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Louisiana’s tobacco lawsuit settlement laden with irony

December 8, 2010 by tomaswell

An online dictionary defines the essential feature of irony as “the indirect presentation of a contradiction between an action or expression and the context in which it occurs.”

A good example of irony would be the State of Louisiana’s legal position in joining with 45 other states several years ago in suing the big tobacco companies. Louisiana, then-Attorney General Richard Ieyoub claimed, was spending inordinate amounts of state revenue treating tobacco-related illnesses among indigent citizens at the state’s charity hospitals.

Joining in the lawsuit was a logical and justified means of recovering some of the state’s costs of treating heart and lung disease, diabetes, cancer, tooth and gum disease, and various other ailments afflicting the state’s poor smokers. It even made sense when state buildings established designating smoking rooms in the early 1990s and then later abolished smoking altogether, forcing those unwilling to kick the habit to trudge outside in heat, cold, and rain to get their nicotine fix.

The 46 states and several U.S. territories eventually reached a settlement of about $206 billion with Louisiana slated to receive $4.6 billion as its share of the settlement.

Louisiana received its first check of $104 million in December of 1999. Last year the state’s share was $175.5 million and the 2010 payment of an as yet undetermined amount is due later this month.

That would explain the justification. Now for the irony.

On June 16 of this year, the Louisiana Department of Corrections (DOC) awarded contracts to three separate vendors for the purchase of more than $6.1 million in tobacco products for re-sale to prison inmates across the state.

And that was only for a six-month supply.

Of the three vendors who were awarded contracts, two are from Texas. Rudy Love Distributing Co. of Huntsville, Texas, had a low bid of $1,002,450 and Price & Co. of Beaumont, Texas, submitted a low bid of $84,631.75. Lyons Specialty Co. of Port Allen tied with an out-of-state firm with its bid of $5,025,220, but was awarded the contract because it is a Louisiana firm, according to DOC spokesperson Pam LaBorde.

The three firms were low bidders on 16 separate items on which bids were opened on June 14, two days before the contracts were awarded, she said.

LaBorde said that DOC and Prison Enterprises (PE) recoups the full amount of the tobacco items purchased off the bids by selling the products to prisoners at a markup, “plus the applicable sales taxes by parish and city or town where the correctional center is located.” She added that prices will vary somewhat because of local taxes.

“When placed out for bid, the amounts reflected in the bid are estimates of usage for the six-month contract period,” LaBorde said. “The amount purchased fluctuates based on the demand.” She said that items are delivered on an as-needed basis and facilities are not required to purchase the full amount as estimated in the contract.

“These proceeds are used to offset the cost of the items, the bidding of the items, the storage, warehousing, other overhead, and delivery to each facility as well as to recoup the necessary salary funds of the correctional officers who provide the canteen service. These canteen services are provided to the offender population as self-generated program(s),” she added.

So much for recovering the costs of purchasing tobacco products for the prisoners. Every contingency, it seems, is covered.

Except….except, oh yes, medical care for the state’s indigent population.

And who in Louisiana is more indigent than prison inmates?

No one. And bear in mind that Louisiana has the largest prison population in the U.S.

And where are prison inmates treated for their smoking-related illnesses?

At the state’s charity hospitals, that’s where.

And who pays for their treatment?

Since the cost of medical treatment is not factored into the equation, i.e. the price prisoners pay for tobacco products, that would be you and me, the Louisiana taxpayers.

Irony.

Posted in Attorney General, Contract, Contracts, Health Care, Prison, Revenue, Transparency | Leave a Comment »

State contractor bounces employee paychecks

December 5, 2010 by tomaswell

An Alabama firm that was awarded a million dollar contract in September to provide security for at least 15 state office buildings in Baton Rouge is late paying most of the 74 guards on its Baton Rouge payroll and has bounced paychecks for several others only weeks before Christmas.

JAT Bureau of Services and Management of Montgomery, Alabama, sent memorandums to employees last Thursday informing them that their paychecks, already late in coming, will be distributed on Tuesday of this week.

JAT, which employs 200 persons in all and which had 2009 revenues of $2 million, had the low bid of $1,061,866.11 during bid openings on Aug. 4 and was awarded the contract to run from September 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011, according to documents provided by the Division of Administration.

