Sen. Daylin Leach responds to my response to his response to my Sunday column. I respond.

Gil

Thank you for forwarding this to me. I sense that an environmental debate is pointless. People feel how they feel and nothing I say will change that. It's like debating abortion or the death penalty. Neither of (us) has time for that.

I still cling to some hope that you actually care about facts on legislative compensation. So I will take one more crack at that.

You may feel we're paid to much. You may feel we shouldn't be paid anything. That is your right, and you wouldn't be alone. But it is simply factually inaccurate to tell people that I make up to $150,000 per year and you must know that it is also inaccurate to count reimbursements as "compensation".

Lets assume for the moment that the Delco Times gets much more ambitious in their coverage of international affairs and sends you to Libya to cover the revolution there. Would the plane ticket they bought you be counted as income? How about your room at the Marriott Tripoli?

The per diems some of us get are to reimburse us for the hotels and food we purchase when we stay overnight in Harrisburg or elsewhere in the state more than 50 miles per home. We have the only job in the state where we are required to live up to 6 hours away from our jobs.

I would point out two additional facts. We didn't set the $163 figure, the IRS did. It is the standard amount they allow for per diems across the country in the public and private sectors. Second, the only two hotels in walking distance of the capitol both charge more than $163 per night we get and this does not count food. We often lose money on the per diems versus a straight receipt-based reimbursement. An its not just me who says that is not income. The IRS and the PA Dept of Revenue feel the same way.

You also misrepresent the car situation. I do not get a $7,800 car allowance. I have a fleet vehicle. I pay every cent of the cost of that vehicle for every mile I drive for personal purposes. The state pays only for the miles I drive for work, not counting miles I drive to and from my house to my district office which is considered personal driving. Again, if you consider mileage reimbursement income, you would be the only one who did.

If you are interested in being an actual journalist who tells a true story, I hope this is helpful. If you just have an axe to grind and only are interested in facts that support your pre-conceived notions, then obviously I've again wasted my time.

Daylin

So, after sarcastically insulting me and accusing me of not having my facts straight and blatantly (but ineffectively) lying about what I wrote in my Sunday column re: the proper disposal of plastic bags in landfills, you flee the field. Did you learn that in law school or in Harrisburg?

But, I understand. And I think you are right that an environmental debate is pointless, especially with someone like you, who doesn't know (or admit to) the difference between "pollution" and "trash." As you say people "feel how they feel." If you "feel" trash and pollution are one and the same thing, what can I say other than I thought words had meaning to most lawyers. Of course, you traded that calling in to be a full-time politician. As we all know, politicians have a tendency to believe words have whatever meaning a politician dares to assert at any given moment in time.

Now, on to your attempt to justify your pay and benefits.

You claim that the IRS set the $163 per diem rate, as if you and colleagues were required to take it. Well, you're not. And you know it. Legislators in many other states don't. And where they do, they are paid substantially lower salaries. For instance in nearby Virginia, legislators get a per diem but they are only paid $18,000 a year. But then you guys do such a better job running our commonwealth than they do theirs, right?

That you don't consider your free car from the state fleet to be a "benefit" is telling as well. Most people in the private sector would consider a free car, a perk, a nice benefit, especially since it isn't considered a taxable one. After all, it saves you the cost of buying your own vehicle, as well as servicing, maintaining and insuring it.

I wrote Sunday that your pay and benefits add up to between $120,000 and $150,000. That was, I feel (as you like to say), quite accurate.

But if you would like to provide me a more detailed accounting of what you've accepted from the state in the way of pay, reimbursements and other benefits I will be glad to publish it. Please include receipts and your last three years tax returns.

In the meantime, readers/taxpayers can take a gander this story by Robert Swift of the Times-Tribune detailing all the goodies to which our elected public servants have entitled themselves.

You can read it too, Daylin. I'm sure you'll want to fire off an e-mail to Bob to lament his biased and pointless reporting, if you haven't already.