Good Liberal Waste of Money

Its nice to know that the Democratic Communist People’s Republic of San Francisco has this kind of money to waste:

In his quest to make San Francisco the greenest city in the nation, Mayor Gavin Newsom recently created a $160,000-a-year job for a senior aide and gave him the ambitious-sounding title of director of climate protection initiatives.

San Francisco has at least two dozen other city employees already working directly on climate issues at a cost to taxpayers of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In addition to the director of climate protection initiatives in Newsom’s office, San Francisco has an Energy and Climate Program team of eight people in the Department of the Environment, who combined earn more than $800,000 a year in salary and benefits, including a “climate action coordinator.” At least 12 San Francisco Public Utilities Commission staff members work on climate issues related to water and energy, including a $146,000-a-year “projects manager for the climate action plan.”

Also in the name of climate control, the Municipal Transportation Agency has a “manager of emissions reductions and sustainability programs” who works on making Muni’s bus fleet greener, and the San Francisco International Airport has a “manager of environmental services” who oversees such projects as the installation of energy-efficient lighting and solar panels.

The list doesn’t include the scores of staff members who work on broader environmental policies, like the recently hired $130,700-a-year “greening director” in Newsom’s office, or Jared Blumenfeld, who earns $207,500 a year in salary and benefits as the head of the city’s Environment Department, which has a staff of 65 and annual budget of about $14 million.

And you know you have completely gone off the deep end when the flipping Green Party commissioner questions what is going on:

“Although it sounds very well intentioned, and perhaps even necessary, I’m concerned this is a case where eco-chic has gone out of control,” said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, the only Green Party member on the Board of Supervisors.

And the evidence continues to build that the whole global warming hysteria is a) religious in nature and b) a scheme for smart hustlers to shake down taxpayers.