It was also advertised as a way to end the horse - trading that's been a
part of pay raises for decades — in 1987, Mario Cuomo linked a
salary increase to ethics reforms, and the 1998 pay hike was accompanied by the creation
of the state's first charter schools, a bill pushed by dairy farmers, and an agreement to give the comptroller authority to
withhold legislators» paychecks in years when budgets are late.
Retirement is only
part of the social security scheme, and in many countries retirement SS benefits have nothing to do with the
salary or taxes
withheld, but rather with the current poverty line in the country.