Begging the Question

Quoting from Barry Belmont's response in the letter previously posted regarding an all volunteer senate and the implications of such a government:

"Many brought up the exact same points (only the rich can run...) and I can see and understand this position. However, as you mentioned a good senator should work say at least 10 hours a week. Well for the 16 weeks of the semester (let's call it 15 for the sake of argument) that totals 150 hours worked for $400. Or roughly a wage of $2.70 an hour. It can be said that our senators are working for peanuts already and with this budget crisis it seems more pressing than ever to save ever last penny."

Today we learn about the wonderful logical construct of petitio principii or begging the question. This logical fallacy is one in which a logically unsound premise is used to suggest a proof.

Mr. Belmont and START claim the low pay senators already receive should be proof enough that the senators shouldn't require any pay. However, this argument ignores the possibility of the existence of those who would run but cannot afford to run at the current pay and therefore do not run. What if the low pay already excludes a significant number of potential candidates?

Arguably, reducing the pay even more could further reduce the size of the pool of possible candidates, making ASUN a less democratic body (i.e., more elite).