As Texans prepare to celebrate Labor Day – honoring those who’ve fought for the American ideal of a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work – there’s new evidence that Greg Abbott’s work for the people of Texas isn’t his top priority.
Greg Abbott spends less time on official business here in Texas than the Queen of England does conducting her royal duties from Buckingham Palace.
A review of Greg Abbott’s official calendar as attorney general, when compared to the public calendar of Queen Elizabeth II, clarifies what the Lone Star Project has long suspected.
Greg Abbott has been working only part-time on his official duties while drawing a generous full-time salary from Texas taxpayers.
We looked at Abbott’s calendar from the day he took office in January 2003 through November 2013. We totaled the number of working days – including weekends and holidays – when he had official business.
In those eleven years, most employees would have pulled a combined 2,704 work days. But Greg Abbott worked only 1,934 days. He took 770 days off.
On those 770 days, Abbott’s calendar was totally empty. He recorded no activity – no appointments, no interviews, no legal meetings, no nothing.
Compared to Greg Abbott, Queen Elizabeth has had her nose to the grindstone. In that same time period, she took 539 days off from work – 231 fewer than Abbott.
So, while Greg Abbott has been paid a full time salary – and has accepted a 50 percent pay increase – he’s been taking off at least one out of every four work days. During his time as Texas attorney general, Abbott has given himself more than two years vacation – and that’s not counting weekends or holidays.
Compare Abbott’s time at the office to other Texans –
An employee of the Texas Department of Transportation would get 187 days off in an eleven year period.
A starting employee at the Texas Attorney General’s Office would get 132 days off during eleven years on the job.
A Texas teacher – at a minimum – worked 46 more days over an eleven year period than Greg Abbott. That includes breaks for holidays and summer!
Greg Abbott likes being on the public payroll – he just doesn’t want to put in the time it takes to actually earn his taxpayer-funded salary. So it’s not surprising that during his campaign for governor, he’s done the same thing – rarely making public appearances and avoiding questions from both the press and the public.
Greg Abbott has shown us time and again that he puts his insider donor friends and political allies ahead of hardworking Texans.
We don’t have royalty in Texas.
Abbott owes his employers – the people of Texas – an explanation for why he takes more time off than the Queen of England.
