A lesson many of us learned long ago is that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should do it. The lesson applies equally to jumping off the Mississippi River bridge and to writing checks with no money in your bank account.

We thought of that lesson this week as members of the Concordia Parish Police Jury voted to give themselves raises to the maximum amount allowed by state law. The vote was split among jurors with five voting to allow the raise and four voting against it.

Their justification?

We did it because the state allows us to.

For the stewards of the parish coffers to show such poor judgment seems inexcusable.

The latest figures from the state of Louisiana show that Concordia Police Jurors already receive slightly higher salaries than the state average. Concordia jurors receive $856 per month while the state average is $826.

And given that the parish consistently has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state and a struggling economy, we think that compensation is more than adequate.

Approving a 40 percent pay raise to the $1,200 state maximum for themselves is a bit ludicrous – even if they choose not to take the money right now.

State officials say there was no deadline pressure to approve the raise and that jurors have always had the option to approve pay raises at any point in the year.

If at some point the jurors decide to begin drawing the higher salaries they approved, it will be the already strapped taxpayers who will be forced to sign those checks. And we’d love to know where the money will come from.