Lawmakers got what they deserved

To the editor: 

Praise the Lord, Amen and Hallelujah! For at least another two years, those overpaid, morally and/or criminally corrupt (what’s in it for me) New York State legislators will have to endure the hardships of life without a pay raise. My heart bleeds for them! Maybe we should take up a collection for these poor souls?

As I pointed out in my previous letter titled “No to salary hikes for state pols,” (Nov. 20), Assembly members and state senators are paid $79,500 annually for a part time job. They also receive generous “lulus,” per diems and mileage allowances amounting in total to tens of thousands of dollars. In addition to which, they use their campaign funds as “piggy banks” to pay for many more thousands of dollars in personal expenses. 

New York State politicians are number one among states that allow lawmakers to make outside income. Its closest rival is Illinois, which pays its legislators $67,836 annually. And since it is a part-time job, many lawyer and legislators in Albany make tens of thousands of dollars more every year in legal fees — with Sheldon Silver, the corrupt speaker of the Assembly (who is currently under investigation by the feds) making in the high hundreds of thousands of dollars from his financial arrangements with various law firms. Who are their clients; what do they do for them; is there hanky panky going on? Nobody knows. It can thus truly be said, “the New York State Assembly (just like a rotting fish) stinks from its head.”

Yet, all the “goodies” listed above still weren’t enough to satisfy these chazzers. These greedy pigs still wanted more. If legislators, like Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, aren’t satisfied with their pay, I suggest that they get another job. How about it, Assemblyman Dinowitz? A top-notch lawyer like yourself could make a fortune in full-time private practice. Why don’t you give it a try?

Very truly yours, 

Alvin Gordon