Asked about the massive protests against Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), [U.S. Chamber of Commerce president Tom Donohue] said that public servants have “over bloated” compensation:
Donohue turned truculent when asked whether events in Wisconsin are weakening unions and the right of workers to collective bargaining. [….] He went on to express his concerns that public sector pensions are “out of control” and that public workers compensation is “over bloated.”
Speaking of “over bloated” compensation, Donohue “travels in a chauffeured Lincoln and a leased jet, and his salary, $3.7 million last year, makes him the sixth highest paid lobbyist in the country.”
Donohue apparently has no problem taking cheap shots at people who have dedicated themselves to public service, but what does he do to deserve so much money? As we’ve reported, Donohue runs nothing more than a shell organization to help big corporations pursue nasty lobbying campaigns under the brand of the “U.S. Chamber of Commerce,” a group misleadingly associated with local chambers of commerce. For instance, the health insurance industry secretly funneled $86 million to the Chamber in 2009 to try to kill health reform. Similarly, oil companies, chemical firms, and defense industry corporations have used to the Chamber to run ads or lobby against regulations.