Posted on 01/06/2009 8:43:40 AM PST by AmericanHunter
U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell is a lead sponsor of federal legislation to block congressional pay raises in 2010. Mitchell and U.S. Rep. Ron Paul argue that Congress should not be getting automatic $4,700 pay raises while the U.S. economy is in recession and consumers and various industries are hurting.
“We’re in the midst of a recession, and our elected leaders need to do the right thing,” said Mitchell, D-Ariz., in a statement. “For Congress to give itself a pay raise at a time when so many hardworking Americans are suffering is unconscionable.”
Mitchell represents Scottsdale, Tempe and Ahwatukee.
Congressional members just received a $4,700 raise bringing their salaries to $169,300 annually. They will get the automatic increase for 2009 without legislation to block it.
Mitchell and Paul, R-Texas, also opposed the 2008 increase.
ping!
While stickin’ it to the bloody leeches that infest congress might be cathartic, it’s also pointless. The amount of money that this pay raise is going to waste is a drop in the bucket of the actual government waste we have to deal with.
At least TWO folks in DC have a brain (and a heart)
It’s not the amount of money that is at issue. It’s the idea of giving them a raise when they haven’t done their jobs.
Wholeheartedly.
Smartest thing Ron Paul has ever done. We need Grassroots action on this NOW so we can send a message to the congress. Shall we start mailing them something? Empty wallets?
I got a better idea.
How about they ALL work for a dollar a year like they asked the Big 3 CEO’s to do.
One of the pseudo arguments for giving public officials pay raises is that it supposedly deters corruption. So now the citizenry are essentially being blackmailed into choosing whether to give them our hard earned money now or later.
That is the exact same argument that socialists use to defend the funding of NPR.
Yes! No pay increase for these scumbags! They should at least be doing the honorable thing and taking a pay CUT, if nothing else but for its symbolic nature... we are over $10T in debt.
I think it would be extremely difficult to disagree with ANYONE on this subject.
Cut up credit cards and Monopoly money.
OMG! RON PAUL IS A KOOK!
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