Funny Money

(Fox News) - New York Democratic Governor David Paterson reportedly has secretly given 16 of his top staffers pay raises of up to 46%. The New York Post says the moves came after Paterson asked 130,000 state workers to give up a three percent pay hike because of the state's $15.5 billion budget deficit. His emergency declaration in August required the state to cut spending and impose a hiring freeze.

The single largest raise — almost $40,000 — was given to a confidential assistant. A Paterson spokesman says the raises are new salaries for new positions. The Post reports that is only true in two of the 16 cases.