john roberts calls on U2 for a benefit concert for federal judges

stupidcorporatewhore

not really, but...

turns out they just cant live on $212,000 a year.

funny, the article mentions nothing about people who can't make ends meet on minimum wage

enjoy

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/02/scotus.roberts/index.html

CorporateWhore

stupidcorporatewhore wrote:

not really, but...

turns out they just cant live on $212,000 a year.

funny, the article mentions nothing about people who can't make ends meet on minimum wage

enjoy

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/01/02/scotus.roberts/index.html

You have more posts than me so i guess you thought of the name first, eh?

Damn.

mammasan

I read that and almost pissed myself laughing. You get a lifetime position and earn a minimum of $162,000 a year. Poor them. Maybe they should spend some time earning minimum wage and getting laid off because their company wants to move their job to China so some 12 year old kid can do the same job for nickels a day. Once they endure that then they can bitch about just making $162,000 a year.

sponger

CorporateWhore wrote:

You have more posts than me so i guess you thought of the name first, eh?

Damn.

not only that but his join date precedes yours

CorporateWhore

sponger wrote:

not only that but his join date precedes yours

I have a feeling that my name is more indicative of my actual beliefs than his.

stupidcorporatewhore

mammasan wrote:

I read that and almost pissed myself laughing. You get a lifetime position and earn a minimum of $162,000 a year. Poor them. Maybe they should spend some time earning minimum wage and getting laid off because their company wants to move their job to China so some 12 year old kid can do the same job for nickels a day. Once they endure that then they can bitch about just making $162,000 a year.

yes,to be fair, my 212,000 figure is the top floor salary for a federal judge.

I'm not saying they should go through law school then make 20 bucks an hour but god forbid they might preform this vital job because it's the right thing to do.

no money in doing the right thing i guess.

CorporateWhore

stupidcorporatewhore wrote:

yes,to be fair, my 212,000 figure is the top floor salary for a federal judge.

I'm not saying they should go through law school then make 20 bucks an hour but god forbid they might preform this vital job because it's the right thing to do.

no money in doing the right thing i guess.

Being a federal judge has many additional expenses because of the nature of the job. One might think that these are covered by $162,000, but maybe it's not.

Still, I have no love lost for federal judges. They should think about being less irresponsible in their work and maybe I'd be in favor of increasing their salaries.

stupidcorporatewhore

CorporateWhore wrote:

Being a federal judge has many additional expenses because of the nature of the job. One might think that these are covered by $162,000, but maybe it's not.

Still, I have no love lost for federal judges. They should think about being less irresponsible in their work and maybe I'd be in favor of increasing their salaries.

agreed. I really have nothing against them. nor do I think they are not worth the money.

I just think it's funny to hear John Roberts use the words "constitutional crisis" in a matter that is not related to people being stripped of their rights.

And as far as your username goes CW, I have no plans at this moment to issue a cease and discist order.

but don't forget to fight the power every now and then.

Ebizzie

His point is the fact that the pay is so much lower than other positions outside of the federal judiciary that these individuals qualify for. And he's right, we're seeing a high turnover with federal judges. We need consistency in these positions to develop consistent interpretations of the constitution. They should most certainly be making a salary comparable to other prestigious law positions outside of government in the private sector.

Edit: And also we need to bear in mind that these are lifetime appointments. Elected officials oftentimes use their moderately well-paid government experience as a springboard to an extremely lucrative private sector position. Federal judges are not in this enviable position; their salary should reward their sacrifice.

qtegirl

CorporateWhore wrote:

Being a federal judge has many additional expenses because of the nature of the job. One might think that these are covered by $162,000, but maybe it's not.

Still, I have no love lost for federal judges. They should think about being less irresponsible in their work and maybe I'd be in favor of increasing their salaries.

I'm curious, what are the additional expenses not covered? Do they have to travel, buy their own stationary?

(Yes, I'm being a bit sarcastic, but my question is real, though)

qtegirl

Ebizzie wrote:

Edit: And also we need to bear in mind that these are lifetime appointments. Elected officials oftentimes use their moderately well-paid government experience as a springboard to an extremely lucrative private sector position. Federal judges are not in this enviable position; their salary should reward their sacrifice.

These are lifetime appointments because they cannot be removed from the bench (unless impeached) and do not have to face "reelection" every few years, which keeps them "independent".

But they are free to leave office whenever they want. And I'm sure that ex-federal judge looks great in a resume. I'm sure that they'd be very valuable in private law firms because of the connections that they've made. I don't see how serving as a judge is a sacrifice. I think it would be a great job.

