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COLA Pay Cut? LOLOLOL — The Commonwealth Foundation’s Nathan Benefield points out that Pennsylvania legislators, judges and executive branch people get an automatic cost-of-living adjustment in their pay using the consumer price index (CPI) for Philadelphia as the measure for inflation.
Will fancy that, the CPI is down 0.15% this year. Does the pay of our solons and mandarins go down?
Did I really need to add a LOLOLOL to headline?
Gov. Ed Rendell was among those sending a letter to U.S. District Judge Ronald L. Buckwalter praising convict Vince Fumo and urging an easy sentence.
Who says there is no honor among thieves?
It didn’t do that much good. Buckwalter gave Fumo –who was ranking the Democrat on the state Senate Appropriations Committee until his indictment in February 2007– 55 months today for his conviction on 137 federal corruption charges.
Hey, it’s still half-a-year less than what his predecessor as the people’s representative from South Philadelphia’s 1st Senatorial District — Buddy Cianfrani — got in 1978. Take heart, Vince. Buddy was out in 27 months.
Also sending a letter of support for Fumo was former State Supreme Court Judge Sandra Schultz Newman, a Republican.
For an interesting explanation of Pennsylvania politics read the book by former Delaware Countian and judicial reformer (and martyr) Bob Surrick: “Lawyers, Judges and Journalists: The Corrupt and the Corrupters”. Free chapters can be found here: surrickbook.com/free.htm.
Mrs. Newman’s son Jonathan chaired the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board for 4.5 years until January 2007. He actually did a pretty good job.