The contract stipulates that unarmed guards receive a minimum of $8.50 per hour and armed guards $9.50. Supervisors are to receive at least $12 per hour under terms of the contract.

One guard showed a copy of his paycheck dated November 17, which was returned because of insufficient funds. Guards have continued working despite either not receiving paychecks for several weeks or after receiving paychecks that were not honored by banks.

One unconfirmed report said the company’s contract also includes as many as five other state office buildings in other cities and that employees in those locations also have not been paid.

Attempts were made to contact JAT Chairman Arthur Coleman, but an employee who answered the phone said he was not available. She gave a cell phone number for him but he did not answer when called.

The request for proposals (RFP) issued a month before the bid opening apparently did not require that bidders post either a bid bond or performance bond. The RFP did stipulate, however, that the successful bidder carry liability insurance and that the state had the right to cancel the contract for unsatisfactory performance with 15 days written notice.

State buildings where JAT has a contract to provide security include the Claiborne Building which houses the Division of Administration that awarded the firm its contract, the Office of State Police, the State Library Building, the Baton Rouge State Office Building, the Poydras Building, the First Circuit Court of Appeal Building, the State Data Processing Building, the Galvez Building, the LaSalle Building, the LaSalle Building garage, the Department of Environmental Quality Laboratory building, the Iberville Building, the Bienville Building, the Division of Administrative Law building, and the Wooddale State Office Building.

Posted in Contract, Contracts, Governor's Office, Prison, Transparency | Leave a Comment »

Hidden legislative perk: Pentagon Barracks housing

November 29, 2010 by tomaswell

By Tom Aswell

Here’s a sound business plan that’s sure to attract shrewd investors in today’s competitive real estate market: Construct four apartment buildings containing 39 one- and two-bedroom units of an average size of 800-900 square feet each.

Throw in about $74,136.46 in free furniture and locate the $4.4 million apartment complex on prime property with scenic views of the Mississippi River on one side and the majestic Louisiana State Capitol building on the other. As a final inducement, offer the units for an average monthly rent of about $310, utilities included (sorry, no cable TV). Add two units assigned to a special VIP who pays $3,268 per month for 2,964 square feet, and the average monthly rent balloons to a whopping $368 per occupant.

Think you’d have any trouble attracting tenants at that price and with those amenities?

Probably not.

At those bargain basement rates and provided there were no maintenance costs, no new furniture to purchase, no remodeling needed, and if there were no increase in utilities along the way, and given a mortgage interest rate of 6%, the combined annual rental income would fall short of servicing the principal and interest on the debt, meaning owners would never break even on their investments. A 40-year mortgage at 6%, for example, would require a monthly payment of $24,209.40 against total monthly rental income of only $18,778. Think you’d get many takers with a can’t-miss opportunity like that?

Again, probably not.

Yet, that’s what’s happening, thanks to a long-standing practice by state elected officials in Baton Rouge. Most Louisiana taxpayers are unaware of their own generosity in funding this arrangement during one of the worst economic recessions in decades.

And just who are the beneficiaries of such big-hearted largesse? Who are the lucky tenants? That would be those same elected officials, more specifically, a select handful of legislators from the House and Senate who, even in the face of a looming $1.6 billion state budget deficit next year nevertheless show no reluctance in taking advantage of the cheap rentals even as hundreds of their constituents and state workers alike are losing their jobs and struggling to keep their homes.

The apartment complex in question? The historic Pentagon Barracks that served as part of the LSU campus from 1886 to 1926. Before that, in 1816, the fort at Baton Rouge was selected as an ordnance depot and a contract awarded for the construction of four barracks buildings and a combination commissary-warehouse building. The barracks are now on the National Historic Register.

Early on, the barracks played host to such dignitaries as presidents Zachary Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, U.S. Grant, Warren Harding, and William Taft; Jefferson Davis; Gens. Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, James Longstreet, Nathan Bedford Forrest, George Armstrong Custer, George B. McClellan, P.G.T. Beauregard, and William Tecumseh Sherman, the first president of the military academy that would become LSU.

