Angry about the union-busting actions of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and the republican state legislature, I decided to looking more into this idea that state workers are "The Haves", while workers in the private sector are "The Have Nots". This is my first look at the reality of the republicans' perspective.
Since February of this year, public sector workers have been vilified in the media, having been labeled by Governor Walker as the “haves”. As a state worker in the “under $20/hr.” category, I have been mystified at this illustration of state workers’ earnings – even with the understanding that there are many workers who are in the $20-30/hr range. Even by national standards, that places people on the lower end of "middle-class" – far from the range of “The Haves”. So, out of curiosity, I decided to use the “Wisconsin state employee pay in 2010” look-up feature posted by JSOnline.com to check out the earnings of other state workers.
When I found the page, the first thing I noticed was that I could query people who made over $200,000 last year. That was a bit of a surprise because it never occurred to me that any – much less more than one – state employee could make that much in a year; even more surprising was the list that came up when I queried just that.
What I found was that 66 people made over $200,000 as state employees in 2010, and of those 66:
* nearly half (31) work for the Investment Board;
* about a third (23) work for the Department of Health Services;
* 10 are with Corrections;
* 1 is with Children and Families; and
* 1 is a consultant at the Government Accountability Board. Yes, you read that right – a consultant.
* 16 of the top 20 earners worked for the Investment Board
* 9 of the top 10 earners worked for the Investment Board
* 8 made over $300,000;
* 3 made over $400,000; and
* 1 made over $500,000. OVER HALF A MILLION.
* Overtime pay for 1 person (Health Services) was $104,000 – approximately 3 times my earnings
* Overtime pay for 8 people was over $20,000; for 3 of those it was over $30,000.
I found The Haves, and they represent under 1% of state workers. When I tried to query the Executive Appointees, the search came up empty. Hmm...
Everyone can draw his/her own conclusions, but I'm not happy to see that - just as on Wall Street - the investment folks make the most. I'm EXTREMELY not happy to see that.
See the spreadsheet I made on Google Documents.