June 12, 2008
I’m not joking The Louisiana Senate just passed SB672 which TRIPLES their annual pay. Think about the last time you got a raise. Three percent? Ten percent? No percent because times are hard and the company can’t afford it with the rising gas prices, rising bread prices (the lower production of wheat in favor of Ethanol producing corn drives prices up without the oil crisis), less revenue because of lower cost competition (due to the outsourcing of services to foreign countries or illegal workers), etc? We’re talking THREE HUNDRED PERCENT here people. The average Louisiana worker’s pay is $37,946. This is one time I wish I was average (I’m a teacher, what can I say). The average pay tripled is $113,838, and before you run to your trusty “Little Professor” calculator, the difference is $75,892. For 39 senators that’s right at 3 million dollars MORE a year total if they were an average Louisiana worker. The actual figures of what it would cost us tax paying citizens is estimated at over 5 million dollars annually.
The senate knows that we have a new and hopeful Governor in office with a lot of good ideas for the state, but he needs the help of the Senate to pass the bills in order to even get to his desk for approval. If Bobby Jindal does not approve this raise, the Senate could stall his proposals and therefore he will have to “play ball” the old Louisiana way. This is borderline extortion, or racketeering (remember what Edwin Edwards went to jail for). A quote from the Advocate:”Asked if he had been threatened by lawmakers, Jindal said he would not discuss private conversations with legislators.” In Louisiana, this more than likely means “yes”.
“I don’t want to give anybody any excuse for slowing down any of the important reform going through the legislature (that are) important to the people of Louisiana,” — Bobby Jindal
You’re sitting there reading this thinking, “Yeah, but what can I do?” I thought about that too, which brings me to this email. We can do what Bobby Jindal cannot for betterment of the state. I know you people send on much more mundane chain letters than this, but now it’s time to use chain lettering for good. I have provided a link which will automatically address EVERY Representative in the House and every Senator of Louisiana (the addresses are found at http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Senators/ByDistrict.asp and http://senate.legis.state.la.us/Senators/e-mail.asp if you wish to check). All you have to do is click on the link which will automatically compose an email to send them telling them that you do not want this passed. If you don’t like the text, feel free to change it, it’s your freedom of speech after all. Then, forward this to every person in your contact list and have them do the same. I’m going to step this up a bit: if you don’t have many people in your address book, then dig through your emails and find ten people who are tax paying Louisianians and send them this email requesting they do the same. If that doesn’t sound enticing enough, I can make it sound like a chain letter for you:
Send this to ten people or you will lose 5.34 million dollars!
You may not get the 5.36 million dollars for forwarding this, but the spouse of a Fireman or a Police officer who has died protecting you might. 5.34 million dollars may put Railroad Crossing lights where they’re needed. 5.34 million dollars may help supply Louisiana school children with materials to be competitive in the employment market. Or, if you just want to give 5.34 million dollars away, then I will happily provide you with my Paypal information to give me 5.34 million dollars. I would really like a hybrid car, but I can’t afford one.
It’s only a couple of clicks y’all. At most it may require some copy and pasting from the address, subject and body into your web based email (Yahoo mail, Gmail, etc.), but it’ll take no more than five minutes. That’s at least $1,000,000 a minute worth of time.
Put your powers of chain mailing to good use.
Sincerely,
Thad
For reference about this information, check out the Advocate at http://www.2theadvocate.com
…also, feel free to comment below after you’ve sent you mail and forwarded this on.
June 13, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Since not everyone uses a mail client (Evolution, Outlook, Thunderbird, etc.), here’s another option for those of you whom the links above do nothing for.
You need to copy and paste the following information to the respective field…
email addresses:
duplessisa@legis.state.la.us, crowea@legis.state.la.us, websen@legis.state.la.us, murraye@legis.state.la.us, grayc@legis.state.la.us, quinnj@legis.state.la.us, heitmeid@legis.state.la.us, alarioj@legis.state.la.us, lasen9@legis.state.la.us, martinyd@legis.state.la.us, donahuej@legis.state.la.us, websen@legis.state.la.us, erdeyd@legis.state.la.us, dorseyy@legis.state.la.us, lasen15@legis.state.la.us, Lasen16@legis.state.la.us, lasen17@legis.state.la.us, amedeej@legis.state.la.us, websen@legis.state.la.us, lasen20@legis.state.la.us, lasen21@legis.state.la.us, hebertt@legis.state.la.us, lasen23@legis.state.la.us, cravinsd@legis.state.la.us, morrishd@legis.state.la.us, gautreauxn@legis.state.la.us, lasen27@legis.state.la.us, lafleure@legis.state.la.us, lasen29@legis.state.la.us, smithj@legis.state.la.us, longg@legis.state.la.us, risern@legis.state.la.us, walsworthm@legis.state.la.us, thompsof@legis.state.la.us, kostelka@legis.state.la.us, adleyr@legis.state.la.us, shawb@legis.state.la.us, smithcheek@legis.state.la.us, jacksonl@legis.state.la.us, abramson@legis.state.la.us, larep021@legis.state