You think you've seen the ultimate in craft, guile and outright sneak-thievery by people in public office, then along comes a Pennsylvania situation that reminds you there's always somebody else trying to push the envelope of deceit.
It's little wonder that editorial writers and columnists are ranting and raving about what they have labeled the Great Harrisburg Caper of 2005. Some are calling it an act of legislative thievery and one voter snarled, "Greed gone wild!"
Pennsylvania lawmakers a month ago, in the dead of night, voted themselves a hefty pay raise. Not only did the legislators boost their salaries by 16 percent to 34 percent to at least $81,050 a year, but they did it in secrecy then skipped town. That $81,050 minimum, by the way, is the highest annual legislative pay outside of California.
Even more galling to the Pennsylvanians, says the Associated Press, is that the lawmakers found a way around a constitutional provision barring them from collecting any salary increases during the term in which they are approved. The pay-raise bill lets lawmakers begin getting the raises 16 months earlier than they could under previous rulings.
It is easy to understand the anger of media people and the public, and the pressure has affected a few of the sneak thieves. About 10 have said they will not accept their increases this term, as the new rules state they can. But nearly 150 of the state's 252 sitting lawmakers are sticking to their decision to pocket immediately at least $950 a month.
Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell has signed the bill and it is easy to understand the storm of protest he has created. At last count, he had more than 1,000 letters of protest.
But it would appear the Pennsylvanians have learned well the lessons in self-serving that the U.S. Congress has taught through the years. Time and again, despite the state of the national economy, members of the U.S. House and Senate have managed to sneak in pay and benefit boosts, often tied quietly to other lower-profile legislation and often produced in relative secrecy.
Said one commentator of the Pennsylvania mess:
"It's just a secret little society that does business behind closed doors."
Wonder where they learned how to do that so effectively?
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Kookamooka (MJ Browne) says…
george w bush. He's the one who taught them that doing government business behind closed doors is the most profitable way of doing business.