Texas Gov. Rick Perry on Friday defended a decision to begin collecting his pension early in addition to drawing a $150,000 salary as governor as nothing “out of the ordinary” since they are funds he accrued through his military and public service.
“I think it would be rather foolish to not access what you’ve earned,” Perry told reporters at a media gathering in Cherokee, Iowa.
The Texas Tribune reported that the 61-year-old Perry’s state salary of $150,000 is now being supplemented by a monthly retirement annuity of $7,698 before taxes, or $6,588 in net income. That brings his annual earnings to more than $240,000, the newspaper estimated.
The disclosure is expected to draw criticism of Perry, who has called for sweeping changes to Social Security for average workers and has railed against special "perks" that members of Congress receive, the newspaper said.
And this is the Rick Perry who loudly wants to poison your Social Security well because, what, he claims the government cannot afford it?
That must be because the government is handing out too much free money to others to be fair to you and others needing to rely on Social Security to survive.
Or has our illustrious and deserving Mr. Perry some other explanation?