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California Prison Academy: Better Than a Harvard Degree
Wall Street Journal online ^ | * APRIL 30, 2011 | ALLYSIA FINLEY

Posted on 05/01/2011 8:12:29 AM PDT by unique

Prison guards can retire at the age of 55 and earn 85% of their final year's salary for the rest of their lives. They also continue to receive medical benefits.

As a California prison guard, you can make six figures in overtime and bonuses alone. While Harvard-educated lawyers and consultants often have to work long hours with little recompense besides Chinese take-out, prison guards receive time-and-a-half whenever they work more than 40 hours a week. One sergeant with a base salary of $81,683 collected $114,334 in overtime and $8,648 in bonuses last year, and he's not even the highest paid.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: prisons; unions
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Hmmm.......sounds like great benefits, but watch you back!
1 posted on 05/01/2011 8:12:33 AM PDT by unique
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To: unique

If anyone thinks that is an easy way to make money they are ill informed.


2 posted on 05/01/2011 8:14:32 AM PDT by Iron Munro (The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. -- John Steinbeck)
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To: unique

Legalized theft. The politicians who signed off on the mechanisms that allow these packages to come about should be in prison for life.


3 posted on 05/01/2011 8:17:21 AM PDT by sand88
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To: Iron Munro
[ If anyone thinks that is an easy way to make money they are ill informed. ]

EASY!.. no one said it was easy just that the bennys are obscene.. and that the Union that represents them is corrupt..

ALL public sector Unions are corrupt.. politically and probably in other ways as well.. Not to say they are democrat run organized and goon driven.. And they OWN any elected democrat.. and a few republicans too..

4 posted on 05/01/2011 8:22:28 AM PDT by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole...)
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To: Iron Munro

You betcha! You couldn’t entice me into that job for three times that pay.


5 posted on 05/01/2011 8:22:57 AM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: unique

Most of the stuff I learned about prison were from watching OZ’. Had a former apt manager, a prison guard retiree and the stuff I saw on Oz was just the tip of the iceberg.


6 posted on 05/01/2011 8:27:34 AM PDT by max americana (FUBO)
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To: unique

“While Harvard-educated lawyers and consultants often have to work long hours with little recompense besides Chinese take-out”

WTF. Being Harvard educated means that you should get an easier ride than others? You couldn’t pay me enough to be a prison guard.


7 posted on 05/01/2011 8:29:08 AM PDT by A Strict Constructionist (Oligarchy...never vote for the Ivy League candidate.)
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8 posted on 05/01/2011 8:35:09 AM PDT by TheOldLady
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To: unique

And you work with a better class of people. Which is nice.


9 posted on 05/01/2011 8:35:22 AM PDT by RichInOC (Palin 2012: The Perfect Storm.)
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To: unique

I guess I can get why a prison guard can make some good money seeing that your life is in danger having to babysit some of the worst offenders.

But 85% of your salary at retirement + Medical benefits??

Enough guys getting that and you are basically paying the equal of 1/2 of the workforce now to not actually preform a service.


10 posted on 05/01/2011 8:40:49 AM PDT by VanDeKoik (1 million in stimulus dollars paid for this tagline!)
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To: unique

I’ll tell you what I don’t like about these kind of articles. They focus too much on the working man, the sergeant in this case.

Is it unethical to take a job with good benefits? Is it unethical to put in overtime?

No. It’s the politicians - and only the politicians - at fault here.

Sure, the system needs to be fixed, and soon. But such articles need to focus more on who set up these benefits, not on who is legally receiving them.


11 posted on 05/01/2011 8:43:13 AM PDT by Leaning Right (Why am I carrying this lantern, you ask. I am looking for the next Reagan.)
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To: unique

Pay issues aside, CO’s want to keep the animals inside, lawyers want them outside so they can reoffend. Frequent offenders equal frequent paychecks for attorneys; defense, prosecutor and judge. (All attorneys)

Sympathy can be found in the dictionary between a crude word for fecal matter and syphilis.


12 posted on 05/01/2011 8:53:11 AM PDT by Molon Labbie
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To: sand88

I wouldn’t do that job 200K per year. No friggin’ way. Good on ‘em.


13 posted on 05/01/2011 8:58:30 AM PDT by Mathews (Ambition, absent a moral compass, is naked destruction.)
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To: unique
One sergeant with a base salary of $81,683 collected $114,334 in overtime and $8,648 in bonuses last year, and he's not even the highest paid.

That is huge.

That comes out to 1941 hours of overtime. That is almost another work year (2080 hours).

Not really unusual in the regular industrial work place really. My father worked 7 twelve hour days a week for several years in a foundry. That comes out to 1664 overtime hours per year.

But my father worked till he was 65 and got no medical benefits and only a minimal pension.

14 posted on 05/01/2011 9:00:44 AM PDT by Pontiac
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To: max americana
Lots and lots of prison guards and "wardens" don't make it to 55 in that occupation.

The stress is immense, and then there's always a good probability you will "make enemies" ~ which pretty much requires getting a different job.

It's not an easy way to make the big bucks and it has a substantial price.

15 posted on 05/01/2011 9:03:41 AM PDT by muawiyah
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To: sand88

Outrageous public-employee pension obligations

Want to know the single biggest reason why New York City is thinking about laying off thousands of teachers, jacking up parking meter fees and scaling back fire protection?

The answer boils down to one word: pensions.

(Excerpt)

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/12/12/2010-12-12_its_the_pensions_stupid.html


“No municipality will sustain more damage than New York City, which next year faces a mind-boggling pension tab of $8.35 billion - a 19% increase in one year “

California has the 8th largest economy in the world, and yet 80% of every dime they spend is on salaries, benefits, and pensions.
These public employee unions will eventually bring all of the States down.

“How public-sector unions broke California”

http://www.city-journal.org/2010/20_2_california-unions.html


16 posted on 05/01/2011 9:15:13 AM PDT by WOBBLY BOB ( "I don't want the majority if we don't stand for something"- Jim Demint)
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To: Leaning Right

Thats right don’t take it out on the screws.Don’t forget these guys work most every holiday and weekened.
While most people are watching their kids open up christmas on Xmas day.These guys are trying to stop Jose from opening up Leroy in the chow hall.
One of the highest rates of suicide, divorce ,alchohol, drug abuse and early mortality are some of the other benefits.


17 posted on 05/01/2011 9:16:39 AM PDT by TShaunK
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To: Leaning Right

Good point.


18 posted on 05/01/2011 9:19:12 AM PDT by unique
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To: WOBBLY BOB

California has more people in prison than any COUNTRY in the world...


19 posted on 05/01/2011 9:21:34 AM PDT by Sir Francis Dashwood (Arjuna, why have you have dropped your bow???)
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To: VanDeKoik
But 85% of your salary at retirement + Medical benefits??

At 55! So, we pay it for 20+ years - guaranteed! That's just not available to the working man in the private sector.

20 posted on 05/01/2011 9:22:38 AM PDT by unique
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