Steve Wiegand: Trust me, your legislator is a bargain

The adage "misery loves company" may be timeworn, but it still drips with veracity.

Doubters need only look to the tidal wave of approbation that greeted Tuesday's announcement by the California Citizens Compensation Commission that it was actually considering lowering the salaries of legislators and constitutional officers.

After all, many of us are experiencing the painful vicissitudes of the current economy. And the state's elected officials are, as an alert Bee reader put it in his response to the news, "just slightly more popular than herpes." So it naturally follows that many people think elected officials should suffer too.

But as tempting as it may be to jump on this bandwagon and then use it to run over elected officials, I must demur. Nay, I must take up a verbal cudgel in defense, particularly in the case of legislators. Here's why:

Their pay is not that exorbitant.

The average legislator (that is, legislators who are not legislative leaders, since like the children of Lake Wobegon, all California legislators are above average) makes $116,208 per year. This is just 55.4 percent more than the median income for a family of four.

Sure, that doesn't include the $30,000 in tax-free per diem money they get each year, or the use of a swell new vehicle that costs them hardly anything.

But being overpaid is relative. Just remember that Keanu Reeves gets millions of dollars to "act" in movies, and Barry Zito gets millions of dollars to go 0-5 for the Giants.

Legislators are made, not born.

No one actually grows up wanting to be a legislator. Football player, ballerina, Mafia hit man, maybe. Legislator, not a chance.

So somewhere in their adulthood, legislators must be coerced or cajoled into seeking one of the 120 seats in the California Legislature. We should therefore not discourage them by cutting their salaries.

They have to get elected.

There's a reason they call it "running for office" and not "strolling for office." Imagine having to get a job by first asking a lot of people for money that they won't get back, at least not directly. Then having to convince a bunch more people that you are absolutely sure you are the best person to solve many of their problems, some of which they don't even know they have yet.

And while doing this, you have to endure the vicious, irrelevant and misleading attacks of your opponent.

This can be a major distraction while you are trying to come up with vicious, irrelevant and misleading attacks of your own.

They have to live in Sacramento.

With annual legislative sessions that last 365 days (366 in leap years), legislators must spend long weeks away from their homes and loved ones. (Except of course for legislators such as Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-,uh, L.A., or state Sen. Tom McClintock, R-,er, Thousand Oaks, who have nice houses in the Sacto area and visit their districts whenever it's convenient.)

They have to work in the Legislature.

Being a legislator is hard work. Just ask a legislator if you don't believe me. For one thing, they must serve on several "standing committees" (although in truth they do get to sit down, in comfy chairs.)

They also have to serve on special committees, select committees, subcommittees and special select subcommittees. They feed almost exclusively on jumbo shrimp, cheese cubes and other fundraising event cuisine.

And they have to hang around other legislators. Under these conditions, and no matter what the pay, it's a wonder we attract any competent, ethical and hardworking people to serve as legislators.

Oh, wait.

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Steve Wiegand, (916) 321-1076. Back columns, www.sacbee.com/wiegand.