CALIFORNIA ASSEMBLY STOPS STEALING YOUR MONEY - DECIDES THAT STEALING YOUR MONEY WOULD BE A "DISTRACTION."

Yesterday I reported that the out of touch with reality Speaker of the California Assembly, Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) and minority leader Michael Villines (R-Clovis), had awarded $551,000 worth of pay raises to 136 employees, despite the state being so far in the black hole of budget balancing. Well today, head twit Karen Bass announced that she had recalled the raises because they turned out to be "a distraction" from the work they are doing there in the Assembly.  No Karen Bass, it was not a distraction. Your ass got busted for being greedy in the face of your constituents collective misery. Get a clue. "Bass said at a Capitol news conference. She said she would not rule out future pay hikes." "I believe what happened was a mistake on our part as managers," Villines said. "We need to acknowledge and recognize -- and we do -- that in an economy this tough, where people are hurting in California this bad, this is not the right thing to do."  You think? In addition to his state salary of $116,000 a year, Villines receives more than $100,000 annually from a family trust that has real estate holdings. I assume that Bass makes the same salary if not more. $116,000 a year is significantly more than the average California income especially given the screwy job Sacramento is doing. I still think she/they need(s) to be recalled. They have no clue. At least the state now has $551,000 more to argue over. Read on for other elected officials who may be stealing your money this year because they have done such fine work on your behalf! I think not!  I think Jack O'Connell needs to rethink his for sure, especially given the plight of so many school districts. California’s legislative salaries, already the nation’s highest, will rise to $116,208 today for all but a handful of lawmakers who have declined the hike while the state fights a massive budget shortfall. Attorney General Jerry Brown and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell were singled out for a higher raise based on comparable pay in their fields. Their paychecks will jump 5 percent, or $8,776 per year to $184,301. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s salary was set at $212,179, an increase of $5,679, but the figure is moot because the multimillionaire former actor and bodybuilding champion has never accepted state pay since taking office in November 2003. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, a wealthy former Silicon Valley entrepreneur, said through a spokeswoman that he will donate his $4,543 salary increase to charity. State Sen. Abel Maldonado, a Santa Maria Republican who declined today’s pay hike for the third year in a row, said he can’t fault his colleagues but personally would not feel good about pocketing higher pay in a year of fiscal distress. “We’re in the red,” Maldonado said. “The governor sends out a memo that says everyone must (plan) for a 10 percent cut. And elected officials are going to take a raise?” California pays legislators at least $30,000 more than any other state, but numerous city or county managers, auditors or school superintendents receive far higher paychecks, according to data considered by the pay commission.  State Sen. Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks, said he plays no part in setting his salary, and he accepts whatever decision is made by the seven-member pay commission of gubernatorial appointees. Wow! Don't you feel good about living in California now? Click the color links to read the articles. MisterWriter