Today, there are 39 units occupied by 50 legislators—25 from each house. (The Louisiana Legislature is comprised of 144 members—39 senators and 105 representatives.) Two other units are occupied by the lieutenant governor, even though recently-elected Jay Dardenne is a resident of Baton Rouge. Two others, Rep. Karen Gaudet St. Germain (D-Plaquemine) and Sen. Rob Marionneaux (D-Livonia) live only 15 and 24 miles, respectively, from Baton Rouge which could leave some wondering why those three need special housing accommodations in Baton Rouge.

Occupancy of the Pentagon Barracks apartments appears to be more a matter of status than seniority or party affiliation, since several tenants are in their first term in the legislature and there are nearly as many Republicans as Democrat tenants from each house. A request by Capitol News Service for an explanation of criteria used in assigning apartments was not answered by either the House Clerk’s office or the Division of Administration.

Rent charged the legislators (other than for the House speaker and Senate president) ranges from $185 per month each for six senators sharing three apartments to $400 for each of eight representatives who are the sole occupants of their units. Speaker of the House Jim Tucker (R-Terrytown) decides which House members will get apartments. He pays $500 and $125, respectively, for two separate apartments he assigned to himself.

On the Senate side, Senate President Joel T. Chaisson (D-Destrehan) assigns the 21 apartments to 25 senators. Chaisson pays $565 per month for his 1,764 square-foot apartment, which is double the size of the next in size—10 units that are 882 square feet each.

But that arrangement apparently was not good enough for Tucker. During this year’s regular legislative session, almost immediately after the election of former Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu as mayor of New Orleans, Tucker pushed through HB-1172 that would have moved the lieutenant governor’s quarters to a smaller apartment and allowed the speaker to take over the lieutenant governor’s two apartments which total 2,964-square-feet. The $3,268 monthly rental on the lieutenant governor’s apartments currently is paid by the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism. The two units underwent $187,000 in extensive renovations in 2004 at the behest of Landrieu, then newly-elected as lieutenant governor.

HB-1172 was approved 86-0 by the House with 17 either absent or not voting. Among those 17 were six Pentagon Barracks tenants: Andy Anders (D-Vidalia), Roy Burrell (D-Shreveport), Noble Ellington (D-Winnsboro), Rick Gallot (D-Ruston), Cedric Richmond (D-New Orleans), and Ernest Wooten (I-Belle Chase). The bill also passed unanimously in the Senate but died as one of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s few vetoes of the session.

Three neighboring states—Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi—were contacted to learn if those states provided discounted housing for legislators. Only one, Arkansas, did and there apparently is some controversy about that policy, mostly because of several legislators who are chronically late in paying their rent. The state-owned apartment building is across the street from the Arkansas State Capitol and contains 48 apartments that are assigned to representatives and senators at rentals of $300 and $350 per month, according to Cathy Bradshaw, deputy secretary of state.

Arkansas pays its lawmakers a flat salary of $15,362 per year, plus $136 per diem and mileage expenses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).

NCSL also reports that Texas pays its legislators $7,200 per year and $168 per diem for days that the legislature is in session, compared to Louisiana, which pays legislators $16,800 per year and $159 per diem. Mississippi lawmakers receive $10,000 per year plus $123 per diem during legislative sessions. Additionally, Alabama pays its lawmakers a base salary of $3,650 per year, plus $3,958 per month during legislative sessions only and $50 per diem only for the three days per week that the legislature actually meets.

Louisiana legislators are paid $16,800 per year and $159 per diem. That per diem amount is paid for each of the 85 calendar days of the even-year legislative sessions and 60 days of odd-year sessions even though the legislature meets on fewer than half of those days. The same $159 per diem is also paid to the 50 Pentagon Barracks tenants despite their favored housing status.

State records for the four Pentagon Barracks buildings show that their combined appraised value is slightly more than $4.4 million for 41 units comprising 43,424 square feet.

A sampling of the items of furniture purchased for legislative tenants include:

• Entertainment center, $3,200;
• Sofas, $1,520 and $1,304;
• Chairs, $1,100 and $849;
• Eighteen dining room chairs for Speaker Tucker, $64 each;
• Loveseat, $798;
• Dresser, $969;
• Chair with Ottoman, $1,103;

In all, $31,670 was spent on furnishings for House tenants and another $42,466.46 for senators’ apartments.

