A friend worked for a newspaper in Vermont.  She loved her work, but one day she sat down and totaled her daily hours versus her pay.  Newsrooms don’t have time clocks.  She often worked 16 hours a day, between writing and covering meetings late into the evening.  She loved the work, but one day she had an opportunity to take a job with the state transportation department and turned in her notepad.  She had a nine-to-five gig and good benefits.  And more time with the kids.

No one forced her to work at either job.  Both were choices she made.

I bring this up because of the controversy over doubling pay for Idaho Legislators.  The proposal also calls for hiring a full-time professional staff to assist the politicians.

I can sympathize with the hours they put in.  But nobody is forcing legislators into their positions.  Most assuredly don’t run on a platform of getting a raise.

Now some of them are doing that, but they’re generally unopposed next week.  The two legislative minority leaders are proponents, and one has named her Republican counterpart in the House as being on board.  That’s Democrat Ilana Rubel saying Speaker Mike Moyle is in on the scheme.

This opens the door a crack to a full-time legislature.  I used to live in New York.  Twenty years ago a legislator there earned a base salary of $57,000 a year and could get another $30,000 as a committee chair.  Those numbers have doubled and taxpayers are gasping for air.

As one of my callers said, the people we elect know the drill, and that it’s our money.  They can always look for another job.

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