Posted on 06/27/2006 6:58:30 PM PDT by Explorer24
Some of the best news I've heard all day.
I don't think that pay raises for congressmen and senators is necessarily a bad thing. I'm sort of torn about it.
Salaries are currently $165,200. I think I'd rather have the Senator who really needed the extra $5,000 per year than I would the Senator who doesn't give a damn about what he or she is paid.
Why? Well, for one thing, I think people that don't have millions may have thought before about tax policy; they might realize that they've changed their behavior because of taxes; they're going to be more close to reality.
Look at who the multi-millionaire Senators include:
John Kerry [married into money that had married into money]
Herb Kohl [interited from Kohl's stores]
Jay Rockefeller [inherited]
Dianne Feinstein
Maria Cantwell [earned it in a dot-com-bomb]
Edward Kennedy [inherited]
Mark Dayton [inherited money from Target stores]
Bill Frist [started HCA, a for-profit hospital chain]
I guess the main reason to be against higher salaries is that congress and senators should be citizen legislators, not career politicians. So maybe they work a few terms as a senator then go back to the private sector.
But the Senate is increasingly becoming a club for millionaires, which I don't think is a good thing. I think another reason for all the millionaires is campaign finance reform.
Yes. A missed opportunity.
I wish it would be used to make the point: Congress can only raise THEIR salary by legislation - not yours.
More a reason for term limits. Serving in congress was meant to be a duty, a short-term duty. In and out. Not a career.
Safe thing to say, since they already voted in their pay raise for this year.
How about they give it back until they get what they want?????
Don't see them doing that, do you???
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