Dear Editor:This is in no way directed at the many dedicated teachers, government employees and administrators that are working many hours to help people and, in some cases, using their own money for supplies. Gov. Jerry Brown promised us that if we passed his Prop. 30 to raise our taxes he would protect the fund for schools. Already he has failed us. Gov. Brown was against this but it did no good because he could not stop the regents from giving the new UC Berkley president $50,000 a year more than the outgoing person was making. He will make $487,000 a year. He is also receiving a signing bonus and moving expenses, and on top of this we had to hire his professor wife for an additional salary. Couldn't we find a qualified person who would love that position for around $250,000 a year? I also heard that the California teachers union hired a Wall Street investor who lost close to $552 million. I live in Downey and we gave $635,000 to our former police chief Roy Campos because in his 30 odd years of service he never took a vacation. That's what I call working your way up. Our California State Prison Authority who, because there is no money to build new prisons, has instituted an early release program. And they paid a psychiatrist over $800,000 last year's (that's twice what the president of the United States makes) because he had so much overtime. He worked six weeks straight without a break. We couldn't find a prison psychiatrist to relieve him? As long as we keep re-electing the same people who keep doing the same thing and keep raising our taxes so they can spend our money on their friends to get the re-elected, it will never change. Maurie Thomas Downey

********** Published: December 20, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 36