Our View

Our View

On the rising cost of justice

It was just a couple of years ago that a bunch of generous citizens of our tax dollars calling themselves the Independent Citizens Commission so happily doled out raises to all of our judges including those jurists on our Supreme Court.

At that time, this commission bumped the pay from $161,601 to $180,000 for the chief justice and from $149,589 to $166,500 for the other justices.

Now, they’re back appealing to these citizen decision makers wanting the annual salary of the chief justice to be raised to $199,800 and the pay for the other justices increased to $184,815.

Oh, but the pay raise request doesn’t stop with the high court salaries based on a proposal submitted by the Arkansas Judicial Council on the judges’ behalf. So seems there is also a request to increase the annual salary of the Court of Appeals chief judge from $164,000 to $167,280 and the salary of the other Court of Appeals judges from $161,500 to $164,730.

Let’s put this into some type of perspective and compare these salaries with Arkansas’ per capita personal income, which is a meager $39,342, which ranks the state as the 45th in the nation, according to a U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report released in March. Bearing that in mind, the argument being made by Chief Justice Dan Kemp is that this request would make the salaries of the Arkansas justices comparable with their peers’ pay in neighboring states, such as Missouri, Tennessee and Louisiana.

What is being asked here is an 11 percent raise for these judges including benefit packages such as health insurance and retirement plans. Understand, the current annual rate of inflation is just 2.2 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. And, let’s not forget that lawmakers increased the salaries of state government attorneys by eight percent just last year.

Another argument being made for justifying these raises is the level of education these justices have earned, which begins with a college degree, graduation from law school, being able to pass the bar exam and the fact that a justice has to be in practice for eight years before he or she is eligible to run for the Supreme Court.

Don’t get us wrong, it is perfectly understandable that these public servants seek whatever they can get but, by the same token, we hope the custodians of our tax dollars understand the overall ramifications of their actions and realize by granting such a request may be opening up a Pandora’s Box.

We fully expect if these raises are approved based on “peer comparisons” there will be a pile of requests from other state employees who feel they also want raises that equal salaries given to employees in comparable positions in other states.

Let’s understand that it is a bitter pill to swallow for an Arkansan in the private sector, scraping by on an annual salary of $39,000, to hear about six figure salaries being so graciously handed out to so many government employees, not only within the judicial arena but particularly in the academia field. For instance, The number of state employees whose salaries are at least $100,000 a year increased by 137 to 2,722 last year, and most of this growth occurred at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. We recognize these are professional positions and understand the compensation levels that must be met to attract the best qualified individuals.

BIBLE VERSE

When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble: when he cometh up unto the people, he will invade them with his troops. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments.

Habakkuk 3: 16-19