2001 Pa. lawmaker pension hike far more costly than infamous 2005 pay raise

Pennsylvania taxpayers shell out more than $300 million a year to fund one of the largest and most expensive state legislatures in the nation. And a big chunk of that expense goes to pay the $83,802 annual salary and lavish benefits package of the 253 lawmakers, who routinely grant themselves pay hikes and one of the most generous pension plans in the country.

This is how good government activist Eric Epstein described how the Pa. Legislature continues to enrich itself at taxpayers' expense while pretending to support pension reform:

"When was the last time you ever heard of a bank robber robbing a bank, going back to the scene of the crime putting the money back in the vault, and then changing the combination? That's what we're asking our legislators to do. It's probably not going to happen."

2001 lawmaker pension hike far more costly than 2005 pay raise - abc27 WHTM