Voters, get smart: Make pols earn pay (California)

Pasadena Star News ^ | June 04, 2005

[nickcarraway]

DEMOCRATS in the state Legislature seem determined to stretch their credibility with the California public to the breaking point.

In one of the wildest and least- productive spending sprees in history, they bankrupted the state treasury, blamed everyone else for their misdeeds and fought every effort to make state government accountable and efficient. Then, with the state's massive debt slowly shrinking and tax revenue soaring after years of economic battering, they accepted a 12 percent raise to fatten their salaries that already were the nation's highest for state legislators.

And now the same legislators are claiming the state will fall apart unless they are allowed to soak the public again. That spells a new tax, of course, since this bunch would never voluntarily curb their own spending.

Having run out of smokers and other unpopular classes of people, they have turned their attention to the rich. Under their new plan, couples with annual incomes of more than $285,000 would get hit, and those over $570,000 would get hit even harder.

Since very few people qualify, there will be no mass protests in the streets or much weeping. But that doesn't make it good public policy, and it doesn't mean the state actually needs the money.

It is arguable that the tax code needs to be changed to make the burden more equitable among all economic brackets, and that may mean raising the taxes on wealthy Californians as part of a revision in how the state taxes everybody.

But the Democrats aren't talking about fixing what's broken or making the tax formulas more efficient and fair. They just want more money so they can spend more money, which is all they seem to know how to do.

Fortunately, the rich don't have to worry too much. The proposal requires a two-thirds vote to pass, and a signature of the governor neither of which is likely to happen.

The Democratic leadership of the Legislature surely knows that, so its only real goal is to seek political advantage. Hopefully, the public will smarten up and demand the people's legislators actually earn their pay by solving the people's problems.

[goldstategop]

Let them tax their 12% pay hike. It should be a hit with voters.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[Alia]

The Dems in CA have been building a "fiefdom" for many years. That on top of these facts, they demand a 12% (not, 3%, not 7%) but 12% pay increase means.. they are so proud of themselves for what they've done to CA.

[mvpel]

The Democrats are gerrymandered into a guaranteed majority, so they'll get their 12% pay raise and their extra money to spend, no problem:

[Chewbacca]

How popular would a politician in the California Legislature be if he put forth a proposal to cut the politicians pay by 50% to reduce the State budget?