AZ lege: cuts to education funding, pay raises for staffers - the two-step continues

Years ago, the late (great!) Molly Ivins made an observation about the people who made up the administration of the first President Bush (H.W., not W.).  They were people who thought that public service, and public servants themselves, were contemptible, and used that belief to rationalize engaging in contemptible behavior of their own.

The Republicans in the Arizona seem to be operating from the same playbook..

From the Arizona Republic, written by Ronald J. Hansen and Mary Jo Pitzl (emphasis added) -

Arizona's state government is continuing its spending diet, with no pay raises and talk of an 18-month hiring freeze. But the belt-tightening hasn't happened at the Legislature, where salaries of the roughly 300 staffers who assist lawmakers have collectively gone up $500,000 in the past year, financial records show.

{snip}

Stephanie Grisham, press secretary for the House Republicans, said in a statement that the changes reflect the chamber's commitment to dedicated staff and their special qualifications.

"Like any well-run organization, we want to hire and retain first-rate individuals in order to best serve the people of Arizona," she said. "Every position's salary is proportionate with the education and professional experience of the person in that role. Serving the people, especially when the Legislature is in session, requires much more time than a regular 40-hour workweek, and staff here consistently work evenings and weekends."

Interesting - the lege's GOPers loathe the idea of public resources going to the public's education system, but they love to expend public resources on their staffers based on...wait for it...their education.

More interesting - the same folks that have claimed that they can't find the money to fully fund the state's education system have easily found money to shovel to their staffers.