No pay increase for legislators

The Indiana state salary commission, a nine-member, legislator-created citizen's group, is recommending a 159 percent salary increase for Indiana legislators.\nThat's nice, we say, because everybody likes to have more money, but this kind of pay hike is just insane. \nNeither gubernatorial candidate is in favor of the hike -- Gov. Joe Kernan is saying he wouldn't accept it and Republican candidate Mitch Daniels is shooting it down while the state is still in the red, according to a recent article in The Indianapolis Star. That kind of thinking makes sense, since Indiana is facing budget deficits to the tune of $800 million.\nBut the legislature and the governor are probably going to knock noggins on this issue. \nCurrently, Indiana legislators make $11,600 for their part-time jobs, which are a second job for the majority. Legislators received their last pay raise in 1985, but this new raise would set their pay at just above $30,000.\nThe average full-time state employee makes $32,461. That's for year-round, full time work. Legislators work a few months a year and are wanting more money for the same amount of work.\nTo bring it home, Bloomington resident Lee Marchant, a member of the state salary commission, is calling it a "giant step forward for Indiana."\nComparatively, Indiana legislators make similar salaries to legislators in states with similar legislative structures.\nIt's easy to get caught up in the numbers game here, but the amount of the increase is what rankles us. A 159 percent hike in a debt-ridden state simply has 'bad idea' written all over it.