June 12, 2006

Embarrassing

The Monday Knoxville News Sentinel has a very revealing headline: Many legislators unaware pensions rose by $13,600. The subhead: "But most not critical of benefits that increase the longer they serve."

So there you have it. They vote on stuff that they don't understand, and aren't embarrassed about it.

The legislature basically voted to give bigger pensions to legislators who serve longer, with the maximum being reached at 34 years of service in the legislature, after which point a retired legislator would receive $31,100 annually until death for doing nothing. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, per capita income in Tennessee last year was $31,107 - and most Tennesseans work hard to earn it at full-time jobs.

Legislators, on the other hand, will make that much for retiring from a part-time job.

I have a suggestion for voters upset by this: Starting with the November election, don't let any current or future legislature serve long enough to get the maximum pension. The sooner you vote them out of office, the fewer of your tax dollars they'll get for golfing while you go to work.

Update: Tennessean columnist Larry Daughtrey had some additional commentary on legislators' pay - which, including the salary, the "office allowance" and the per diem paym can run more than $45,000 per year. That's pretty good green for a part-time job.

(Daughtrey's column says the per capita income in Tennessee "is slightly more than $28,000," which is wrong - that was the state's per capita income in 2003. Larry, would it kill you to do a little research?)