Pennsylvania legislators' pay raise fans voter anger.

Publication: The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

Publication Date: 20-JUL-05

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COPYRIGHT 2005 The Philadelphia Inquirer

Byline: Mario F. Cattabiani

Jul. 20--HARRISBURG -- A decade ago, 300 angry people packed the Capitol Rotunda protesting the "thieves" in the legislature who had just voted themselves a double-digit pay increase.

They vowed not to forget come Election Day. But all but two of the more than 200 incumbents won another term in 1996.

This time, however, things seem different.

The anger is deeper and broader and, two weeks after the General Assembly voted itself a 16 percent pay raise, it shows no signs of abating.

Across Pennsylvania, people are still writing letters to the editor, dominating talk radio with threats of a taxpayer revolt, and taking to the Internet.

"We are not focusing on getting a...

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