Freshly minted Governor John Kasich took up his party’s rallying cry that public workers are making too damn much money. But the party line ends at the governor’s ledger, according to a document obtained by the political blog plunderbund.com.

Proposed salaries for Kasich’s top staff, it appears, will include handsome pay raises over their counterparts in Ted Strickland’s administration. For instance, Kasich’s chief of staff Beth Hansen will be making $170,000, which is more than Kasich himself will make and $47K more than Strickland’s chief earned.

Communications director Scott Milburn will be making $120,000, compared to $89,000 for Strickland’s guy. Press secretary Rob Nichols will make $90,000, which is $20K more than Strickland’s press secretary made.

Nichols is already earning his money by explaining to the media that these eye-popping salaries are essential to lure such amazing people from the private sector to public service.

But most of the new appointees are career government and/or campaign employees with political ties to Kasich and other Republican politicians, not private-sector superstars.

Hansen, for one, had been retired Senator George Voinovich’s state director and then Kasich’s campaign manager, and he did both jobs for considerably less money.