Retired Hampton insurance broker Roger Thomson doesn’t think the outrage will last over the state Legislature’s middle-of-the-night, no-discussion deal to molest your wallets and purses. Franklin & Marshall College political science guru Terry Madonna offers that any outrage that there is likely won’t overcome the power of incumbency next year when most of the General Assembly stand for retention. Pay- and perk-jacking is a time-honored tradition in Harrisburg, he notes. Yet the re-election rate in recent years is about 98 percent. Just to recap, those elected to supposedly represent the public’s best interests chose to see to their own interests in the wee hours of July 7. They voted to increase their pay by 16 percent, to $81,050. Committee heads — about half of the Legislature — voted to increase their pay by 29 percent, to $89,155. Legislative leaders jacked their pay even higher. And, unless somebody stops them in court, they can use “unvouchered expenses” to start getting the money now. This is on top of the free cars, free car insurance, free medical care and lots of slush money to throw around their districts. Let’s not forget the cushy, defined-benefit pension plan. We live in a representative democracy. State legislators have abused its principles and its processes. They’re hoping you forget about it between now and November 2006. Don’t. We won’t.

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