Republicans agree that some state workers are underpaid--their own staff!

Most state workers in North Carolina have gone three years without a raise, have been hit with higher contributions, deductibles and co-payments on their health insurance, and have even had a short furlough. However, the News & Observer reports that some state workers have done much, much better.

House Speaker Thom Tillis in the last few months handed out raises as high as 27 percent to half his staff after vowing in January to set an example for others in state government by cutting his office payroll.

Tillis' general counsel Jason Kay got a 27 percent raise, from $110,000 a year to $140,000.

Chief of staff Charles Thomas got a 25 percent, $30,000-a-year increase, from $120,000 to $150,000.

Policy advisers Christopher Hayes and Amy Hobbs received $12,000 raises, both going from salaries of $70,000 to $82,000 a year. Kay, Hayes and Hobbs are all new hires who joined the state payroll for the first time in January. Thomas is a former state House member from Asheville.

In all, Tillis gave raises to seven members of the 14-person staff he had before April. He hired an additional employee in May, paying him $70,000 annually.

Far from cutting his own office payroll, the News & Observer found that Rep. Tillis' was at least 10 percent higher than his Democratic predecessor.

So much for shared sacrifice.