Massachusetts Taxpayers to Fund More Hefty Beacon Hill Pay Raises

Ray Charles and Johnny Cash each had great success recording Harlan Howard's "Busted" in 1963. Charles took the song to No. 4 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart, while Cash peaked at No. 13 on Billboard's Hot Country Singles Chart.

The song, with lyrics such as "My bills are all due, and the baby needs shoes, and I'm busted," is a familiar refrain for many Americans struggling to pay rent, buy food and keep gas in the car.

When people have angst about their financial security and are watching their income swallowed up by inflation, word that public employees are getting another publicly-funded pay raise can sound a sour note.

But it is true.

State House News Service reported, "All staff members in the (Massachusetts) House of Representatives will see pay bumps of at least 6 percent" beginning in June. The raise impacts some 500 employees at a total cost of about $2.8 million.

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House Speaker Ronald Mariano detailed the raise in an email to House employees on Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in which he said, "If, after receiving the minimum 6% salary adjustment, an employee is still not at their appropriate compensation rate within their salary range based on the employee's experience and equity, that employee will receive an additional adjustment."

The email states, "As a result, most employees will receive an adjustment that is greater than 6% - the overall average being 8.75% - in order to account for any additional House experience employees might have accused since November 2022."

Did I mention that those same House employees were given an eight percent pay raise in 2022?