Tucker, a Republican, and Democrat Chaisson apparently play no particular party favorites in assigning tenants to the Pentagon Barracks apartments. Of the 25 House tenants, 15 are Democrats, nine are Republicans and one is an Independent. Chaisson’s tenant assignments include 11 Republicans, 13 Democrats, and one Independent. If, however, Sen. John Alario follows through on his recent statement that he is leaning toward switching to Republican, the Senate tenants will be evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.

House members lucky enough to secure apartments in the Pentagon Barracks, the parishes they represent and the rent they pay include:

• Andy Anders (D-Vidalia): Concordia, East Carroll, Madison, Tensas ($250);
• Jeff Arnold (D-New Orleans): Orleans ($250);
• Harold Richie (D-Bogalusa): Washington and St. Tammany ($250);
• Tim Burns (R-Mandeville): St. Tammany ($259);
• Rick Gallot (D-Ruston): Lincoln, Bienville, Claiborne ($250);
• Cedric Richmond (D-New Orleans): Orleans ($250);
• Brett Geymann (R-Lake Charles): Beauregard, Calcasieu ($250);
• James H. Morris (R-Oil City): Caddo and Bossier ($250);
• Damon J. Baldone (D-Houma): Lafourche and Terrebonne ($250);
• Gary L. Smith, Jr. (D-Norco): St. Charles and St. John the Baptist ($250);
• Dorothy Sue Hill (D-Dry Creek): Allen, Beauregard and Vernon) ($250);
• Karen Gaudet St. Germain (D-Plaquemine): Ascension, Assumption, Iberville, and West Baton Rouge ($250);
• Gordon E. Dove, Sr. (R-Houma): Lafourche and Terrebonne ($250);
• Joe Harrison (R-Gray): Assumption, St. Mary, and Terrebonne ($250);
• Nita Hutter (R-Chalmette): St. Bernard ($400);
• Jim Tucker (R-Terrytown): Jefferson and Orleans ($500 and $125);
• Ernest Wooton (I-Belle Chase): Jefferson, Plaquemines, and St. Charles ($400);
• Kay Katz (R-Monroe): Ouachita ($400);
• Roy Burrell (D-Shreveport): Bossier and Caddo ($400);
• Jean M. Doerge (D-Minden): Webster ($400);
• Jane H. Smith (R- Bossier City): Bossier ($400);
• Jim Fannin (D-Jonesboro): Bienville, Jackson, Ouachita, and Winn ($400);
• Noble Ellington (D-Winnsboro): Caldwell, Catahoula, Franklin, and Tensas ($400);
• Rosalind D. Jones (D-Monroe): Ouachita ($250);
• Charmaine M. Stiaes (D-New Orleans): Orleans ($250).

The 25 Senate members assigned to Pentagon Barracks apartments and the parishes they represent include:

• John Alario (D-Westwego): Jefferson ($375);
• Daniel Martiny (R-Metairie): Jefferson ($300);
• Lydia P. Jackson (D-Shreveport): Caddo ($300);
• Mike Michot (R-Lafayette): Lafayette ($300);
• John R. Smith (D-Leesville): Vernon, Beauregard, and Calcasieu ($300);
• Gerald Long (R-Winnfield): Natchitoches, Sabine, Winn, Grant, Rapides, and Red River ($300);
• Francis Thompson (D-Delhi): Concordia, Richland, East Carroll, Madison, Tensas, and Ouachita ($300);
• Conrad Appel (R-Metairie): Jefferson ($345);
• D.A. “Butch” Gautreaux (D-Morgan City): Assumption and St. Mary ($300);
• Joe McPherson (D-Woodworth): Rapides ($300);
• B.L. “Buddy” Shaw (R-Shreveport): Caddo and Bossier ($300);
• David R. Heitmeier (D-Algiers): Orleans, Jefferson, and Plaquemines ($370);
• Julie Quinn (R-Metairie): Tangipahoa, St. Tammany, Jefferson, and Orleans ($370);
• Troy Hebert (I-Jeanerette) ($185): Iberia and St. Martin (Hebert resigned his senate seat last week to assume the position of Commissioner of the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, succeeding Murphy Painter who resigned under pressure last August. Hebert announced last June that he would not seek re-election to the senate after almost 16 years in the legislature as first a three-term representative and less than a full term as senator.);
• Rob Marionneaux, Jr. (D-Livonia): East Feliciana, East and West Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupee, and Iberville ($185);
• Eric LaFleur (D-Ville Platte): Evangeline, Avoyelles, Allen, and St. Landry ($185);
• Jean-Paul J. Morrell (D-New Orleans): Orleans ($185);
• Edwin R. Murray (D-New Orleans): Orleans ($370);
• Neil Riser (R-Columbia): Caldwell, Catahoula, Concordia, Franklin, LaSalle, West Feliciana, Avoyelles, Ouachita, Rapides, and Richland ($185);
• Mike Walsworth (R-West Monroe): Ouachita, Morehouse, West Carroll, Union, and Claiborne ($185);
• Sherri Smith Cheek (R-Keithville): Caddo ($370);
• Willie L. Mount (D-Lake Charles): Calcasieu ($370);
• Dan “Blade” Morrish (R-Jennings): Acadia, Jefferson Davis, Cameron, and Calcasieu ($370);
• A.G. Crowe (R-Slidell): St. Tammany, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines ($370);
• Joel T. Chaisson, II (D-Destrehan): St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, and Lafourche ($565).

