Why should we make the legislature full time much less give them a raise?

Common Cause has finally provided something of value to the ethics reform debate.

We've been hearing rumblings that part of ethics reform should be to ban outside income, make the legislature full time and pay them more.

My initial reaction was such a plan is the exact opposite of what you should do.  I believed that the vast majority of the elected officials could never find another job, much less one that paid them more and the less time they spent working as legislators the better off we all would be.

But that was just my gut reaction, my opinion.  Not supported by facts just my experience.

But now Susan Lerner and Common Cause have provided me the data to prove my point.

Read it here http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/244492/common-cause-crunches-numbers-on-lawmakers-outside-income/  I'm not sure if Casey's reporting is original or plagerized from the Common Cause press release but here is the important fact.

"Common Cause New York’s analysis of outside income for members of the state Legislature finds that of all those sitting lawmakers elected before the 2014 cycle (183 of the total of 213 legislators), about 60 percent (110) don’t make anything on the side"

60% DON'T MAKE ANYTHING ON THE SIDE.  THEY  ARE FULL TIME ALREADY AND YOU DON'T NEED TO GIVE THEM A RAISE TO GET THEM TO STAY IN THE LEGISLATURE.  THEY HAVE NO OPTIONS,

Let Preet keep putting the greedy ones in jail and tell the rest if they want more money quit and get a real job.

I'm sure most could get jobs selling fake rolexs and handbags on Queens Blvd.