Merit Pay for Elected Officials?

So, a commission is recommending that the Governor, Judges and legislators get big pay raises going into a recession. Besides the bad timing, the concept is flawed from the get go because it is not performance related.

Now I served in the legislature for eight years and I know this issue very well. The extremely low pay for a full time job (yes being in a part time legislature really is a full time job) is a huge disincentive for the one group of people that we need more of serving us as elected officials. They are business owners who would bring an overwhelming commons sense management philosophy to how government operates, something that is desperately needed.

But, if we accept that argument as being valid, then why not use those same business principles to determine if pay raises or bonuses should be offered, achieved and rewarded to those who earn them? It might take a great deal of thinking to put forward a workable policy that would acheive the goal of creating a system that encourages elected officials to be more efficient and accountable in government operations, but dont the taxpayers deserve a different approach than the current failing system?

I know this may be radical, but if it works in private enterprise because it recognizes that human beings respond to incentives, then why wouldnt it work with elected officials?

After all, they are human arent they?