06 December 2006

Nice work if you can get it.

DC Council is set to give themselves a massive raise in the near future. A councilmember's job, which by the way is considered part-time, currently pays $92,000 a year; not bad for part-time work, especially in a city where the median income lingers around $50,000.

However, that's not good enough, apparently. Phil Mendelson took the COLA angle:
Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who proposed the new council salary, said the increase was equal to the cost-of-living rise over the past eight years. Council members last received raises in January 1999, but the increase makes them the highest-paid council members in the region.

Phil may be right, but I'm not aware of too many other part-time employees that have the power to give themselves retroactive COLA raises. Still, who can argue with a nice Christmas bonus like a $22,000 plus raise for part-time work?

Speaking of bonuses, if I'm not too sick of it all I might take on the idiocy that surrounds the DC library brouhaha, an issue that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the council members simply don't deserve their self-approved raises.

3 comments:

Grad School Reject said...

In all seriousness, once you pass your dissertation defense, would you ever consider running for DC council? I would feel much better about my tax money contributing to your 92,000 dollar salary, and I get the sense education would hold a priority. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who would vote.

cs said...

Excuse me, but after the council approves their raises that would be a $115,000 salary, thank you very much.

m.a. said...

Well, I'd certainly feel happier knowing that my money was going to you. Consider a run, Cuff.