My business is a few blocks from Paul Lopez's office and he's already gotten under my skin a few times so this issue really burns my ass.
After spirited debate Monday, Denver's City Council voted 10-3 to tentatively approve a 6.6 percent raise for the next sitting council and every other elected official — an increase to be delayed for half of their four-year terms.
The city is facing a $100 million budget shortfall for the 2012 budget and has a structural budget problem that, if not addressed, could balloon into a $500 million deficit by 2030.
Denver is the only large city in Colorado that pays its council members a living wage — $78,173 a year, plus about $30,000 in benefits.
Councilman Paul Lopez said the raises were necessary to make sure a working person with a family could afford to be a council member.
And I thought we were in crisis mode around here but these people can't seem to make a sacrifice of NOT getting a raise. When did public service become a lifetime career? They should be happy they even have jobs in this economy. :bash
The left is angry because they are now being judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin.
And if you don't pay them a living wage, does that just make them more beholden to contractors bidding on Denver City jobs? I don't know the answers but sometimes it gets absurd when our Governor is only making 90K a year and the state patrol assigned to guard him makes more per year if you include overtime.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
