Now here's a novel idea: the salary of EVERY public employee in Houston is now available to anyone who wants to know. Understandably, not every public employee is thrilled with this idea, but, as you might imagine, most Houston taxpayers are. I'm not at all certain that I'd want anyone and everyone to know how much I'm making, but if you're a public employee, you work for the taxpayers, and taxpayers deserve to know how their money is being spent. There is something to be said for transparency, no?
So, from Marisa Margaret Jennings, a children's assistant who made $103 in 2007, to Houston ISD Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra, who made $442,556, it's all there. I'm not sure what good all of these numbers will necessarily do, but if you believe in government accountability and transparency, you're probably pretty happy right about now...and you should be. If we can know how much professional athletes make, we should be able to know how much our public employees are making, no?
