3 ½ weeks after legislators voted in the dead of night, with no advance public warning, to give themselves pay hikes of 16 percent or more, the outcry from the public and media is not dying down but growing in intensity.
Yesterday, a Harrisburg political activist, Gene Stilp, filed the first of what could be several lawsuits arguing that the legislative pay raises - part of a package that also boosted salaries for judges and administration officials, among others - are unconstitutional.
What's more, state officials revealed yesterday that some 158 of Pennsylvania's 268 lawmakers signed up for the most controversial part of the pay package, an "unvouch-ered expense" that allows their taking additional income before their term ends next year.
Longtime observers of the Harrisburg scene confess that they are stunned at the public outcry, although they also doubt that the controversy will cause any lawmaker to lose his or her job next year - let alone lead to meaningful reform. Oh yeah! We shall see about that!
Some have wondered whether voter anger in Pennsylvania could boil over the way it did in New Jersey in 1993, when voters enraged by a tax boost and egged on by a powerful talk-radio station tossed Gov. Jim Florio from office. Don't bet on it, the experts say.
For one thing, while many voters may be angered by the raises, it doesn't take money directly from their pocket like New Jersey's tax hike did. Also, the pundits can think of no other state where it's harder to defeat an incumbent than Pennsylvania.
Philly.com
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