CorporateWhore

qtegirl wrote:

I'm curious, what are the additional expenses not covered? Do they have to travel, buy their own stationary?

(Yes, I'm being a bit sarcastic, but my question is real, though)

Honestly, I have no idea. I imagine most of them have to do with security expenses considering they are high-ranking judges.

Maybe they need to keep up to date legal volumes?? I dont know....

miller8966

stupidcorporatewhore wrote:

yes,to be fair, my 212,000 figure is the top floor salary for a federal judge.

I'm not saying they should go through law school then make 20 bucks an hour but god forbid they might preform this vital job because it's the right thing to do.

no money in doing the right thing i guess.

They have bills to pay...and a lot more stress job. And their job is alot more important than some casheer at walmart

mammasan

miller8966 wrote:

They have bills to pay...and a lot more stress job. And their job is alot more important than some casheer at walmart

Exactly which is why the starting salary for a Federal judge is $162,000 a year. If you can't live comfortably off of a $162,000 salary than you have problems.

Collin

miller8966 wrote:

They have bills to pay...and a lot more stress job. And their job is alot more important than some casheer at walmart

Is it more important than a construction workers, electricians, carpenters and plumbers?

miller8966

Collin wrote:

Is it more important than a construction workers, electricians, carpenters and plumbers?

Yea.......

miller8966

mammasan wrote:

Exactly which is why the starting salary for a Federal judge is $162,000 a year. If you can't live comfortably off of a $162,000 salary than you have problems.

Thats really not alot of money for the amount of stress and work put in to such a high profile job.

qtegirl

mammasan wrote:

Exactly which is why the starting salary for a Federal judge is $162,000 a year. If you can't live comfortably off of a $162,000 salary than you have problems.

Exactly.

They make 11 times more money than a person who gets paid $7 an hour.

miller8966

qtegirl wrote:

Exactly.

They make 11 times more money than a person who gets paid $7 an hour.

They do alot more work than someone who gets paid 7 dollars an hr.

Collin

miller8966 wrote:

Yea.......

Try living a year without construction workers, plumbers, electricians and carpenters and try living a year without federal judges.

mammasan

miller8966 wrote:

Thats really not alot of money for the amount of stress and work put in to such a high profile job.

What about police officers, fire fighters, our soldiers? Federal judges starting salary is about 4x more than the starting salaries for these jobs. Look at the stress levels and responsibilities that those jobs carry and let's not even mention that you are putting your life at risk. A starting salary of $162,000 should be more than sufficient for federal judges.

CorporateWhore

A lot of it has to do with the job market.

Should I be a judge and get $162,000 a year?

Or, should I scrap that and make double as a Law School Dean? Judges have a TON of work and Law School Deans don't do shit.

Roberts' point is that we should give the judges an incentive to stay in the judiciary by making their salaries comparable to other jobs that they could get. If we don't, then the judges WILL leave the judiciary.

If judges keep leaving the judiciary, this represents a problem for the independence of the judiciary. If a judge does not assume that she will be doing her job the rest of her life, there is a greater possibility that she might make decisions that are less independent.

If a judge assumes they will work as a judge for the rest of their life (because the compensation is adequate), then they will be less apt to allow their decisions to be influenced by exterior forces.

For example, if I am a judge and I plan on taking a job at a law school soon because the compensation is better, I owe less responsibility to my judgeship at that moment.

Federal judgeships are meant to be long-term, career affairs. The constitution made them independent and life-term positions for this very reason: so the independence of the judiciary could be maintained. If they are no longer life-term positions, that independence is harmed.

mammasan

CorporateWhore wrote:

A lot of it has to do with the job market.

Should I be a judge and get $162,000 a year?

Or, should I scrap that and make double as a Law School Dean? Judges have a TON of work and Law School Deans don't do shit.

Roberts' point is that we should give the judges an incentive to stay in the judiciary by making their salaries comparable to other jobs that they could get. If we don't, then the judges WILL leave the judiciary.

If judges keep leaving the judiciary, this represents a problem for the independence of the judiciary. If a judge does not assume that she will be doing her job the rest of her life, there is a greater possibility that she might make decisions that are less independent.

If a judge assumes they will work as a judge for the rest of their life (because the compensation is adequate), then they will be less apt to allow their decisions to be influenced by exterior forces.

For example, if I am a judge and I plan on taking a job at a law school soon because the compensation is better, I owe less responsibility to my judgeship at that moment.

