I guess I’m going to harp on the minimum wage again. I would
have left it for next session since it’s obvious they aren’t going to
touch it this year; but I see that the legislature is considering a
bill that will raise their own wages by 17 percent over two years and I
simply can’t resist. Yes, that’s right, in spite of a looming budget
that is based on spending more than they are bringing in, an
under-funded education system, the fact that there hasn’t been an
increase in the minimum wage in years, and multiple other financial
woes, they are considering a pay raise for themselves.

Right now, the average legislator makes around $21,500, this bill would
jump that to $25,000 and leaders would go to somewhere around $37,500.
Legislators also get a daily expense account of $86 per day, and
monthly expenses of $200. This bill would jump the $86 to $105 and the
$200 goes to $300.

I have to admit, I would think the final two weeks of this session will
be more chaotic than most and it’s probably a wonderful opportunity to
slide this in somewhere.

It’s absolutely amazing to me that any legislator would even consider
such a move. In particular, the Republican “leadership” has blamed just
about everything under the Iowa sun on the rising costs of state
workers; and they have blocked attempts to even debate an increase in
the state’s minimum wage. And to be fair, the Democrats haven’t been
all that fired up about raising the minimum wage either; they offer it
up each year and then watch it die without a fight. But probably the
icing on the cake came this week when Senate Republican leader Stewart
Iverson said he didn’t see the hypocrisy in not being willing to
discuss raising the minimum wage while at the same time voting
themselves a pay increase. “The minimum wage really isn’t a huge issue
because I don’t know anybody working for that,” says Senator Iverson.

There are thousands of Iowans working for the minimum wage or just
above that would benefit from an increase in the minimum wage and it’s
a slap in the face to each and every Iowan for any senator to suggest
that there isn’t an issue because he or she doesn’t know them.

Leaders from both parties suggest that it’s hard to recruit good
candidates because the pay is so paltry. I would venture to say that if
the candidate is looking at the pay as criteria for becoming a
legislator, then perhaps that person is not a “good” candidate in the
first place.

Public service is not about making money. It’s about having the desire
to serve the public and passing meaningful legislation that will help
the citizenry of the state, and I think most potential legislators
understand this.