Private versus Public: Your Opinion

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07-09-2008, 09:14 PM
Kiwon

Private versus Public: Your Opinion

The Houston Chronicle newspaper has posted every Houston and Harris County public employee's salary online complete with sortable database.

What do you think about this? Where does the public's right to know end and the individual's right to privacy begin?

I think compelling arguments can be made on both sides.

.................................................. .............................

Houston public employee salaries in 2007

• Click on the name for details, including base salary, bonus and car allowance.
• Sort any column by clicking on the header.
• See something in the database that we should investigate further? Let us know about it.

http://www.chron.com/databases/publi...Iorderby=TOTAL
07-09-2008, 09:23 PM
Scott Campbell

If you want your salary info kept private, go work in the public sector. Otherwise, I'm your boss. And your boss always knows what you make.
07-09-2008, 10:05 PM
Tyrone Bigguns

Re: Private versus Public: Your Opinion

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwon

The Houston Chronicle newspaper has posted every Houston and Harris County public employee's salary online complete with sortable database.

What do you think about this? Where does the public's right to know end and the individual's right to privacy begin?

I think compelling arguments can be made on both sides.

.................................................. .............................

Houston public employee salaries in 2007

• Click on the name for details, including base salary, bonus and car allowance.
• Sort any column by clicking on the header.
• See something in the database that we should investigate further? Let us know about it.

http://www.chron.com/databases/publi...Iorderby=TOTAL

If Houston and Harris county only have 250 employees i'd be very surprised. :oops:
07-09-2008, 10:07 PM
SkinBasket

When I worked at university, my information was available to anyone as part of the searchable on-line budget. I felt so violated.
07-09-2008, 10:08 PM
texaspackerbacker

I'm all for the right of privacy, but these people are government employees--paid by the taxpayers. The right of those taxpayers to know what they make trumps that right of privacy.
07-10-2008, 08:48 AM
Kiwon

While I agree that the public should have access to such information as how much city and county employees make I'm not sure that unfettered Internet access is really the way to go. Publish the figures and make them available in the county courthouse for anyone who wants to research it. Why should everyone on earth with an Internet connection need to know how much a certain official makes in Houston and Harris County, Texas?

As much concern as there is regarding one's personal info available on the Net this involuntary sharing of how much Joe Blow got paid last year would really bother me if I were Joe Blow and owed my brother-in-law some money.

Houston Chronicle's little dig, "See something in the database that we should investigate further? Let us know about it," betrays some of their motives for publishing the figures. They are more interested in finding a scandal and selling newspapers rather than serving any real public good.

I want honest, accountable government but putting personal financial info on the Net strikes me as a clumsy way of going about it.
07-10-2008, 08:53 AM
The Leaper

If you are paid by the taxpayers, the taxpayers deserve easy access to find out what you are making. If you don't want your salary known, don't go into the public sector. It's that simple.
07-10-2008, 09:10 AM
Scott Campbell

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwon

Houston Chronicle's little dig, "See something in the database that we should investigate further? Let us know about it," betrays some of their motives for publishing the figures.

It's an effective deterrent.

Congratulations on your big election win Mrs. Mayor. Thinking about appointing your hairdresser into some $150K fluff position? Not if it's a certainty that everyone is going to find out about it.

And you should pay your brother in law back.
07-10-2008, 09:49 AM
Kiwon

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Campbell

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwon

Houston Chronicle's little dig, "See something in the database that we should investigate further? Let us know about it," betrays some of their motives for publishing the figures.

It's an effective deterrent.

Congratulations on your big election win Mrs. Mayor. Thinking about appointing your hairdresser into some $150K fluff position? Not if it's a certainty that everyone is going to find out about it.

And you should pay your brother in law back.

:D Your example sounds like something from the Detroit city council.

Sunshine is the best disinfectant and I don't mind seeing corrupt public officials getting exposed but giving the Nigerian 419 scammers hard data to work with just rubs me the wrong way.

Whatever. I'm not from Houston and don't know anyone who is. I just know I wouldn't be a happy camper right now if I were a public official and would be busy putting out the names and incomes of the Houston Chronicle staffers in as many places as possible to let know what it's like.

I expect parking violations, etc. that might have been overlooked in the past will not be overlooked any more. That's life.
07-10-2008, 10:02 AM
bobblehead

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott Campbell

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwon

Houston Chronicle's little dig, "See something in the database that we should investigate further? Let us know about it," betrays some of their motives for publishing the figures.

It's an effective deterrent.

Congratulations on your big election win Mrs. Mayor. Thinking about appointing your hairdresser into some $150K fluff position? Not if it's a certainty that everyone is going to find out about it.

And you should pay your brother in law back.

See Bobby Jindal and lousiana ethics reform. I can't recall the number of people who resigned right before his new disclosure reforms took place but it was an obscene number.
07-10-2008, 10:07 AM
Scott Campbell

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kiwon

I expect parking violations, etc. that might have been overlooked in the past will not be overlooked any more. That's life.

It is life. Get caught acting like a total goofy moron by some stranger with a cell phone, and become a notorious youtube celebrity in a matter of hours. Technology is not always good.
07-10-2008, 12:34 PM
swede

The local rag posts teacher salaries and city employee salaries twice a year.

I couldn't care less if people see my salary, but the amusing thing is how these issues generate such interest among the locals.

And it's a really dirty kind of interest in a pedestrian kind of thing. Like teenage boys jostling to look through a gynecologist's keyhole while grandma gets her annual exam.
07-10-2008, 12:40 PM
Scott Campbell

Quote:

Originally Posted by swede

Is it weirder to be at a Trekkie website blogging about Picard's Prime Directive violation in episode 127, or hanging out here arguing over the unretirement? Poking fun at Trekkies now would be like an Arcruvian plasma miner calling out a Cardassian veck merchant.

Thread jack.

This quote makes me want to modify Ziggy's law:

Nerds are nerds regardless of race, or nationality.
07-10-2008, 03:08 PM
mraynrand

Quote:

Originally Posted by swede

Like teenage boys jostling to look through a gynecologist's keyhole while grandma gets her annual exam.

That's an image I didn't need in my brain.
07-10-2008, 07:25 PM
Kiwon

Quote:

Originally Posted by mraynrand

Quote:

Originally Posted by swede

Like teenage boys jostling to look through a gynecologist's keyhole while grandma gets her annual exam.

That's an image I didn't need in my brain.

Ditto. :)