State Lawmakers Give Themselves a Raise During Recession

Governor Paterson reports that we might run out of money to fix the state's roads. He says we're 3 billion dollars in debt. That didn't stop Bill Stachowski and his fellow state lawmakers from quietly increasing their per diem spending from $160 to $171/day. This was really a pay increase since they get to keep the difference of whatever they don't spend on meals and lodging each day. It adds up to a more than $5,000.00/year increase for each lawmaker. Stachowski,Sam Hoyt and the rest of the Albany phonies are all saying it's a federally mandated increase. What a bunch of garbage. They have the power to decline this money if they wanted to. Several other states have no per diem expense for their lawmakers, but not NY. Don't worry. We can afford it. Where we're going, we don't need roads.



Reports the Albany Times Union:
Members will be receiving higher per diems, the stipends they get for travel expenses such as hotels and meals outside their home districts.
Starting this month, lawmakers staying in Albany will get $171 per day, up from $160 -- an increase of nearly 7 percent.
They'll get that amount no matter how much they spend. If their meal and hotel costs are lower, they keep the change. (Expenses for transportation -- such as train tickets or car mileage -- are reimbursed separately).

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