Comments | brianrdu: Um...this is transparent government.

brianrdu

Um...this is transparent government.

Dec 17, 2008 21:48

Maybe too transparent? I don't need to know salaries of friends of mine who [removed link to Charlotte Observer website]. *gulp* I looked at a few names just for the no-way-would-they-be-listed thing and well, everybody I looked up that I know works for state government is there. I don't like this ( Read more... )

Comments 11

bradferd23 December 18 2008, 05:27:02 UTC

That is weird... isn't this an HR nightmare... I could see people wanting raises because so and so makes more than them. I could see publishing the top officials salaries... but the worker bees... oh crap! Interesting to know, most of the state troopers make the same wage.

brianrdu December 18 2008, 12:31:41 UTC

I think if you work for the state, you know you ain't getting mo money. I used to work for city government, and everybody there said things were much more generous than the state...there was always this "well, you could be working for the state" thing whenever something less than thrilling happened.

(The comment has been removed)

Re: FUCK THEM. brianrdu December 18 2008, 12:30:23 UTC

The salaries of coworkers...that would be shitty for morale. I think they should put this under a password and you have to apply to get that password. That would still suck, but at least it would be a small barrier.

Re: FUCK THEM. amai_unmei December 18 2008, 15:25:14 UTC

I'm still in absolute shock that such information (of which there is a lot) can be posted online like that. I notified my brother and sister about this, because I really didn't know that such a link existed and I want them to be aware. Thank you for posting this.

(Although, my dad definitely knows about his salary being public information ... he works in human resources. True story.)

Re: FUCK THEM. brianrdu December 19 2008, 00:40:36 UTC

I think it's OK that it's public information, but I don't think it should be so easily located. I mean, who needs to know what a certain person makes, other than that person and their boss? I think salaries of *positions* are public knowledge, but that doesn't have to be linked in a public place with a name. I just don't know how this sort of thing would affect attitudes. I imagine everybody in state government, or any government for that matter, understands that they work for the public. But unlike elected officials, they deserve a modicum of privacy, in my opinion.

metalborioso December 18 2008, 12:23:05 UTC

Not that I agree with this at all but as far as I know(being a state emp myself) one of the things they tell you when you are hired is that your employee record is public(except any Hipaa-related bits).

Nevertheless, it is grating to see Jo-blo-who-does-less-work-than-you make more money than you.

brianrdu December 18 2008, 12:33:12 UTC

I doubt they meant your salary and that of your coworkers would be posted where all of you could see it. This needs to be behind some sort of apply-and-get-a-password-for-research thing. I can't see how any good can come of this as it presently stands.

metalborioso December 18 2008, 13:34:57 UTC

I dont see the point either..

chasman December 18 2008, 16:21:33 UTC

Holy shit!

I worked for TVA which is funded by Congress so salaries were not kept secret. If someone knew your work title then they knew your salary since every title had a corresponding salary with no exceptions. I can understand that is how things worked then, but to have your financial information easily obtained online is a serious invasion of privacy.

What's the point of posting it for everyone to see?

brianrdu December 19 2008, 00:37:26 UTC

Point taken. I yanked the link.

dailyafirmation December 18 2008, 20:53:52 UTC

I am a recent hire (09/15/08), and I was told that my salary is public information. Public information means public information. If it were behind some firewall or in a password-protected area, that would remove the "public" part.

This is information the taxpayers have a right to know by law. My pithy little salary is in there, and I could care less. I gain not one ounce of my self-worth from what I make, nor do I compare myself with my coworkers for my job satisfaction.

As long as I'm doing work I'm proud of, I could care less about the rest. Just my two-cents.

[And for what it's worth, I left IBM making a little over $100,000 and I didn't feel anywhere near as happy and proud of the work I was doing there, which is the primary reason I quit.]