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Otto-Korrect t1_jay60ct wrote

What if we give them the state's average income, and the average level of Healthcare? If they want more, they can bring up the average.

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lipsticktracer t1_jayhp99 wrote

They're actually way underpaid. It's a problem. The only way you can afford to be a lawmaker is if you have a good source of $$$ from elsewhere. If we paid them the state's average income, they'd all get a well-deserved raise.

Legislators make less $$$ than teenage pizza cooks. It's why the legislature has long been dominated by old-ass rich people who can afford to work for nearly nothing. They're bringing the state's average income down right now.

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Hell_Camino t1_jaylbzi wrote

Exactly. Gov Shumlin, in private, used to say that all of the legislators were r****ds and retirees. His language was terrible but the underlying point was that, at the current level of pay for legislators, we aren’t attracting our best and brightest.

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VermontArmyBrat t1_jaymihp wrote

Are you aware of how much they are paid?

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thisoneisnotasbad t1_jb06e8k wrote

How much?

I can find 750 a week during session. 508 a week for lodging m/t/w/th And 345 a week for food.

That’s 1603 a week but they only work maybe 6 months and can’t live in Montpelier year round because they need to live where they serve.

So they make about 83k per year but can only work part time so 42k per year and need to maintain two separate living locations to participate.

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VermontArmyBrat t1_jb09b6e wrote

They get $743/week during the session. The session runs from January to April, with the exact end date varying based on the progress of legislation, governor vetos, etc. They are in regular session four days a week, not five, so your lodging math is off. They only get lodging if they stay in Montpelier - most commute and therefore do not get that.

Their pay is below the state average for salaries and is seasonal with no benefits. This is why it tends to be a bunch of fairly well-off people that can afford to be away from their regular jobs. Just this year a state rep lost her job because her employer was not willing/able to let her be away to serve.

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thisoneisnotasbad t1_jb09pox wrote

The lodging math is based on 4 days a week. (127x4 =508)

I think we are both saying the same thing, which is they don’t make enough to have this be their only job.

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