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Saturday, September 29, 2007

Suckling Retirees

Clearly, our taxes need to increase to support spending like this:

For Robert Knoll, life is good.

At 67, he no longer has to punch a clock. He lives in a pleasant two-story brick house with a well-manicured lawn and a boat parked in the driveway. He tools about Franklin in a Cadillac.

And the guy just received a retirement check for $522,519 from the county.

Look at the figure again: A retirement check for more than 500 grand. That comes on top of his annual pension of $73,400.

Who knew public service paid so well?

(9) Comments
Posted by Owen at 2022 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. Stories like this have to keep coming out…..to help the GOP hold the line on spending and keep people like Walker in office. 

    I’m sure this guy would argue that he could have made more in private law practice.  Maybe….maybe not….there aren’t as many “high paying” law jobs in Milwaukee as it seems.  And guys who are mentally content to sit and push papers in the probate office for 33-years generally aren’t the type who can handle a higher pressure job where you might make more.

    And either way, the amount of money he would have needed to save over his working career of 33 years with the County to provide a guaranteed $73,000 A YEAR in pension payments (plus COLA raises) until he dies would be a massive amount of after tax savings he would have had to engage in should he have had a private sector job. 

    The guy is taking advantage of his pension, so I can’t fault him for that.  But there are few jobs in America where the average guy gets a payout like this.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 29, 2007 at 2152 hrs


  2. Yeah Steve, just ask Jack Welch about that.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 30, 2007 at 1158 hrs


  3. Where do I apply for that kind of job?  tongue rolleye

    Posted by hsgbdmama on September 30, 2007 at 1336 hrs


  4. Right here.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 30, 2007 at 1407 hrs


  5. After searching a bit about this, he does not appear to be (the full list is not to be found) one of the county workers who participated in the potentially illegal buybacks now being investigated (although the county administration was alerted by another county employee to the potential violation of IRS tax laws a dozen years ago—and again and again since).

    If he was able to do this without buybacks, let’s hope that the investigation also might reveal problems with the basic pension rules that may allow this in Milwaukee County even without breaking the law.  It simply doesn’t seem to be possible for public employees in other counties, at the state level, etc.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 30, 2007 at 1412 hrs


  6. I don’t like Jack Welch and these other corporate guys raiding their own companies for crazy payouts either….those guys are crooks in their own sense and the corporate boards that let them get away with it.  But just because that happens, do we celebrate this “situation” with the County pensions?

    And in the case of GE, I don’t always have to buy their products.  In the case of government employees, I have no choice but to pay their salary.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on September 30, 2007 at 2249 hrs


  7. Jack Welch didn’t get away with it though—the shareholders sqawked and he gave up the perks:

    http://media.www.bcheights.com/media/storage/paper144/news/2002/10/08/Marketplace/Compensation.Package.Tarnishes.Welchs.Image-290997.shtml

    He would have gotten away with it if no one had stepped up and said anything.

    Posted by hsgbdmama on October 01, 2007 at 0546 hrs


  8. And lest we forget, the guy gets social security and Medicare on top of all this too.

    Posted by David on October 01, 2007 at 1201 hrs


  9. The difference between Jack Welch and this guy is simple.  I don’t own GE stock and couldn’t give two shits about Jack Welch’s payout - it looks like the shareholders did and it was corrected.  I am in essence a capitve shareholder of Milwaukee County and I do give a shit about this kind of pension payout.  I only wish we could legal take it away from them.  But it is these pension payments that are the source of almost all of Milwaukee County’s problems.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on October 01, 2007 at 1548 hrs


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