Thursday, December 13, 2012

Dr. Mohammad makes fortune from state prisons

I have complained about overpaid shrinks, but this is extreme. Bloomberg reports:
Mohammad Safi, a graduate of a medical school in Afghanistan, began working as a psychiatrist at a California mental hospital in 2006, making $90,682 in his first six months. Last year, he took home $822,302, all of it paid by taxpayers.

Safi benefited from what amounted to a bidding war after a federal court forced the state to improve inmate care. The prisons raised pay to lure psychiatrists, the mental health department followed suit to keep employees, and costs soared. Last year, 16 California psychiatrists, including Safi, made more than $400,000, while only one did in the other 11 most populous states, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. ...

Safi’s compensation was almost five times as much as Governor Jerry Brown’s last year. The psychiatrist was paid for an average of almost 17 hours each day, including on-call time, Saturdays and Sundays, ... “I made so much because I work a lot,” Safi said in a bri ef interview at his Newark, California, home.
Maybe he overdid it:
After raking in half a million dollars for being "on call," California's top paid public employee of 2011 -- a prison psychiatrist from Newark -- has been suspended with pay for allegedly falsifying time records, officials said Tuesday.
As usual, there are many things wrong with this story. First, don't we have enough Jews to do this work, instead of importing Afghan shrinks? Second, why do we need Bloomberg to blow the whistle on this? Third, I doubt that the Afghan medical schools even teach the quack psychiatry we have in the USA. Okay, maybe that is an advantage. Fourth, federal judges should not be telling California how to run prisons. Fifth, how is having an Afghan shrink on call to a prison going to do anyone any good?

If the federal judges really want to do something about civil rights in California, they should start with the law-abiding dads who are being punished by not seeing their kids. Maybe the feds could send us some Afghan shrinks to do some family court evaluations, and order all the moms to shut up and wear hijabs and burqas. It probably wouldn't be any worse than the Jewish, gay, and female shrinks we have now.

Update: Here is more from Bloomberg.

11 comments:

homesliceva said...

i follow your blog as i'm interested in your battle, but am often distracted from the real purpose by your comments about jews and gays. i don't really understand the point of it and it's really offputting. you're entitled to your opinion, obviously, but it dilutes the strength of your message about getting your kids back.

speaking of, where do things stand with your case? i haven't seen an update on that in quite some time. best of luck to you. i can't imagine the pain of what you've been through.

Anonymous said...

This used to be an informative and useful blog. Now it looks like he's just using his kids as an excuse to promote his racist propaganda.

He's even upset about Bloomberg blowing the whistle about something he's angry over ? Maybe it's because Bloomberg is Jewish. Who knows ?

George said...

I will post an update on my case, but nothing has happened in a while.

I am glad to have Bloomberg report this story, but the top-paid California employees should have been a readily available public record in California.

Since I have blamed Jewish psychiatrists in the past, I thought that it was worth pointing out that this one is not Jewish, but Afghan. If that is not interesting to you, then ignore it.

Anonymous said...

"First, don't we have enough Jews to do this work, instead of importing Afghan shrinks?"

Are you slamming Jews/Jewish psychaitrists again, or are you saying there's too many of them or not enough ? It's difficult to figure out what point you're making.
Why don't you come right out and say whatever it is you want to say ?

George said...

I guess any reference to an ethnic group will cause someone to take offense.

Anonymous said...

Why not just explain what your reference meant, and or, answer questions regarding it ?

George said...

I do come out and say what I want to say. I gave several opinions. You appear to be reading something else into my comments.

Anonymous said...

I'm trying to NOT read something into what yoyu're saying, but rather trying to understand it.

So can you just explain what your reference meant, and or, answer questions regarding it ?

"First, don't we have enough Jews to do this work, instead of importing Afghan shrinks?"

Are you slamming Jews/Jewish psychaitrists again, or are you saying there's too many of them or not enough ?

Do you want to answer the question ?

George said...

I found it very surprising that California would be so desperate for prison psychiatrists that it would pay an Afghan immigrant $800k. Simple economics would seem to imply that many others would be available to do the work for less money. I am not saying that we have too many or too few Jewish psychiatrists. Either way, $800k seems excessive to me.

Anonymous said...

Simple economics would seem to imply that many others would be available to do the work for less money.

So why didn't you just simply say "others" and instead say Jews ? Epecially, since most psychiatrists aren't Jewish anyway.

"First, don't we have enough Jews to do this work, instead of importing Afghan shrinks?"

Anonymous said...

George, you've got problems my friend.