Doug Hart is worried. The Michigan state representative is worried that after legislators grabbed a 36 percent pay raise more than 20,000 smackers the voters won’t agree to change Michigan’s term limits law allowing these highly-paid politicians to stay in power twice as long.
Voter and grandmother Pat Endres said, “Every time I think about [the pay raise], I get angry about it all over again. I’d have liked to go in and fire them all …” Still, Hart is pushing ahead with a measure to gut term limits. His carrot for voters is to give back about half the money the politicians stole through the pay raise scam. Hart says, “If the public agrees to allow legislators to stick around another six years, it’s only appropriate we do things differently.”
Let me get this straight. What this guy is saying is, “We’ll give back at least some of the money we stole in such an underhanded way through that massive pay raise, but only if you let us kill term limits so we can continue running the government.” What chutzpah! Voter Steven Zolnierek isn’t fooled. He points out, “It doesn’t address the current thievery. What they need to do is give their whole pay raise back.” And he says term limits are a done deal that the politicians should not tamper with. “We don’t need professional politicians,” he states. “They’re the ones ruining everything by protecting their friends and special interests and businesses.” Politician Hart says that under term limits, “Voters are not getting their money’s worth …” You can say that again especially after that 36 percent pay raise, eh?
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.