How Low Can You Go (on a state pay cap)?

In an earlier post, we noted a bill in the state legislature that would limit pay of state employees to the salary of the governor, about $174,000.  The bill exempts UC because of its constitutional position.  Nonetheless, should such a bill be passed, it would create difficulties for UC as an outlier.  The bill advanced in committee yesterday.

State employees — even university presidents and top medical doctors — should not bring home more than Gov. Jerry Brown, a Senate Committee agreed Wednesday.  “This is a good first step to reining in the outrageous state salaries that Californians keep hearing about,” said Sen. Joel Anderson, a La Mesa Republican carrying the pay limit bill.  San Diego Sen. Juan Vargas, a Democrat, cast the deciding vote in the Public Employee and Retirement Committee. “The truth of the matter is we all have to tighten our belts. You do see there are extraordinary amounts of money being paid to individuals. You have to do something about it,” Vargas said. Anderson’s Senate Bill 1368 would limit the annual pay of any state officer or employee to the earnings of the governor — counting overtime. Brown is paid $173,987…

Full article at http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/18/anderson-vargas-team-to-cap-state-pay/

Someone seems adamant about drawing a line:

Note: Data on the California income distribution are available from the 2010 Census at:
http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_DP03&prodType=table

Median family income was about $65,000.  Mean family income was about $88,000.