‘Restore the Public Trust’

I have grown weary of proposals such as that suggested in your editorial, which advocate raising the salaries of public officials as a method of reducing the amount of political corruption plaguing this nation. Rather than placing the responsibility for their behavior squarely on the persons who engage in unethical or illegal activities, this solution instead implies that “the poor politicians can’t help themselves” and blames the citizenry by stating in effect that voters get what they pay for.

People whose integrity does not fluctuate in relation to their salaries should find such implications not only offensive, but alarming. Is it so irrational to expect elected officials to exercise sound moral judgment simply because it is the correct thing to do? Even if salaries were increased to a level which would enable public officials “to maintain a reasonable standard of living,” certainly such salaries will never satiate the greed of those politicians for whom money and power are more important than their constituencies.

What a shame that all around us, in local, state and national politics, we are witnessing the results of a political ethic based on self-interest rather than on service to others.

KATHLEEN A. McDONALD

Los Angeles