Excellent article from Donn. Thing is that we should be able to vote them out of office as a message, but due to the gerrymandering of districts we can’t. Unless you run a primary against one of them and have a ton of cash to throw into the race, a challenger doesn’t stand a chance.

They are not accountable to we the people so they don’t care what we think. Besides Silver and Bruno are untouchable by us even though they are the ones that dictate what legislation comes to the floor for a vote and what doesn’t. If it comes to the floor, it will pass, they already have made the deals that will line their pockets.

Until we get real change in Albany and by that I mean the removal of Silver and Bruno, the splitting up of their power and control, we will not see any real change. We can only hope and Pray that Spitzer will do at least something.

Legislators merit pay cut, not a raise

By DONN ESMONDE

Imagine this. Imagine walking into your boss’ office and asking for a raise. You know what you’ve done for the company - the ideas, the late nights, the hard work that padded profits. You are ready to state your case.

Now imagine that you are a state legislator. There is talk that the lawmakers of our dysfunctional state government want a raise - after years of nonreform, ever-higher taxes and an upstate exodus of people and business.

We don’t have to imagine the discussion. We can re-create it. The boss is you, the taxpayer. You pay the salaries of 211 state lawmakers, including more than a dozen local ones. There is a knock on your office door. In walks a state legislator.

Legislator: I need more money.

Taxpayer: Frankly, it wasn’t on the top of my agenda. People are leaving upstate like it’s on fire. We’re laying $66 million at the feet of Bass Pro and still they won’t come. And you think you deserve a raise?

Legislator: It’s tough squeaking by on $79,500 a year. I can barely make the lease payments on my Lexus.

Taxpayer: Hand me a hankie. I’m welling up. Seventy-nine grand is twice what a lot of folks around here make. And those do-little committees you’re on jack up the pay about 10 grand. Between lobbyists buying you dinners, a weekly expense account and raiding your campaign stash for lunch money, when was the last time you paid for a meal?

Legislator: Sometime in 2002. But a full belly doesn’t pay my bills. I haven’t had a raise in eight years!

Taxpayer: Guess what? I haven’t had a tax cut since Jack Kemp wore a football helmet. But since you asked for more money, I’ve prepared a performance review.

Legislator: Groan.

Taxpayer: Let’s see. Upstate is bleeding people and desperate for a business-friendly government. Instead of lightening our load, you make rules that jack up the cost of construction. You make laws that pad public-worker pay and benefits at the bargaining table. We’ve got public workers retiring at 55 with a pension that’s two-thirds their final salary. We pay twice as much for Medicaid’s public health as most states.

The county’s state-run Medicaid bill went up $72 million in the past seven years. No wonder why we’re closing libraries and can’t keep parks open even as the sales tax spikes to 8.75 percent.

Legislator: Hey, it’s not me. The governor and party bosses Shelly Silver and Joe Bruno decide what flies and what doesn’t. We legislators are just along for the ride.

Taxpayer: You’re taking us for a ride. And it’s not just you. We pay for your Albany staffers. We pay for your home-office staffers. Each lawmaker - with salaries, staff and benefits - costs us about $1 million a year. You pad your paychecks by dipping into campaign funds to buy everything from Sabres season tickets to new cars. Now what was that about a raise?

Legislator: We work hard. That’s why we need to take those trips to warm-weather places for policy conferences. There’s nothing like a few days in Los Angeles to improve your golf game, uh, I mean to catch up on urban affairs.

Taxpayer: So I’ve heard. Local lawmaker Paul Tokasz has more frequent-flier miles than Tiger Woods. Being a state lawmaker means never having to visit a tanning parlor. But what do you do for us?

Legislator: Reform. We talk a lot about it. A lot. It fools voters into thinking we’re actually reforming something.

Taxpayer: I’ve heard enough. You can go now.

Legislator: So I don’t get the raise?

Taxpayer: Actually, I’ve decided to pay you what you’re worth. I hope you’ve got something left in the campaign stash, because we want a refund.

e-mail: desmonde@buffnews.com