Take a lesson from your peers, Fort Wayne politicians:
The Columbia City Common Council unanimously turned down a raise for itself Tuesday night but granted a 3 percent raise to other elected officials.
It marked the second straight year the council declined to vote itself a raise.
“I don't think the council should take a raise,” councilman Doug Fahl said in making the motion. “It's not a large amount of money, but it's a gesture to people.”
Comments
The salaries of some city employees are shockingly high already. It's not surprising to hear people reacting by suggesting those salaries are lowered rather than to raise the major's compensation if "parity" is really that important.
People intuitively know this isn't fair in a supposedly new and different economy in which we are supposed to ignore the old assumptions and learn to like layoffs, underemployment and Wal-Mart pay and benefits.
If the well-to-do STILL want these kinds of salary hikes, whether they like it or not they are going to have to make the same kinds of advantages happen for the majority of Americans.
...Chaps their hide, probably, but it's true nonetheless. Besides, we like to see results before rewards, and so far the regional economy is quite a ways from producing results.