Give yourself a big raise

So what do you do, as a California state legislator, when the coffers are $22 billion in the red and the forcast for next year is an additional $5 billion shortfall? You give yourself a raise, of course!

On Monday, an independent state commission granted legislators a 12 percent pay increase, boosting their annual salaries for the first time since 1998. Beginning in December, lawmakers in both houses will see their salaries increase from $99,000 to $110,880 — the highest compensation in the country for state legislators.