Actually, we don't.
But you can't tell that to State Rep. Harry Ott. Apparently, House Minority Leader Harry Ott has lost touch with reality. He's decided that it would be a good idea to use the State Reserve Fund to pay out a bonus to State workers. No...really.
House Minority Leader Harry Ott says he will try to push through a 1 percent bonus for state workers and teachers in the state budget.Ott said the money would come from the state’s reserve funds
It's amazing. It's the reserve fund. It's for the proverbial "rainy day", not for the legislature to "make it rain" Platinum Plus style, in the form of bonuses. The reserve fund is not for paying bonuses to anyone, let alone everyone. This is madness. We're in the midst of a horrible economy, and Representative Ott has decided to give every single state worker (oh and because that's not enough) and every teacher, a 1% bonus in their salary.
First, not every single state worker (and teacher) does not merit a bonus. I'm sure there a a few folks out there who deserve to be fired, some who don't deserve a bonus, and some who deserve a little more. However, just giving out a bonus without considering each person rewards poor work, discourages hard work, and is just plain wasteful.
Second, did I mention it's the reserve fund? It's to be held in reserve, not paid out to people because we want to encourage them. Even if every single state worker (and teacher) deserved a 1% bonus, you don't use the reserve fund. What you do is make a budgeting decision to not spend the normal budget on something that is an equal amount. You know, analyzing cost/benefit, making priorities, and making decisions - the things that a legislator is supposed to do.
The problem is that our current legislators don't want to tell us "no". There is always more money for everyone, and nothing needs to be cut.
All I want in a legislator is for them to act like the money they spend is their own damn money.
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