Posted in Ethics, Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Transparency | 5 Comments »

Effect of Technology on Population

November 23, 2010 by tomaswell

By John Sachs
Guest Columnist

This discussion of the effects of technological advancements centers on population and societal concerns. I’d much rather Dr. Gary Stokley or Dr. Judith Howard discuss the sociological or psychological effects and ramifications of technological advancements, but I’ll take a layman’s stab at it. If either expert gives me a thumping, I’ll take my licks.

In 1800, the average American woman bore 7 children. By 1940, that birth rate had fallen to 2 per woman and has stayed roughly in this range since, with the exception of the “baby boomer” spike in the 1950’s.

Although 2 children per couple roughly equates to zero population growth, it takes approximately 70 years for that to take effect. That is, it takes roughly 70 years before a child is born, has children of his or her own, and then dies at age 70 just as a great-grandchild is born. In the interim, in absolute numbers, population continues to grow. Therefore, it will be a number of years before we see a shrinking population even if we are immediately successful at significantly reducing our current birth rate to that of China, Canada, and most European nations.

Several factors led to the dramatic decline in the birth rate mentioned above. Mechanization of farming created less demand for human labor. Tractors with cultivators, plows, discs, and harrows, and cotton pickers, grain threshers, and potato diggers are examples of such mechanization.

However, at this same time, industrialization was hitting its stride, and nonexistent child labor laws created a climate for hiring cheap child labor. These children lived at home and their meager wages went into the household coffer. So even as rural families were decreasing, urban families had reason to increase family size.

But urban families did not increase in size as much as rural families decreased. Why? First, during this 140 year period, wages increased six fold, and women chose to enter the workforce as contributors to the family income rather than staying at home having babies to work the farm or in the mills. And second, women were becoming educated and wanted more from life than being a subservient bearer (I won’t say beast) of burdens for their husbands.

Are you beginning to see that history is in the process of repeating itself as a result of today’s technological advancements? Again, fewer people doing more work. Educated men and women seeing themselves as more than just procreators of the species (parents) eking out a drab existence. Economic factors are again significantly affecting social behavior. But this time the world is a far different place.

The populations of almost every nation have reached a level where there are not enough jobs to sustain functioning, much less vibrant, economies. There are certainly not enough jobs for the unskilled and uneducated or under-educated. And there never again will be. The remedy for this is twofold: fewer people and a better educated and more skilled workforce. And both must be dealt with simultaneously.

One factor that will continue to reduce birth rates is gainful employment of better educated men and women of child-bearing age. Such couples choose to have smaller families — unlike the marginally employed and poorly educated couples OR SINGLE PARENT. Job success, rather than producing children, provides a sense of accomplishment. Also, educated couples provide better educational environments for their fewer children. This is Quality over Quantity.

And as to the issue of single parents, children born to unwed mothers now represent 40% of all American births. This is up by 25% in just the last 5 years. 5 years! That’s an explosion. Worse yet is the fact that 70% of Black children are born to unwed mothers. I’m not sure what I can or should say about that statistic, so I’ll leave it saying only that this is a problem of epidemic proportions that absolutely must be resolved.

