Behind The Mic With Joe Mathieu: More State Employees Make Six Figures

BOSTON (CBS) – Public employees getting rich is nothing new in Massachusetts.

But there are more than ever, as the Boston Globe reports, 8,850 state employees made more than $100,000 last year - up from about 7,700 in 2012.

Read: The List

And if this report is any guide, we should all become academics.

Because the University of a Massachusetts once again tops the list for the highest paid state employees, beginning with Chancellor Michael Collins who made more than $816,000 last year. The university system had more than 2,700 workers making six figures.

Good work if you can get it.

But before you buy a tweed jacket with elbow patches, you might consider a badge. State Police were second on the list with more than 1,600 officers making more than a hundred grand last year. It was followed by the trial court, the Department of Public Health and the Department of Transportation.

Noteworthy that the state's highest ranking official is not even close to being the highest paid.

Governor Deval Patrick made $137,000 last year but was not even in the top thousand.

A spokesperson from his budget office tried to put the pay scales in perspective, saying the number of workers making $100,000 or more represents less than seven-percent of the state workforce.

The argument is the state must compete with private sector salaries to get good people.

But in a state that saw its unemployment rate rise above that of the nation during the last year, it's becoming a more difficult case to make.

Follow Joe on Twitter @joemathieuwbz

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