On the heels of the outrageous news of Clark County Commissioners set to receive wage increases and car allowance increases, we see the Oregon Treasury “seeking $932,000 from the Legislature’s Emergency Board to cover bonuses for 14 investment officers who oversee the state’s pension fund assets.”

Oregon is hovering near 10% unemployment and other state workers face layoffs, furloughs and benefit cuts.

The investment officers wages currently range from “$114,000 to $258,000, averaging $163,000.” The performance-based bonuses averaged $45,000.

Sen. Doug Whitsett, R-Klamath Falls expressed concern “that the pension fund has lost billions during the past three years but the state is still handing out bonuses based on five-year returns.”

Most outrageous, “Treasury officials insist the incentive pay is a critical piece of compensation for investment officers, necessary to attract and retain specialized staff who manage some $60 billion in pension and common school fund assets and to align the investment managers’ interests with the pension system’s beneficiaries,” yet the pension fund has lost billions during the past three years.

Citizen outrage reversed the scheduled wage increase for Clark County Commissioners. Will Oregonians follow suit?

Read more at the Zero