[PALEOLOGOS] Feel Free to Call Me an ‘Unfair Minded’ Person

Since President Kennedy signed The Equal Pay Act in 1963, the gap between our earnings and that of politicians has gone crazy! Massachusetts lawmakers are voting on a package of pay raises for their leadership, the governor and other top state elected officials. To be fair, Gov. Charlie Baker said he and the Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito were quite content to continue to work with the compensation they have. Not so with others, though, like House Speaker Robert DeLeo and Senate President Stan Rosenberg.

DeLeo says his job is 24/7 everyday of the year, so he justifies the pay hike. Rosenberg said fair-minded taxpayers should agree to the hikes because stipends have not gone up in 33 years. By the way, this increase raises their nest egg roughly 40 percent. And this pads their pensions for life!

Remember, they just got a raise recently. And did I mention that while crying for more salary, they also cut about $97 million, including services for special needs children?

I believe fair-minded taxpayers will see through the veneer. Put me down as a very un-fair minded taxpayer. After all, it's not the salary that makes you rich, it's your spending habits, stupid!

Editor’s Note:  Phil Paleologos is the morning talk show host on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6am-10am. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.