Pass A Buck, Get A Buck

Joe Doakes from Como Park emails:

There is a proposal to amend the Minnesota constitution.  The plan is to take away from the Legislature the power to set its own salaries, giving it instead of an independent citizen’s committee. Sounds good on its face, will be a disaster in actual practice.  Which is why nobody is talking about it, of course, that would distract the voters from potty-mouth comments and emails.

 The proposal says the Citizen’s Committee will be staffed by the Governor (Democrat) and the Supreme Court (Liberals, except for Stras).  They must pick Democrats and Republicans.

 But they’re not required to pick Libertarians or TEA Party members.  The Republicans must be acceptable to the appointing authority – Democrats and Liberals.  I confidently predict they’ll end up being Arnie Carlson-Dave Durenburger-style-RINOs. 

 After that:

 A Liberal astroturf group will issue a media blitz complaining about the difficulty of obtaining quality legislators with the pay so low. 

 A Poli Sci professor will claim the concept of a “part-time” or “citizen” legislature is obsolete in these days of complex issues, we need a full-time professional legislature to deal with complicated issues, and higher salaries to attract competent people to take the job.

 A women’s rights group will notice that Minnesota women legislators get paid less than New York women legislators, a clear case of gender discrimination. 

 The Committee will hire a Liberal front group to perform a study of legislators’ salaries in other, richer states, which will conclude that ours is too low. 

 The Star Tribune and MPR will gravely intone that good government requires adequate resources, none moreso than the people in office, and they’ll recommend we double the pay and be happy to pay for a better Minnesota.

 The type of people who will run for these cushy government jobs will be busy-bodies who think they can solve society’s problems, i.e., Liberals, whatever their nominal party designation.  They’ll adopt more programs, which will make problems worse, which will make society more complex, requiring even higher pay and benefits and possibly lifetime appointments with personal servants and frequent retreats to Caribbean Islands, which the legislators will be able to afford even if their constituents can’t, because their strenuous labors deserve it.  After all . . .  Some animals are more equal than others.

 Joe Doakes

My two cents?  Vote no.  As many times as you can.

4 thoughts on “Pass A Buck, Get A Buck

  1. Hell, JD, we don’t need no stinking commitee! Just put it in the competent hands of the Met Council. They screw up everything else, so they might as well do this, too.

  2. Keep it in the legislatures capable, culpable hands. At least they can get fired for being obviously greedy. This is just another invitation to Backroom Kickback-A-Palooza.

  3. With our ‘New World’ provided by computer and the Internet, wouldn’t it make sense to replace our human government with a software based one?
    I’m sure there are some nascent visionaries out there that could draft a Declaration and Constitution that could rival the genius of 1776 and end government prone to the frailties of humans and the associated corruption.

  4. “and end government prone to the frailties of humans and the associated corruption.”

    yup, its called SkyNet!

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