary, and no work product. What he did have was Cadillac health care, a big salary, a big pension ($30k+ per year) and, from the photo of him, big hair and a big gut.
Need I write more?
The number of parasites like McDonough feeding off the system of corrupt one-party rule that, along with electing members of the Kennedy Family, has been a principal feature of Massachusetts politics since the 1950s, must run into the tens of thousands.
The situation has now gotten so bad that even the Globe is complaining.
A thorough house cleaning from top to bottom is long overdue on Beacon Hill, but what should be the hallmark of this reform?
Answer: a reform that is radical, not merely incremental; a reform that seeks not merely the reduction in size of wasteful and unnecessary state agencies but also their complete elimination. No half measures. "Out by the roots." The encrustations of government should be treated as weeds in a garden.
Were I governor, I'd do it this way: (1) start by building a fence around Boston Common with one locked gate; (2) order everyone working in state government to report inside the fence on Monday morning; (3) begin the administration of government and, if, as, and when I needed assistance (say, a secretary, a cabinet member, or ha, ha, a "Governor's Councillor") I would pick a person from inside the fence; (4) everyone still inside the fence at 5:00 P. M. on Friday would receive a thank you and a pink slip, but no pension. It's public service, don't you know?
Let's face it, people, at least fifty per cent of state government is largely a welfare system for the middle class, filled with make-work and/or no-show jobs manned by political hacks or those connected or related to them.
The Tribunes of the People in the Massachusetts Legislature could set a good civic example for the rest of state government by making de jure what is de facto (and thus bringing Massachusetts into line with many other states): make the legislature a part-time job (these clowns already only work part time anyway), with a proportionate diminution in salary, staff, perks, pensions, and benefits.
I have written extensively concerning the merits of a part-time legislature; those interested in reading more may wish to start with my Op-Ed Piece in the Lowell Sun that ran last year (the Boston Globe declined to run it):
http://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-offices-legislative/14897893-1.html
Records show that while an employee of the "Education Collaborative", McDonough had no desk, no phone, no secretary, and no work product. What he did have was Cadillac health care, a big salary, a big pension ($30k+ per year) and, from the photo of him, big hair and a big gut.
Need I write more?
The number of parasites like McDonough feeding off the system of corrupt one-party rule that, along with electing members of the Kennedy Family, has been a principal feature of Massachusetts politics since the 1950s, must run into the tens of thousands.
The situation has now gotten so bad that even the Globe is complaining.
A thorough house cleaning from top to bottom is long overdue on Beacon Hill, but what should be the hallmark of this reform?
Answer: a reform that is radical, not merely incremental; a reform that seeks not merely the reduction in size of wasteful and unnecessary state agencies but also their complete elimination. No half measures. "Out by the roots." The encrustations of government should be treated as weeds in a garden.
Were I governor, I'd do it this way: (1) start by building a fence around Boston Common with one locked gate; (2) order everyone working in state government to report inside the fence on Monday morning; (3) begin the administration of government and, if, as, and when I needed assistance (say, a secretary, a cabinet member, or ha, ha, a "Governor's Councillor") I would pick a person from inside the fence; (4) everyone still inside the fence at 5:00 P. M. on Friday would receive a thank you and a pink slip, but no pension. It's public service, don't you know?
Let's face it, people, at least fifty per cent of state government is largely a welfare system for the middle class, filled with make-work and/or no-show jobs manned by political hacks or those connected or related to them.
The Tribunes of the People in the Massachusetts Legislature could set a good civic example for the rest of state government by making de jure what is de facto (and thus bringing Massachusetts into line with many other states): make the legislature a part-time job (these clowns already only work part time anyway), with a proportionate diminution in salary, staff, perks, pensions, and benefits.
I have written extensively concerning the merits of a part-time legislature; those interested in reading more may wish to start with my Op-Ed Piece in the Lowell Sun that ran last year (the Boston Globe declined to run it):
http://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-offices-legislative/14897893-1.html
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