Raises and cronyism

It’s that time once again. I don’t know why this continues to rankle me, but to call this Arkansas Independent Citizens Commission “independent” seems to be a bit much. I can’t recall a single year since the inception of this scheme where a meeting has been called to order and someone didn’t get a raise. That smacks of cronyism at its finest. This latest round of enrichment is completely laughable.

Arkansas ranks 49th in median household income. Why should we, the taxpayers, be giving raises to government officials that rank 20th and 21st? Obviously these people are doing fairly well compared to their peers, and vastly better than their neighbors. I would suggest that if these people aren’t making enough money to live on, they go back to private practice.

In the real world outside government, raises like this are not just passed out without merit. To most thoughtful individuals, just because someone else makes more does not justify merit.

LLOYD KASSLER Bryant