Tom Ridge may retire

[mdlbear]

Homeland Security secretary Tom Ridge "has explained to colleagues that he needs to earn money to comfortably put his two children, Tommy Jr. and Lesley, through college, officials said. Both are now teenagers. Ridge earns $175,700 a year as a Cabinet secretary."

(from http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/9279831.htm?1c, among other places)

Poor baby!  Maybe his wife could get a job?

Comments

[ravan.livejournal.com]

He can't put two kids through school on $175K a year? What is his problem, budgetary incompetance? He's running a government department with fiscal responsibility?

Feh!

[mdlbear]

Well, there's that $800,000 mortgage he has to pay off...

[ravan.livejournal.com]

Oh, a small cottage in Silicon Valley... 8-P

[asavitzk.livejournal.com]

1. I love the BugMeNot plugin that let me read this without registering.
2. I think $175,700 is quite a fair sum of money for someone to tell me what color clothes to wear each day.

[ravan.livejournal.com]

I wish I made that much...

[jilara.livejournal.com]

Don't we all.

[vixyish.livejournal.com]

Pardon my language, but JESUS CHRIST. Can anyone say "no sense of reality?" I knew you could.

[mrlogic.livejournal.com]

Aside from the ludicrous suggestion that one can't put two kids through school with an income of almost $200K annually (gee, I guess the rest of us might as well give up on college for our kids -- better tell them to get those applications in at Burger King)...how does one earn more money by retiring? Usually, in order to continue having an income, one needs to continue working.

[mrlogic.livejournal.com]

OK...read the article. "government officials at Ridge's level easily can earn millions of dollars in the private sector." Doing what? Giving speeches, I guess? Sheesh...

These people really do have no grip...

[trogula.livejournal.com]

Doing what? Selling access to top government officials.

See Chaney and Haliburton for examples.

[mrlogic.livejournal.com]

Silly me -- I wasn't thinking sleazy enough.

[jilara.livejournal.com]

Remember, once you retire, you're a "consultant." Then you can make them pay for that name recognition.

[obsessivewoman.livejournal.com]

...What do the simple folks do?...

Wow. He's making so much more than he was at his last job - perhaps his family has gotten accustomed to too much money and requires the finest things in life to survive? (No, Dad. I simply need to have the Jaguuar or I won't get into the right Frat house! Oh, the pain, the agony!)

To try to be fair, perhaps he really want both his kids to be doctors (which would easily eat up his little nest egg), he or another member of his clan has a gambling/addiction problem, or possibly he's just far more stressed than he can let on.

Imagine, getting gigs with very little stress and millions in consulting fees. (Hmmm, reminds me slightly of the old days 'round here in the Silicon Valley.)

Back to doing minor electrical work, cleaning houses, and painting for me. Really, I have an MBA and 10 years of experience consulting and running successful call/email tech centers, and managing telco, and I'm still out of the mainstream. Glad *someone* can find opportunity in this recession. Sorta frustrated that it's not one of us.