Posted on 12/10/2006 6:25:45 AM PST by Mobile Vulgus
It was news for one day in Chicago, the biggest city in Senator Dick Durbin's home state. Since then, no one seems to have noticed this absurd bill being pushed by Senator Dick Durbin that would give away Federal welfare money to young lawyers.
Of course, Durbin isn't calling it welfare. He is calling it "debt relief". It sounds helpful and innocuous doesn't it? Relief is a nice thing, right?
On November 27th, the Chicago Sun-Times tried to soft sell the proposal as a way to help "people with over $100,000 debt" get "relief".
Gosh that is an awful lot of money to be saddled with, eh?
Debt relief may be in sight for lawyersYes, it is "amazing", all right.
For prosecutors and public defenders drowning in debt, help might soon be on the way.
Since 2003, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has been pushing legislation that would grant student loan relief to public sector lawyers in the criminal justice system. With the Democrats in control of Congress, Durbin plans to reintroduce his bill early next year. Some hope it finally has a chance of passing.
"It's the defining issue of this era" for prosecutors, said Bernie Murray, chief of criminal prosecutions for the Cook County state's attorney's office. "The number of people with over $100,000 in debt is amazing."
The bill, called the Prosecutors and Defenders Incentive Act, intends to give away $10,000 (capped at $60,000) of Federal money a year to people who will promise to commit to three years of service in the ranks of a state's public defender's offices.
The Sun-Time's story is filled with pity-party stories about how all these young lawyers seem to be somehow unfairly burdened with such high tuition debt for so many years after they finish their schooling.
I am heart broken for people who, in Durbin's home state, make an average salary of $80,000 a year at the law.
Let's contrast that with the average yearly salaries of some other members of the Durbin's state.
School Bus Driver : $25,000 a year
School Teacher: $38,000 a year
Preacher or Minister: $40,000 a year.
Printer: $45,000 a year
Police Officer: $55,000 a year
Registered Nurse: $55,000 a year
Plumber: $79,000 a year
Tell me Senator Durbin, is the debt that these people incur training themselves for their careers any less worthy of your so-called debt relief than that of a lawyer? Are the people who undertake these other necessary and noble careers less deserving of your "help"?
And, it must be pointed out that a lawyer is far more able to pay their tuition loans than the people who struggle to succeed in the professions I noted above.
Obviously a young, would-be lawyer knows full well what the debt that they incur will be, just as everyone else does. They elect to purse their career choice voluntarily, fully understanding the road they must travel to get there.
So, why all this feeling sorry for people who are on a life track to make more money than most people ever will? Why should we fall all over ourselves to give away our tax dollars to these strata of people?
Talk about welfare to the rich! I thought Democrats pretended to care about the "little people" and were the bulwark against the depredations of the evil rich?
Yet, now we have one of the most partisan, mud slingers in Congress, a man who is supposed to represent the best the more caring Democrats have to offer, giving away Federal money to the rich?
How can this be described most fittingly?
One word...
Hypocrisy.
Certainly this supposed relief is welcome news to certain people.
Durbin, Murray said, "is a liberal guy, so a lot of prosecutors don't like him. But he's my hero. "I am sure.
Right now the bill is stalled but it had passed the judiciary committee with the loving help of committee Chair, Arlen Spector. And, Democrats are hopeful that the new Congress will be more receptive to their welfare for the rich.
"We're hoping now with the change of leadership in the Senate, we can get this enacted, " said Durbin, who will be the assistant majority leader come January. "It's the highest priority. "It amazes me that anyone should propose to steal the People's tax money to enrich those who will become richer than most of their fellow citizens.
I hope Durbin's sop to the richest Americans is stopped in it's tracks.
Contact your Senator and say NO to welfare for rich lawyers.
A better way to get a pool of talented young lawyers into public service would be to require them to serve three years of duty as public defenders and/or prosecutors. This would occur after passing the bar exam but prior to being admitted to the bar. It would be not unlike the internship and residency performed by physicians.
If you want to succeed in politics, working as a prosecutor for a few years after college is one way to make an impression on the voters. It was the ONLY job Kerry had, and I doubt that he was overburdened with his work as some prosecutors are. It looks to me as though Turbin in sucking up to future Dems in congress. Just my thinking on this matter.
Every subsidy will just make college more expensive.
If you look at the payment as a $10,000 a year retainer fee in tthe public defenders office, it looks a lot better.
If I were a newley graduated lawyer (and I'm not even a lawyer) I would want to get out there and get the big bucks to pay off my debt. You can't do that in the public defenders office.
Look at it another way.... The government is paying kids fresh out of high school $60,000 to enlist in the Army for 3 years. Granted, the lawyers have already graduated from college, but both the high school graduate and the lawyer are being incentivized to go into public service.
I don't know, but digging deeper into this subject, it is not as shocking as it seems.
However, this thread is enough for a lawyer joke:
What is the difference between a lawyer and a catfish?
One is a bottom feeding scum sucker.....The other is a fish.
Hell! I thought the government gave the lawyers a gift when they passed the ADA. You know, the gift that keeps on giving and giving and giving.......
Probably cheaper for the taxpayers than than paying the salaries to allow prosecutors of the same quality to pay off the loans.
Minor correction - the Army might offer UP TO $60,000 to a high school graduate who enlists in the Army in certain specialties, for periods up to SIX years.
My son has enlisted (delayed enlistment) in the Army. Although he had very high ASVAB scores, and could enter any specialty field, he wanted to go Airborne, and have a chance to be a Ranger. He signed up for 5 years, and his bonus, payable upon completion of training - is a mere $15,000.
(Yes - he could have gotten $60,000 if he had signed up for Navy - Nuclear power training, submarine duty, for a 6 year commitment - but he didn't want anything remotely resembling a desk job.)
As to the proposal to give up to $60,000 for paying off school debt .... I am totally opposed to it!!! They get too much money - without being that beneficial to society. Maybe if it came included with a "looser pays" so that frivilous lawsuits carry a certain penalt, plus other means of "policing" their profession, to return "ethics" to the legal profession - then only then it might be worth considering...
Mike
I DID say $60K when I meant $30K, sorry.
The article in the paper said that first year lawyers get a little less than $50K in the public arena (prosecuters or public defender office) while lawyers in private practice average $130 K.
Now, someday I might need a public defender (LOL), or a hot shot young prosecuiter to get the scum bag that mugged me. $10K/year is pretty cheap to keep a good one in the DA's office.
Another lawyer joke:
What do you need when a lawyer is up to his neck in cement? MORE CEMENT!!!!
Why do we need lawyers? Why can't people mediated their own disputes? Why do we have to give criminals constant and continuous reviews of their convictions? Lawyers are a protected class of criminals; the good ones need the bad ones to stay in business.
"You can't do that in the public defenders office.
"
Bull crap. The story says that PDs make $50,000 a year. if you can't start paying off your loans with that then you shouldn't have bothered!
Cops make LESS than that but every cop is being required to have college these days. THEY have to pay off THEIR loans too!
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