.la.us, armesj@legis.state.la.us, larep102@legis.state.la.us, auberte@legis.state.la.us, larep100@legis.state.la.us, auberte@legis.state.la.us, larep100@legis.state.la.us, badonb@legis.state.la.us, larep053@legis.state.la.us, barrast@legis.state.la.us, larep029@legis.state.la.us, billiotr@legis.state.la.us, burfordr@legis.state.la.us, burnsh@legis.state.la.us, larep089@legis.state.la.us, larep002@legis.state.la.us, carmodyt@legis.state.la.us, carters@legis.state.la.us, champags@legis.state.la.us, larep022@legis.state.la.us, chaneyb@legis.state.la.us, connickp@legis.state.la.us, , cortezp@legis.state.la.us, cromerg@legis.state.la.us, danahaym@legis.state.la.us, danahaym@legis.state.la.us, dixonh@legis.state.la.us, larep010@legis.state.la.us, larep052@legis.state.la.us, larep012@legis.state.la.us, edwardsj@legis.state.la.us, ellingtn@legis.state.la.us, larep013@legis.state.la.us, foilf@legis.state.la.us, franklina@legis.state.la.us, larep011@legis.state.la.us, larep035@legis.state.la.us, gisclait@legis.state.la.us, larep040@legis.state.la.us, larep066@legis.state.la.us, larep041@legis.state.la.us, guinnj@legis.state.la.us, hardyr@legis.state.la.us, harrisoj@legis.state.la.us, hazelc@legis.state.la.us, hendersr@legis.state.la.us, henryc@legis.state.la.us, hinesw@legis.state.la.us, hoffmanf@legis.state.la.us, ahoney@legis.state.la.us, howardf@legis.state.la.us, larep104@legis.state.la.us, jacksong@legis.state.la.us, larep061@legis.state.la.us, johnsoro@legis.state.la.us, jonesr@legis.state.la.us, joness@legis.state.la.us, larep016@legis.state.la.us, larep036@legis.state.la.us, larep081@legis.state.la.us, larep096@legis.state.la.us, larep059@legis.state.la.us, legerw@legis.state.la.us, ligit@legis.state.la.us, littles@legis.state.la.us, lopintoj@legis.state.la.us, larep094@legis.state.la.us, larep099@legis.state.la.us, larep062@legis.state.la.us, larep046@legis.state.la.us, monican@legis.state.la.us, larep097@legis.state.la.us, larep001@legis.state.la.us, nortonb@legis.state.la.us, nowlinr@legis.state.la.us, pearsonk@legis.state.la.us, perryj@legis.state.la.us, larep093@legis.state.la.us, pontie@legis.state.la.us, poper@legis.state.la.us, pughs@legis.state.la.us, richardj@legis.state.la.us, richardc@legis.state.la.us, larep101@legis.state.la.us, larep075@legis.state.la.us, royc@legis.state.la.us, schrodej@legis.state.la.us, simons@legis.state.la.us, larep088@legis.state.la.us, larep008@legis.state.la.us, larep56@legis.state.la.us, smithp@legis.state.la.us, larep060@legis.state.la.us, talbotk@legis.state.la.us, templetr@legis.state.la.us, larep031@legis.state.la.us, larep086@legis.state.la.us, larep18@legis.state.la.us, larep005@legis.state.la.us, larep064@legis.state.la.us, larep004@legis.state.la.us, willmott@legis.state.la.us, larep105@legis.state.la.us
Subject:
I am opposed to SB672
Body:
Dear Honorable members of the Louisiana Senate and House of Representatives,
I am conscientiously opposed to paying my hard-earned money to fund pay raises in a time of near destitution among the people you represent for a raise in the proportions which SB672 proposes. In a time when most everyone is struggling to keep abreast of the rising costs of everything from gas to bread in order to maintain a semblance of normality (and in some cases merely surviving), I strongly believe that the approval of bill SB672 is a vote in the direction contrary to that in which you were elected, albeit in good faith, to represent us in. A normal pay increase of three to ten percent may have been acceptable, but a three-hundred percent raise is unacceptable. Also, the rapidity in which SB672 has progressed through channels without proper explanation to your fellow Louisianians of why this pay raise would be appropriate is an indignity to the citizens who already fund your position.
In short, I do not wish SB672 passed. Thank you for considering my request.
June 13, 2008 at 1:47 pm
I got a couple of replies from some senator’s offices, Thad. You are doing a very noble thing.
June 13, 2008 at 5:15 pm
How in the world can you justify a 300% raise. I would love to make 16,000 a year for a part time job. You people tend to forget why your in office and who put you there. To say I’m outraged is a understatement.
June 30, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Monday, June 30th. Bobby Jindal has vetoed the pay raise. Some quotes…
“I have opposed this pay raise at every turn and from the very beginning. A doubling of legislative pay is clearly excessive and it takes effect prior to the next election, which I believe is bad policy,” Governor Jindal said. “This bill would also have set up a system to give legislators automatic pay raises in the future without additional legislative votes – which is a lack of accountability that we cannot accept….”
“I have said that I was not going to stop legislators from more than doubling their own pay by vetoing this because I did not want to give them any excuse to slow down the momentum of our reform movement here in Louisiana. It turns out this is an unsustainable position. I have come to realize that the reforms I have been fighting for are simply incompatible with this legislative pay raise.
“I was trying to preserve our reform agenda and our momentum by tolerating this legislative pay raise that I knew was completely excessive. But the two cannot coexist.
“The bottom line is that allowing this excessive legislative pay raise to become law would so significantly undercut our reform agenda, and so significantly diminish the people’s confidence in their own government, that I cannot let it become law. So, I have vetoed the bill.”