If anyone should be sympathetic to the subject of low wages, it should be Minnesota legislators. After all, their annual salary of $31,140 per year hasn’t changed since 1991, due to voter opposition to those who vote themselves a pay raise. Legislators have long complained that it’s hard to attract people willing to be legislators for that kind of money, even if it is a only a part time job.

They should be very sympathetic, then, to the caregivers who take care of senior citizens and other vulnerable adults in nursing homes and group care homes, who earn only about two-thirds of legislator’s pay.

The state sets the caregivers’ wage through its reimbursement for their services. Right now they make about $10 or $11 for the important and sometimes difficult job of personal care. Those who provide those services find it hard to hire enough people, and to keep them on the job long.

Rep. Jack Considine, DFL-Mankato, has proposed a 10 percent raise for caregivers this year, with another 5 percent next year. Thay may sound like a lot, but consider that for many years, as the state struggled to balance its budget without raising taxes, their wages were stagnant. It’s time to play catchup.

Legislators now have a non-partisan panel to decide how much they should be paid. We assume they will get a raise. We hope legislators in return will take care of the caregivers.