Posted on 12/20/2008 10:20:54 AM PST by Maxstake
Leading The News
With economy in shambles, Congress gets a raise By Jordy Yager Posted: 12/17/08 05:41 PM [ET] A crumbling economy, more than 2 million constituents who have lost their jobs this year, and congressional demands of CEOs to work for free did not convince lawmakers to freeze their own pay.
Instead, they will get a $4,700 pay increase, amounting to an additional $2.5 million that taxpayers will spend on congressional salaries, and watchdog groups are not happy about it.
"As lawmakers make a big show of forcing auto executives to accept just $1 a year in salary, they are quietly raiding the vault for their own personal gain," said Daniel O'Connell, chairman of The Senior Citizens League (TSCL), a non-partisan group. "This money would be much better spent helping the millions of seniors who are living below the poverty line and struggling to keep their heat on this winter."
However, at 2.8 percent, the automatic raise that lawmakers receive is only half as large as the 2009 cost of living adjustment of Social Security recipients.
Still, Steve Ellis, vice president of the budget watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense, said Congress should have taken the rare step of freezing its pay, as lawmakers did in 2000.
"Look at the way the economy is and how most people aren't counting on a holiday bonus or a pay raise - they're just happy to have gainful employment," said Ellis. "But you have the lawmakers who are set up and ready to get their next installment of a pay raise and go happily along their way."
Member raises are often characterized as examples of wasteful spending, especially when many constituents and businesses in members' districts are in financial despair.
Rep. Harry Mitchell, a first-term Democrat from Arizona, sponsored legislation earlier this year that would have prevented the automatic pay adjustments from kicking in for members next year. But the bill, which attracted 34 cosponsors, failed to make it out of committee.
"They don't even go through the front door. They have it set up so that it's wired so that you actually have to undo the pay raise rather than vote for a pay raise," Ellis said.
Freezing congressional salaries is hardly a new idea on Capitol Hill.
Lawmakers have floated similar proposals in every year dating back to 1995, and long before that. Though the concept of forgoing a raise has attracted some support from more senior members, it is most popular with freshman lawmakers, who are often most vulnerable.
In 2006, after the Republican-led Senate rejected an increase to the minimum wage, Democrats, who had just come to power in the House with a slew of freshmen, vowed to block their own pay raise until the wage increase was passed. The minimum wage was eventually increased and lawmakers received their automatic pay hike.
In the beginning days of 1789, Congress was paid only $6 a day, which would be about $75 daily by modern standards. But by 1965 members were receiving $30,000 a year, which is the modern equivalent of about $195,000.
Currently the average lawmaker makes $169,300 a year, with leadership making slightly more. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) makes $217,400, while the minority and majority leaders in the House and Senate make $188,100.
Ellis said that while freezing the pay increase would be a step in the right direction, it would be better to have it set up so that members would have to take action, and vote, for a pay raise and deal with the consequences, rather than get one automatically.
"It is probably never going to be politically popular to raise Congress's salary," he said. "I don't think you're going to find taxpayers saying, 'Yeah I think I should pay my congressman more'."
Maxstake
** Too Bad all of mine are Marxists and probably planned this!!!
Damn straight.
Pigs sloping the other pigs and themselves.
If they were serious they would work for a buck a year most of them aint hurtin for cash anyways
Good use of the term, Sloping. Does this mean having intercourse with other pigs or feeding them slop?
With an unprecedented 9% political approval they deserve a small bone. /s
Both.
It is not clear from the article when this passed. If it was passed after 4 Nov, the 27th Amendment would apply and they would only get the raise after the 2010 election.
I wish I could be involved with some sloping tonight. If you get right down to it, some positions put one in a sloping posture.....
It was Congress that caused this financial crisis and depression, as well, by placing their cronies on Fannie Mae’s board, who looted it to fund their “affordable housing” initiatives.
When we hang the first one from the tree of liberty, I’ll be sure to stuff a Lincoln in his mouth.
“However, at 2.8 percent, the automatic raise that lawmakers receive is only half as large as the 2009 cost of living adjustment of Social Security recipients.”
I just receive a 12% pay cut, due to the recession these fools started.
They need to have someone introduce an amendment to change “raise” to “reduction”. Poor performance should cut their salaries. They are doing a sh1tty job. When congress gets a whopping 9% approval rating, no one should even be THINKING of a raise. They’re lucky they aren’t tarred and feathered.
If the people had their way, (in a perfect world, of course) they wouldn’t be around long enough to spend it.
I called my rep and had to leave a voice mail.
At the very least it is poor form for any congressman to accept a raise right now.
10% cut here. Unbelievable. Aren't all these guys already rich? Why do they want more of our money?
So many of the out of touch legislatures (both sides) ought to be marched off to jail.
I was at a party Thursday night and mentioned I wonder if they will volte themselves a raise. Several women said, they wouldn’t daire! I knew they would.
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