Posted on 08/30/2011 6:04:58 AM PDT by wyowolf
Everyone complains about their job now and then, and members of Congress are no exception. A few lawmakers have suggested in recent months that despite a $174,000 annual salary, generous health care and pensions, and perks for things like travel and mail, being one of the elite 435 ain't always what it's cracked up to be. And when you calculate the hours they put in, the pay isn't stellar either, they say.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Cheap wages = easily bought
Shouldn’t a Senator or Congressman elected by one of the 57 states be employed by that state that elected him or her or it ?
Why are these critters federal employees at all ?
Just askin because I don’t know....:o)
Actually, they are way, way, way over paid.
and lame to start with.
Interesting point.
When you think about it, $174k ain’t that much in DC, esp. if you have a house back home in your district with a mortage on it, too.
WTF? You've got to be kidding. Factor in their health and retirement benefits and the fact that they are only expected to work Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, plus the "recess days" they get and I doubt they work over 150 days a year. On top of that, they legislate bills that protect their jobs, not what benefits us. As a retiree, I have a hard time understanding how they can give themselves a $3600/yr "cost of living" increase, but tell us that for the past two years there hasn't been any inflation so you don't get a pay increase.
...they didn’t name a group of Baboons ..a “congress” of baboons for nothing
Somehow I’m thinking of that old saying, “I wish I could buy him for what he’s worth and sell him for what he thinks he’s worth!” ;-)
The point about being “bought off” makes sense though. And when you consider that most of them have another house back home to pay for, the salary isn’t that much.
Now many are already wealthy, but I’ve done the math - since I am NOT independently wealthy, I personally couldn’t afford to be a Congressman if I didn’t already live in commuting distance of DC (which I do), when you consider a mortgage on your other house, renting an apartment in DC for when Congress is in session, etc.
I think that enforced rules would help greatly. If they can’t get a budget they should not get paid. If they pay off unions for votes they should be in jail...
No - they're paid far too much. If they're really there to serve (as they claim) then they should do so without the fat salary.
If they don’t like it, they can quit, and make room for someone else.
They make all their money off insider trading - which is LEGAL for members of Congress AND their staffs - the salary shouldn’t be an issue.
Why are they paid at all?
Why not attract people that have been incredibly successful in life, business and want to give back to improve our country and open opportunity for more...???
instead what do we do...create a system that is 100% about the individual elected official...that is ONLY about each one of them and allows them to force everyone else into some collective view or group - ironic isn’t it...how everything they claim to do is for one group or another but in reality everything they do is JUST FOR THEM.
I can’t believe I’m even reading this story.
they should be paying us to be there. I would like to see a comparison of politicians worth prior to being elected versus their worth once they finally go back home.
You can get a decent place to stay in reasonable distance of Capitol Hill (on the Hill itself even) without spending a huge amount of money.
$1300 or less/mo. you have a wide variety of choices as that shows. That’s $15.6k per year, which is less than 10% of the salary.
ANYBODY can afford to do the job on a Congressional salary if they don’t demand an aristocratic standard of living.
That’s one of the dumbest questions I’ve ever seen! LOL!
They should be paying US to put up with them!
They should be subject to term limits!
And they should be subject to ALL LAWS to which they subject other citizens!
And any U.S. citizen addressing them should be seated at a level HIGHER than that at which Congressmen sit--as a clear indication that Congressmen are his/her servants--AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND!
These Congressmen definitely need to be taken down many notches! The American people should DEMAND that they be!
If they don’t like it, they can always resign.
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