If you follow my blog with any regularity you will know that I think very little of lobbyists…..I think blackmailers under the guise of civility is a blotch on the otherwise good conduct of the country…….personally, I think that a congressperson should have a waiting period of 10 years before they can do any lobbying……but I digress….

I saw an article that made me sick………

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — As a lobbyist in New York’s statehouse, Stephen Acquario is doing pretty well. He pulls down $204,000 a year, more than the governor makes, gets a Ford Explorer as his company car and is afforded another special perk:

Even though he’s not a government employee, he is entitled to a full state pension.

He’s among hundreds of lobbyists in at least 20 states who get public pensions because they represent associations of counties, cities and school boards, an Associated Press review found. Legislatures granted them access decades ago on the premise that they serve governments and the public. In many cases, such access also includes state health care benefits.

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The debate is more about principle than big money, since the staffs of such organizations are relatively small and make barely a ripple in huge state retirement systems. The eight New York associations, for example, have fewer than 120 total employees out of 633,100 current workers in the state’s $158.7 billion pension system.

Still, the issue raises a public policy question as many states and taxpayers struggle to fund their pension obligations required by law.

“There is liability for taxpayers,” said Keith Brainard, research director of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. “Providing a pension benefit involves some amount of risk for the state and when you provide access to employees of entities that are not in control of the state.”

Unlike state government, for example, these groups aren’t bound by salary restrictions — significant salary increases would result in increasing pension benefits.

These people have way too much influence and way too many benefits that they do not deserve…..

At NO point are lobbyists a government employee……..they are paid by special interests to bribe and blackmail elected official into complying to the wishes of their handlers…….no where is this acceptable….but I guess if enough palms are greased they can do whatever they like……thoughts?