Re: grey_ghost If you want to start with someone who is never in office, but out spewing bs while on vacation. A better start would be with with Obama..!

I agree with Mooshoo @11 and add to that term limits.

We're turning this topic into our editorial topic for Saturday's paper. Highlighter 29 makes some reasonable arguments about all the roles that lawmakers play, and we'll emphasize some of those points in sharing our perspective on this debate. Thanks for the discussion.
Greg Peck

How many of these so called over worked people in office pay a lot of money to get the job
They sure do not give the job up with out a fight
Can not be so hard of a job
You just need other peoples money to get it

why not start with walker? he is never ,in his office. too busy talking bs, around the country.

Did the runaways get paid for the time they spent in Illinois?

$1,470 per day. I believe most of us can agree that our legislators mostly work For Their Party, NOT for us citizens. So I have to ask, "How does it make sense to pay those people so much?"

The answer is, "It makes NO sense to continue to do so."

Yes, by all means, make them part time.

highlighter29: Poor overworked legislators. I feel real sorry for them. Having to drive all the way to Madison for a few days a year. Part time work? Part time pay and NO BENEFITS!

How about the Milwaukee County Board? How does Rep. Leon Young of Milwaukee feel about that?

State bill targets Milwaukee County Board pay, budget

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepoliti...

So if people want to cut pay for legislators, why wouldn't they want to cut pay for Board Members in Milwaukee?

Protesters to object to Milwaukee County Board pay reduction plan

Jan. 24, 2013 9:44 a.m. | A protest is planned Thursday at an event hosted by the Greater Milwaukee Committee to oppose to a proposal to sharply cut Milwaukee County supervisor salaries and slash the board's budget.

A draft bill co-sponsored by Rep. Joe Sanfelippo (R-West Allis) calls for a binding referendum on cutting county supervisors' pay to $15,000 or less and eliminating their benefits. The same bill would directly slash the board's budget by about $5.4 million, leaving it $1.1 million.

The protest is scheduled for 4:45 p.m. outside the U.S. Bank building, 777 E.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, (01/24/2013)

Even County Exec Abele approves of the pay cut.

http://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/stat...

Then pay teachers the same way too! Only part time since they work only 9 months a year. They only work 1440 hours a year compared to most professions who work 2,000.

And I hope no teachers would support this because if it happened your in the crosshairs next.

yes.

A legislator's job is more than driving up to Madison, sitting in a chair and pressing a button while in session. It's more than attending committee meetings and posing for pictures at ground-breaking ceremonies. It's actually helping the district, believe it or not. It's more than a full-time job. It's a 365 day per year, 24/7 job. And if you don't believe me, ask one of our former legislators if he could ever "turn it off" over the weekend, at the grocery store, or when out with his family.
It's meeting with local business leaders to craft rules, support and legislation (the 39/90 expansion for example), which takes months of research, legislative proposal writing, bureaucratic sign off, etc. It's taking phone calls from constituents and local government officials who need REAL help and assistance within state government: unemployment claims, help locating domestic violence services, explanation of state statutes, connection to bureaucratic leaders, etc.
Once constituents needs only require 90 days out of 365 and once businesses and community organizations needs can be addressed in a quick 90 day period instead of 365 -- then there should be part-time representation at a state level. Don’t you agree, however, that anything else would be a disservice to the people of the community?

Let's amend the state constitution to include term limits first. Risser has been in office for over 50 years. Ellis has been in office for 30 years. Stop the incumbency insanity, THEN worry about the annual salaries.

A suitable formula for legislator's salaries:
100% full-time pay, minus 1% of base pay for every minute of TV advertising their election campaign has aired.

The founding fathers never intended the citizen legislature to be career job. I have no problems with the change in salary or title to part-time.

Doing as little as possible for the most pay is a time-honored American tradition, that's why we have Wall Street and stock markets. If we hope to invest in Wisconsin's future should we expect the State legislature to behave differently?

This paying our workers (ones we pay to work for us)a set pay is bull,they should have a time card and be accountable for the times we pay them,can anyone imagine how many people "WE" pay the wages are stiffing us,for not doing there work,and still getting full pay??
If the hours we pay for them to work don't add up to what we pay them,they are stealing from me & you,what happened to the saying,A FULL DAYS WORK,FOR FULL DAYS PAY??

Cut their wages & benefits to no more then $10,000 per year
They would still be over paid