On Friday Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed a pay raise package for legislative leaders, judges and others but considering that the Senate approved the raises 31-9, and the House supported it 116-44, the votes clearly exist to override the governor’s veto.
Should they?
In particular do you support our local delegation — Reps. Ruth Balser, Kay Khan and John Lawn, or state senator Cindy Creem — voting to override the veto?
Or do you think Setti Warren was right when he called on his Democratic colleagues to change their votes and oppose the pay raise?
I urge my fellow @massdems to rethink this one before the override vote. If 5 senators or 10 Reps reconsider, no pay raise. #mapoli
— Setti Warren (@settiwarren) January 27, 2017
Do the State Legislators deserve a raise? Yes. Do the State Legislators deserve this much of a raise? HELL NO. Did the State Legislators choose the right time to do this with jobs and programs being cut? NO (the budget is not balanced people… wake up). Did the State Legislators try to pass the bill on its own merit so that it could not be overturned by the voters? NO. I commend Charlie for the veto. He has been a decent Governor. Seti said the electable thing. Any Legislator that votes for this bill will be remembered at re-election time.
I agree with the previous post. This is the WRONG time for our legislators to vote themselves a pay raise. Gov. Baker is absolutely right to use his veto. This pay package is way too high.
Oh, please. There’s never a good time for a pay raise for public officials.
One of the most cowardly ploys in politics is politicizing pay increases. Judges deserve them. The governorship is a big job and is underpaid.
If Baker wants to forego the pay raise, let him. But, don’t hold judges hostage with this nonsense.
@Sean: So you’re good raising the gov and judge salaries, what about the rest?
It should NOT be tied to a judicial pay raise. Furthermore, look at the size of the increases especially for the Senate President and House Speaker as well as Committee Chairs. Not saying that a modest increase may be in order but certainly not one of this size.
Well this vote will show us if our Newton Reps/Senators are supportive of Setti Warrens twitter plea or not. I wonder if he has personally reached out to them?
Or are they afraid that by voting No it will look like they are supporting Governor Baker’s veto?
$18 million per year in pay raises. How about putting that money towards affordable housing instead? Could pay for a lot of homes.
Some of these amount to a 40% pay increase (house and Senate leaders).
Politicians should never be permitted to vote on their own raises, it at the least, should always take effect after the next election.
Greg-
Yup, I’m good. Important jobs. Not unreasonable compensation.
Neal-
In the end, any money we spend could go to affordable housing. So, let’s not pay anybody anything until everyone’s adequately housed. And, by the way, until everyone has affordable healthcare (including dental!). And, everyone can vote in just fifteen minutes. And, every kid has a quality education. And, affordable transportation is available to all. And, we’ve taken every step possible to reduce greenhouse emissions. And, and, and. In a multi-billion dollar budget, $18 million to pay important people adequately just isn’t that big a deal.
That said, I totally agree with you on phasing it in after an election cycle. All elected officials should do that voluntarily.
I don’t have enough information about this issue to express an opinion, and I suspect most people don’t as well. What’s the time commitment for a state rep/senator and lgislative leaders? We know we have very hard working reps and a state senator, but I still don’t know the time commitment over a year, and I’m a pretty informed citizen.
That being said, it’s unconscionable that the people we elect to represent us have gone so long without a raise. Is there a reputable source of information available about this issue?
One of the issues with raising the pay of legislators is that they raise their own pay and that’s awkward at best. It’s not a good idea to wait so long to vote for a pay raise that the raise appears to be substantial. There has to be a better way.
I am not against a raise, but lets do it in a fiscally responsible manner. Does it really need to be all at once?
Legislators should think about the how the citizens of Mass in 2000 voted to reduce the income tax rate to 5 percent, from what was then 5.85 percent. Seventeen years later we are still waiting… Why?
Because Lawmakers passed a bill in 2002 setting the reduction at 0.05 percent a year in each year that certain economic triggers are met. The triggers ensure that the state’s economy is strong enough to withstand the loss of tax revenue.
Practice what you preach!