"Special laws skirt pension system; Legislature boosts benefits for some police, firefighters" by Donovan Slack, Globe Staff | October 24, 2008
A Globe review found 19 other Boston police officers and 11 firefighters have benefited from laws granting them the same increased pensions and benefits dating as far back as 1968. The city of Boston is paying them a total of $2.34 million per year, at least $655,000 more per year than if they were receiving disability pensions at the regular rate of 72 percent, records show.
In Griffiths's case, as in the 30 others, he also gets thousands of dollars in raises each year that other disabled retirees don't get. When he dies, his wife will receive 75 percent of his pension amount at the time, monthly, for life. Fiscal watchdogs say that passing laws to grant specific individuals increased pensions and special benefits has been a common practice in Massachusetts and could be costing taxpayers as much as $125 million per year in extra pension costs. --more--"
While I am not for anyone looting the taxpayers, the Globe makes it sound like its the cop and firefighter (America's heroes, hurt in the line of duty? Why not? They never investigate the 9/11 heroes who are sick) bilking the system while PROMOTING the PHARMACEUTICAL POISONERS, WAR-LOOTING "DEFENSE" FIRMS (page B10, lower-right, almost missed it), or FAT-CAT CORPORATE FRIENDS of LEGISLATORS that they WORK FOR!!!!
Of course, "flushing . . . millions of dollars away supporting a highly profitable industry" when it comes to $300 million in taxpayer dollars for Hollywood is o.k., and paying $13 million for a computer software system that could have cost less than $3 million is all right, and the lottery shelling out "millions of dollars" for sports tickets for "lottery officials, their family members, and friends" is fine, and making interest payments to banks to the tune of "a staggering $22 billion" for the Big Pit and paying off banks like UBS, who can "demand repayment of an additional $2 million a month beginning in January" while also receiving a "$179 million payment," while the state pension fund loses $1 billion dollars -- which still didn't stop the executive director from carving himself a nice "$64,000 bonus on top of his $322,000 annual salary."
Oh, and did I not mention the golf courses, the tv ads, or the RECKLESS BORROWING while SITTING ON $2 BILLION DOLLARS!
Need one final insult?: Massachusetts Gives More Money to Hollywood