Never mind the ethics regarding absentee and irresponsible fathers. Look only at the economic impact. In large measure, children born to unwed mothers and raised without two present and involved parents will not, on average, receive the education and skills needed to compete in the job market. And what will result from more and more such people comprising a significant percentage of the population? You fill in the blank. And I’ll bet in your worse case scenario you’ll underestimate the negative effects.

An educated, employable, and employed populace is an absolute necessity to national survival. America has already fallen to #18 in technology development, whereas less than 10 years ago we thought that we would always be #1. At #18 we are virtually out of the race. Remember, the country that develops the technology gets first crack at creating the jobs utilizing such technology.

That’s why La Tech’s Enterprise Center and others like it are so critically important. America’s math and reading skills rank so low that I don’t even care to report them to you. Suffice it to say that at our current rate, American children had best learn to speak and read Chinese, Hindi, and Spanish at a minimum so that they will be able to communicate with their bosses.

Anything, ANYTHING in the near-term that slows effective classroom education and skill-set training to our entire population will negatively impact our economic well-being and ultimately our national security. Keep this in mind as you listen to and discuss political debates.

Posted in Politics | Leave a Comment »

Jindal: Mastering the art of doing less with more

November 21, 2010 by tomaswell

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s office has announced that one of his top aides is leaving to pursue work in the private sector. The announcement immediately prompted two observations.

First, how is it, when thousands of Louisianians are out of work and unable to find jobs, Camille Conaway can simply walk away from a $110,000-per-year position—notice I said position, not job—and find work in the private sector? When hundreds of rank-and-file state employees are being laid off as the Christmas season approaches, it seems odd that she can jump to the head of the line—unless she has connections. Of course, we know no one from the governor’s office would intercede in her behalf while turning their backs on long-time dedicated civil service employees. Would they?

Well, why not? If it was good enough for former Commissioner of Administration Angelé Davis, why not, indeed.

Second, her departure gives the governor in absentia the perfect opportunity to lead by example.

If Jindal really wanted to make an impression (other than taking a helicopter to some remote protestant church in north Louisiana to give out federal stimulus money that he is against accepting on principle), then he would simply leave the position open, saving the state treasury that $110,000.

If he were really sincere about “doing more with less,” as he insists state agencies and state colleges and universities do, he would hold a press conference and, in his rapid-fire style of delivery say something like this:

“Three things: One, we are losing one of the administration’s top people. Two, we hate to see her go but after taking a close and critical look at my office, I have decided that I can do more with less. Three, the dozens of overpaid deadheads who remain are just gonna have to suck it up and do more work. They may, of course, be required to spend less time on Facebook but whatever it takes, we can, and will, do.”

That’s what he should have said. But that, unfortunately, is not what he did say.

In fact, he didn’t say anything. He left it to public relations flunky Kyle Plotkin.

Plotkin, in case you didn’t know, is from New Jersey. (Obviously, Jindal, who openly bemoans the exodus of Louisiana’s best and brightest to other states, was unable to find even one person from Louisiana who was qualified to grind out press releases.) Plotkin worked in various capacities for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, which or course makes him eminently qualified to do what no one from this state is capable of doing: paying lip service to policy decisions by the Louisiana governor/wunderkind/frequent flyer/wannabe best-seller author who knows what’s best for America but not necessarily for Louisiana. Speaking of which, how can Jindal call himself an author when his book was ghost written (meaning he didn’t write a complete sentence of his own memoir that he dares to call Leadership and Crisis)?

But as usual, I digress.

Conaway, Plotkin said, was primarily responsible for developing Jindal’s legislative package and also worked with legislators. One has to wonder: Might part of the legislative package she developed have been stripping the State Board of Ethics of its power? Okay, that’s a rhetorical question and again, I’m off-point.

Plotkin went on to say that Conaway will be replaced by Michael Dailey, who served as (get this) deputy secretary of programs at the state Department of Children and Family Services. Deputy secretary of programs? What in the name of all that’s holy would that entail? What programs? Deputy secretary of programs sounds awfully Barney Fifeish.

Nevertheless, Dailey will pull down the same $110,000 salary as his predecessor, Plotkin said.

So much for leading by example. So much for doing more with less.

Can’t wait for your next book, Guv: How to Run A Shell Game With Only One Shell.

Posted in Economy, Governor's Office, Jobs, Layoffs, Transparency | Leave a Comment »

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