Should We Cut The Size Of The Pa. Legislature?

BillLawrenceOnline.Com ^ | 2-17-10

[Tribune7]

It seems a crusade is trying to be started to cut the size of the Pennsylvania state legislature to make it more like California, a significantly larger state in terms of geography and population which has 120 legislators compared to Pennsylvania's 253 and which spends less on legislative salaries than Pa.

Of course, as poorly as Pennsylvania is run I'm not so sure we would want to trade places with the not-so-anymore Golden State.

And why would we want to give up representation? It sounds more like a ploy to increase the influence of city machines, such as that of Philadelphia, than to save money.

So why not a crusade to go the other direction -- increase the size of the legislature yet cut the salaries and benefits. For instance, New Hampshire, a significantly smaller state than Pa in terms of geography and population has 424 legislators but pays them just $200 for a two year term.

Of course, we don't have to go that far. We can keep the size of the legislature as is and simply cut salaries.

The base pay for legislators is about $78,000. This doesn't includes bennies, of course, and committee chairmen and party leaders and such get more.

So how about this: Change the pay scale to $1,000 per day for the month of February. There would be no benefits, of course, but $28,000 -- or $29,000 I don't oppose the extra grand for leap years -- is still pretty sweet, and ending bennies would have the educational effect of making our servants understand what we must go through when funding retirements and buying health insurance.

[Tribune7]

ping

[Virginia Ridgerunner]

Depends upon which seats are cut, the Rat ones from Philly and Pittsburgh, or the GOP ones from the rest of the Commonwealth, which keep the Rats in check.

[Clintonfatigued]

It sounds like a good idea, but I don’t think it is. The more districts there are, the smaller the number of constituants. That helps keep the legislators locally oriented.

[Tribune7]

The more districts there are, the smaller the number of constituants. That helps keep the legislators locally oriented.

I agree 100 percent.

[mombrown1]

People want to cut to save money so I read the bill and then asked my rep. what happens to the savings. It goes into the general fund. So we will get less representation and not save anything.

[Tribune7]

I know. I'm convinced it's a power-grab attempt by the libs who control the cities.

I'm just seeing it bubble up. There was a letter in the Inquirer praising the plan. The Delco Daily Times had an editorial in support.

We should take advantage of the points they are making and start demanding the end of legislative health benefits and retirement plans, big cuts to staff expenses. That would save a lot more than cutting the size of the legislature.