Federal judgeships are meant to be long-term, career affairs. The constitution made them independent and life-term positions for this very reason: so the independence of the judiciary could be maintained. If they are no longer life-term positions, that independence is harmed.

The way I see it is being a judge is a public service, just like being a police officer or fire fighter. You do the job because you want to serve in the best interest of the public not for the pay. If a judge wants to go off to the collegiate world or private sector so be it, but I don't think we need to pay judges more out of our tax dollars simply because other avenues offer more money. If that is the case we should start with our troops, police officers, fire fighters and then work our way up.

hippiemom

miller8966 wrote:

Thats really not alot of money for the amount of stress and work put in to such a high profile job.

Stress levels? Are you serious?! It's the greatest gig in the world! They are like gods in their courtrooms ... what they say goes, period, end of story. The entire legal community kisses their asses. They have lifetime appointments, so they don't have to worry about pissing off the boss (they don't have one), getting relocated, their employer going out of business, losing clients, or much of anything else. As long as they don't commit any major felonies, the job is theirs for as long as they want it. They have virtually no work-related expenses. Federal judges have it made, and what they're being paid is plenty.

inmytree

miller8966 wrote:

They do alot more work than someone who gets paid 7 dollars an hr.

really...? how much "more work" do they do...?

let's see, sitting in a black robe...ouch

hear lawyers argue....oh, the back breaker that one is...

they write a few paragraphs as to why they are for or against...damn, I can almost feel j-robs pain....

surferdude

Why do people complain about what others make? It's a free world. If you want to make what a federal judge makes then become one. If you're happy making what a ditch digger makes then become one. Why complain when someone wants more money for doing their job? We all want more money for doing our jobs. Why single out one person or profession?

Same goes for people who complain about the profit that a company makes. If you want to pay your employees more then shut up and do it. I don't see the need to relentlessly call for others to pay their employees more. Yet then bitch when someone actually asks for more money.

hippiemom

inmytree wrote:

really...? how much "more work" do they do...?

let's see, sitting in a black robe...ouch

hear lawyers argue....oh, the back breaker that one is...

they write a few paragraphs as to why they are for or against...damn, I can almost feel j-robs pain....

There's more to it than that, but it's still one of the greatest jobs ever. That's not my guess based on observation either ... I know a few federal judges, and they tell me it's the greatest job ever.

Seriously, how many people don't have a boss? Entertainers have to please their audience, political leaders have to please the voters, most workers have a manager over them, and the ones who don't answer to their customers and/or stockholders. Federal judges don't answer to anyone. They set the schedule, they make the rules, and everyone else falls into line.

I don't have any problem with what they're paid, they deserve (most of them anyway) to be compensated in accordance with their knowledge and experience. But the claim that it has anything to do with the stress of the job is laughable.

mammasan

surferdude wrote:

Why do people complain about what others make? It's a free world. If you want to make what a federal judge makes then become one. If you're happy making what a ditch digger makes then become one. Why complain when someone wants more money for doing their job? We all want more money for doing our jobs. Why single out one person or profession?

Same goes for people who complain about the profit that a company makes. If you want to pay your employees more then shut up and do it. I don't see the need to relentlessly call for others to pay their employees more. Yet then bitch when someone actually asks for more money.

Well it matters to me what a public official makes because I pay his/her salary.

surferdude

mammasan wrote:

Well it matters to me what a public official makes because I pay his/her salary.

It should also matter to you that you are getting the cream of the crop. I acknowledge the fact that people working for the public almost always take a bit of a pay hit compared to working in the private sector. How big a hit in salary do you think a person should be expected to take while it not affecting who applies for the position and turnover?

Police and fireman don't really make more in the private sector. Judges do. Roberts brings upa a good point about judge independance and how pay affects that idea.

norm

Supreme Court judge - $162,000/year.
Alex Rodriguez - $20,000,000.00/year.

You can't tell me there isn't something wrong with this.

Ebizzie

mammasan wrote:

The way I see it is being a judge is a public service, just like being a police officer or fire fighter. You do the job because you want to serve in the best interest of the public not for the pay. If a judge wants to go off to the collegiate world or private sector so be it, but I don't think we need to pay judges more out of our tax dollars simply because other avenues offer more money. If that is the case we should start with our troops, police officers, fire fighters and then work our way up.

I hope you aren't insinuating that troops, police, and fire fighters can be compared to federal judges. If so, that's just a horrible argument.