110: Grand Theft Judicial

Let’s review the recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision on last year’s pay raise for you.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, under Chief Justice Ralph Cappy, the architect of the unconstitutional pay raise (or “payjacking” passed in the wee hours of an early July morning during last minute efforts to pass a state budget) of 2005, took under review the constitutionality of the entire pay raise of 2005 issue. Cappy recused himself, but still led the court, much as an ejected manager of a baseball team still manages from the runway behind the dugout. [Note: Cappy was also the creator of the “unvouchered expense” which allowed legislators to grab their raise immediately, thus inflating their salaries and their retirement funds at the same time!]

In short, the court found [in a single decision]:

• The Pay Raise was unconstitutional
• The Unvouchered Expense was unconstitutional
• The repeal of the pay raise was constitutional
• The legislators do not have to give the unconstitutional unvouchered expense money back
• The portion of the unconstitutional pay raise that raised judicial salaries for all state judges was exempt from the constitutional repeal of the raise, passed after voters threw out a Supreme Court justice in the November Election

So, the raise and the unvouchered expense were unconstitutional, and the repeal was constitutional, except for the part dealing with the raises for judges, and the unvouchered expense money doesn’t have to be returned.

Is this unlike the child who buys his Mom a box of chocolates for Christmas and then eats most of them?

This ruling has Cappy’s greedy finger prints all over it.

But the worst of it is this: all the money previously returned by most legislators who took the unvouchered expense was never turned over to the state treasury – it was held by the clerks of the House and the Senate. Which means, our greedy legislative leadership can (and will) return the money to the legislators, since the Supremes have said they can keep it and also allow it to pad their retirement accounts.

Pardon me, dear taxpayer, but I would also point out this latest ‘BOHICA’ comes without benefit of any lubricant whatsoever.

Have you had enough yet?

THE CENTRIST

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