Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Drum Roll. Enter the Massachusetts Senate i.e. the House is done with its budget deliberations and now it's the Senate's turn to take on the whole kit-and-caboodle called the FY '05 State Budget of Massachusetts. If you call backroom done deals deliberating... Did I just say that?
I consoled one non-profit organization this morning -- one that may be forced to close up shop this year because they didn't get their funding on the House side. Their only hope now is that the Senate will come through for them. They didn't get their funding on the House side because certain Representatives don't like the director of the operation nor do they like the program particularly. But this non-profit doesn't know that. They think their program is god's gift to bettering humanity and the reason they didn't get funding was based on a 'technicality.' Shhhh!
I'm all for the funding of programs to help those less fortunate but there are things that even this mega-liberal doesn't like about this non-profit. The first is that every year, afore-mentioned organization plans their budget based on the assumption they will get at least as much, if not more (preferably more) money from the state even so they were told years ago to start transitioning over to alternate sources of funding. The second is that nearly half of their operating budget is eaten up by the director's $80K-a-year salary. $80K a year and she still hasn't been able to figure out a plan that will wean them from the state tit. "Well," she wails tearfully, "I don't understand why it's so hard to get funding for our program. We help minimum-wage workers get tuition-free training and education to help them become qualified precision machinists and welding and metal fabricators in the "thriving" [my parentheses] metalworking industry in Massachusetts." Delving deeper (as Diving Bird is teaching Anna Bloviation's to do), I learn that this non-profit helps exactly eight minimum-wage workers get training to become master metal workers. Eight. Yes, and I am surprised as you are to learn that Massachusetts has a thriving metalworking industry.
Nothing wrong with this per se except if you're a legislator mired in a pickle of a deficit and have to pick between a homeless program and this particular one. Well then it's kind of a no-brainer politically. Especially that the homeless program can effectively demonstrate the costs to the state if their program isn't funded which is something this high-paid director hasn't been able to show for her program. Like what's the ROI baby?
Gee, I'd be crying too if I were about to lose such a cushy job. Probably I'm just jealous of this chick's job. Some might argue that mine is a very cushy one too, in a kind of I-can-come-and-go-as-I-please, lots-of-holidays way, but the pay is a joke. The last time state employees got a raise in Massachusetts was back in 1998 (all of 2%). Yes, yes the State House is the solitaire-playing capitol of the world but Jiminy Cricket guys, mediocrity exists everywhere! Share the pie. Except for that non-profit organization I mentioned...
I consoled one non-profit organization this morning -- one that may be forced to close up shop this year because they didn't get their funding on the House side. Their only hope now is that the Senate will come through for them. They didn't get their funding on the House side because certain Representatives don't like the director of the operation nor do they like the program particularly. But this non-profit doesn't know that. They think their program is god's gift to bettering humanity and the reason they didn't get funding was based on a 'technicality.' Shhhh!
I'm all for the funding of programs to help those less fortunate but there are things that even this mega-liberal doesn't like about this non-profit. The first is that every year, afore-mentioned organization plans their budget based on the assumption they will get at least as much, if not more (preferably more) money from the state even so they were told years ago to start transitioning over to alternate sources of funding. The second is that nearly half of their operating budget is eaten up by the director's $80K-a-year salary. $80K a year and she still hasn't been able to figure out a plan that will wean them from the state tit. "Well," she wails tearfully, "I don't understand why it's so hard to get funding for our program. We help minimum-wage workers get tuition-free training and education to help them become qualified precision machinists and welding and metal fabricators in the "thriving" [my parentheses] metalworking industry in Massachusetts." Delving deeper (as Diving Bird is teaching Anna Bloviation's to do), I learn that this non-profit helps exactly eight minimum-wage workers get training to become master metal workers. Eight. Yes, and I am surprised as you are to learn that Massachusetts has a thriving metalworking industry.
Nothing wrong with this per se except if you're a legislator mired in a pickle of a deficit and have to pick between a homeless program and this particular one. Well then it's kind of a no-brainer politically. Especially that the homeless program can effectively demonstrate the costs to the state if their program isn't funded which is something this high-paid director hasn't been able to show for her program. Like what's the ROI baby?
Gee, I'd be crying too if I were about to lose such a cushy job. Probably I'm just jealous of this chick's job. Some might argue that mine is a very cushy one too, in a kind of I-can-come-and-go-as-I-please, lots-of-holidays way, but the pay is a joke. The last time state employees got a raise in Massachusetts was back in 1998 (all of 2%). Yes, yes the State House is the solitaire-playing capitol of the world but Jiminy Cricket guys, mediocrity exists everywhere! Share the pie. Except for that non-profit organization I mentioned...
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