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Sox pull out an amazing win last night...btw, RIP Edie
Adams, widow of Ernie Kovacs. True story: She was on
Howie’s show once and someone called in and asked what it was like being married to such a great pitcher. Then they
realized that the caller thought she was married to
Sandy KOUFAX...

Friday column ping
Hey Deval, time to spread the wealth
By Howie Carr | Friday, October 17, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Columnists

Here’s a suggestion for Gov. Deval Patrick: Ante up.

Stop taking your state paycheck.

And return the Cadillac too. Get its heating fixed, and then bring back the Crown Vic.

Why not set a good example for your minions in state government, Deval? Don’t just talk the talk, walk the walk.

Hey, Mitt Romney didn’t take a dime in pay for four years. Ditto, his lieutenant governor, Muffy Healey. And Deval, don’t you dare cry poor-mouth - you just got a $1.35 million book advance from Random House, you got $2 million in severance from Coca-Cola and God knows how much from Texaco, not to mention whatever stock options they handed out.

And then of course there was your part-time gig on the board of Long Beach Pawnshop Inc., d/b/a Ameriquest, that subprime-mortgage company that you have admitted paid you more than $100,000 a year.

Your wife is a partner in a major downtown Boston law firm. You own a huge spread in the Berkshires - 10 rooms plus five bathrooms, connected to a carriage house with three more rooms and two bathrooms.

I know what you’re thinking, Deval: It’s not fair you’re being asked to give up your paycheck.

It’s not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they’ve got a chance for success, too . . . When you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.

Re-read that last paragraph, Deval. It’s a quote, and I’ll bet you can figure out who said it first. That’s right, it was your pal, Barack Obama. Those were his words to Joe the Plumber in Ohio last weekend. Surely you’re not going to tell us that you’re not for spreading the wealth around.

It’s good for everybody.

Repeated calls were made yesterday to Gov. Patrick’s spokesman, asking whether Deval was going to set a good example by foregoing his $140,535-a-year salary, at least for the time being. Those calls were not returned, at least to me.

Earlier this week, Deval said of the state’s cutbacks, “There is real cause for concern, but not panic.”

Earth to Deval: nobody out here is panicked, at least not about “shuttered museums” and longer lines at the Registry of Motor Vehicles. I don’t even think the hacks are that panicked, because they know they’re not going anywhere.

Not one layoff in the judicial branch - that tells those of us in the Dreaded Private Sector all we need to know. The people in state government who work may be concerned, but they’re always the last hired and the first fired.

Deval, are you a straight-talker, or are you one of those do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do phony-baloney fakers?

Do the right thing, Governor. Give the money back. Spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody. Just ask Barack Obama.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1126051