A friend sent me this article, criticizing Kollyfornia Governor Conan Terminator – er, Arnold Schwarzenegger – for paying bonuses to his staff:

We were all awakened late last week to a disclosure that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger paid substantial sums from his political accounts after the election to four key aides in his administration.  If this does not tell the people of California that this Governor is no better than the last, then I do not know what will.The funds paid out to the key staff members were characterized as ‘bonuses’ and paid to the Governor’s chief of staff, his communications director, the governor’s personal assistant and the first lady’s chief of staff.  All of these individuals are full-time state employees.  

If I remember correctly (and this is dating back to the States News Service days), Ted Kennedy had a larger than normal staff in his Senate office, because he paid a few out of his own pocket. Every Congressional office gets a staffing budget based on several factors (distance of home state from DC, etc.); some spent it all, some “returned” the unspent money to the Treasury.

Anyway, my instinct is that I’ve got little gripe with Arnie. If he wants to give his staff bonuses, that’s his perogative. This may even be a good trend. There’s less money in the public sector than the private sector, we know that. We also know that because of that, it’s harder for the government to attract and retain talented people. I don’t want oodles of taxpayer money spent to make government jobs more lucrative, but I also want the best people I can get working for the public. Getting multimillionaire lawmakers to spend their own money on bonuses for their staff strikes me as an easy solution, although not necessarily one that will always be available.

Rereading the article, I notice that the money is coming from Arnie’s political accounts, which I presume is/was his reelection fund, and the Austrian Bodybuilders For a Better California PAC or something like that. I could see someone being a little unnerved by that. Now when you donate to a candidate, you’re not just funding his election; you’re also paying for bonuses for his staff. That seems to be entering the neighborhood of Bribe-ville.

On the other hand, when you donate to a reelection fund or a PAC, you’re already paying the salaries of the campaign staff and the PAC staff.

Maybe this will be the topic where Marshall and I have an On Tap Fight.

Marshall: Only if you tell me what I’m supposed to be fighting over.

Seriously, if Arnold wants to give bonuses to his staff with his political funds, I’m fine with that, as long as he discloses it — which he obviously did. Voters and the press can react however they want. If they object vociferously enough, Arnold might not do it again. Others might not either. If no one cares, that sends a message, too.