Wow, I guess $16,800/year is considered good pay for a state legislator in LA? What's that, $8.00 an hour? I made more than that 30 years ago as a part time cook! Yeah, RECALL THE IDIOT! Let's get some real (DEMOCRAT) leadership in there!
Their total pay is closer to 36K per year, counting their perdiem, expense account and benefits. And it is a part-time job.
It’s all here.
http://www.la-par.org/guide_laleg1.cfm
$16,800 pay is the base salary. They receive a per diem of $143, a $500 per per month unreimbursed expense allowance, office staff is paid, mileage reimbursement, extremely inexpensive housing in Baton Rouge in state-owned buildings and many other perquisites. The job is a part time job that the legislators have themselves transformed into near full time. They file excessive legislation to earmark funds for organizations owned or operated by friends. These organizations, nor the state, are not required to provide information on the owners/operators of the organizations NOR are they required to say what the money will be used for or account for the moneys use. The legislators file and debate useless, pandering and self-serving legislation. Our legislators, who are soooo stressed with lack of time, have given us an official state amphibian, two state jellies, state song, state marching song, state dog, and so many official state “things’ that they would fill a book the size of the NYC phone book. There is absolutely no need for 90% of the bills filed. The voters of Louisiana are tired of the line of bullshit from politicians. They state “we are flush with money” (which, by the way is mostly nonrecurring), yet postpone giving tax breaks, give themselves immediate, perpetual yearly raises. What pisses me off the most is that several legislators stated the reason that they need the raise is because the recently passed ethics legislation will force them to stop doing business with the state. ... so they need to make up the money some way. State legislators may or may not be wealthy when they become legislators but the majority of them are excessively (beyond logical expectations and legal means) when they leave the legislature. Jindal was supposed to clean up this mess. Instead he is allowing himself to be held hostage. Jindal is very intelligent...I can only explain his behavior as due to lack of experience in working with criminals. If he doesn’t veto the pay raise...he’s toast.
If memory serves me correctly:
The Legislature is in session for 90 days.
Not bad $$ for 6 months off.