State legislators in Kansas are spotlighting one of the main reasons why so many people despise politicians after it was revealed that they will receive a 93 percent pay raise.
Whatever the explanation for this massive pay hike, whether there is a valid cause or not, Kansans will see a 93 percent wage increase for their elected officials as nothing less than an outrage and a classic example of arrogant government waste.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN OUR NEWSLETTERAccording to the Kansas Reflector, Kansas lawmakers’ base salary rate will increase from $21,000 to $43,000 per year beginning January 1, 2025. This increases to $57,000 when the standard amenities, expense reimbursements, and other types of expenses are factored in.
That’s good money if you can get it, and not too shabby for a part-time gig.
It also doesn’t help that the salary raise was a bipartisan suggestion from a group tasked with reviewing Kansas legislators’ pay rates. The commission led some Kansas voters to believe that the fix had been in place all along.
Following the group’s findings, Mark Hutton, head of the Legislative Compensation Commission and a former Republican member of the state House, suggested that the state offer members a $21,000 base pay increase, according to the Reflector.
VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNELThe commission, which included Hutton and eight former members of the Legislature, unanimously recommended the taxpayer-funded wage raise.
Hutton stated that the commission’s decision was not “political” and that the percentage of the raise was not discussed.
“To be clear, I did not approach this responsibility with the intention of arriving at a political solution,” he told the Senate budget committee on Tuesday. “While the commission reviewed the current compensation, we had little discussion about the size of the increase, choosing to reflect on what it should be.”
Indeed, Hutton and his commission colleagues based the new pay scale on the average yearly compensation of Kansas employees, as published by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. They also advised that the pay scale be adjusted in direct proportion to the typical Kansas citizen’s wage increase.
The commission’s salary hike proposal, which affects all 165 state legislators, was to be automatically accepted and implemented by January 1, 2025, unless both the state House and Senate protested to the idea by Jan. 31. And, because neither objected last week, the new pay scale will go into effect as planned.
The commission was established last year after the Legislature decided it would be preferable to have sitting elected officials vote on compensation raises.
Kansas lawmakers have long complained that their pay is insufficient to cover their expenses, and that their legislative duties frequently leave them with little time to work. Some Democrats have even stated that a wage increase will attract more minorities to the state government.
There was very little dissent to the commission’s recommendations.
“I think it’s fair,” Wichita Republican and House Speaker Dan Hawkins told the Associated Press. “I think that the commission did, really, a pretty good job.”
“You might get a few more females,” said Democrat Sen. Cindy Holscher. “You might get a few more minorities. You might get a few more younger people.”
However, not everyone in Kansas agreed with the pay hike. Nick Reinecker, a House candidate, urged members to speak out against the idea.
“When you stand up and say your oath to God and say you’re going to sacrifice for God, family, and country, it’s not supposed to be a job,” Reinecker said, according to the Reflector. “It should be a passion. I want you to be a citizen legislature.”
Republican state Rep. Ken Corbet of Topeka attempted to persuade the Legislature to put the pay raise decision to the voters, pointing out that pay raises are often decided by “the boss” himself.
“Apparently, there was not an appetite for that,” he remarked, according to the AP.
Many on social media were enraged.
While it is true that Kansas should offer its lawmakers a wage that will encourage more qualified people to run for office, proposing such a large pay increase at a time when so many residents are trying to make ends meet is a tone-deaf move.
The decision further fuels Americans’ disdain for their representatives at a time when faith in government is at an all-time low.
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