Another 1%er at work
Gov. Rick Perry has much to say about entitlement programs. He wants to partially privatize Social Security and muck up Medicaid and Medicare. Jay Root
quotes him from a year-ago interview:
“I do advocate totally rethinking the safety net, personal security programs completely. ... Why is the government collecting your tax money for retirement and health care programs? That’s not a stated constitutional role.”
When it comes to his own retirement account, however, the country's longest-serving governor is already collecting big bucks, even though he's still got three years left in his current term. That's because Perry retired in January. It's perfectly legal for him to do that under Texas law. So, while he complains about other people getting benefits that he claims are on the way to bankrupting the Treasury, he now collects a handsome $92,376 extra each year that is added to the $150,000 he makes as the state's chief executive. He is also still eligible for Social Security benefits as well as state-funded health care for the rest of his life.
"Perry was legally able to begin collecting the employee class annuity under the 'rule of 80.' The combination of his U.S. military service, state service and age exceeded 80 years and qualifies him for the annuity under Texas Government Code 813.503 as amended in 1991," [Perry spokesman Ray] Sullivan said. "Perry continues to pay into the Employees Retirement System with a 6.5 percent withholding from his state salary."
You would think that a person with such strong views about curtailing special perks would, in the interests of the people he claims to serve, refuse to accept several hundred thousand extra dollars over the next few years, thus setting an example for how he wants to see future benefits handled. But that would require him to take his muzzle out of the public trough. Which is about as likely as a vegans-only barbeque in Dallas.