[dvan]

In my opening post I mentioned that this would not be a popular idea in many quarters. Here is a list of Congessional Benefits:

CONGRESSMEN WHO LIVE FRUGALLY are an endangered species. There is always plenty of money for traveling the world in high style while living a life of luxury and their pockets bulge.

The $165,200 salary is just the beginning. Only Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) returns an unused portion of his expense money to the federal treasury.

Perks range from the glamorous to the mundane. They have free parking at Washington Reagan National Airport—just steps from their favorite terminal. The average Joe takes the subway or a cab to the airport.

Parking even at the far-off spaces served by shuttle buses costs more than a cab unless you take a cab for many miles to fly out of Washington. Average Joe has to reserve just one flight and be there two hours in advance and may still be bumped because airlines overbook. Your congressman can book three flights and take the one that best suits his convenience.

He doesn’t have to bother canceling the other two reservations, although he has a highly paid staff to handle such petty details for him. If he arrives seconds before take-off, average Joe gets bumped and the congressman gets seated.

Congress gives itself the finest medical care, financed by taxpayers. When the congressman has a bellyache (instead of giving one to taxpayers) he goes to Walter Reed for the finest care available. He enjoys huge retirement benefits in addition to Social Security—if he hangs around long enough, he can get a $200,000 pension.

But don’t expect him to struggle living within his $165,200 salary—there’s money everywhere. He can transfer $75,000 from his allotment for “office staff ” to “expenses.” Despite allegedly new House “travel restrictions” drawn up to calm voter outrage, lawmakers accepted free trips worth nearly $1.9 million in the first eight months of 2007—more than all of 2006, records show. U.S. ambassadors abroad are provided funds to entertain visiting congressmen.

“There’s a realization that these trips and meals are getting extra scrutiny,” Meredith McGehee of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, told USA Today.

“That will last for awhile, but we know it won’t last forever. The ethos of politics is, ‘what can we get away with?’”

http://www.americanfreepress.net/html/pockets_full_of_perks116.html

[dvan]

Granted it was probably easier to implement a new Constitution for our founders. It won’t be as easy to get our present Congressmen and Senators to add a restrictive amendment that will curtail some of their largess and their huge benefits. The New Republic had just overthrown Great Britain in a revolution. They had a 'blank slate' to work upon. This is where we should begin. The ideas I put forth were just that. If change ever comes the new government should be more responsive at the State level to their constituents just as in the early days. Those elected to represent their districts should be responsive to their districts, to no one else. Close contact should be maintained when they are in session. Naturally the representatives should be provided with salaries and expenses for the time they are in session. At home and not in session these representatives should be able to provide for themselves gainfully.

Of course I can think of over 700 reasons why this idea will not fly. Most are in the U.S. House of Representatives, The Senate, Executive Branch and the Supreme Court.