Posted on 12/24/2009 12:25:38 AM PST by This_far
HELENA — Too bad everyone can’t work for Congress.
Between 2007 and 2008, the average wage for Montana workers went up 3.4 percent, from $32,224 to $33,305, according to numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Not so for congressional staffers. In 2008, the House of Representatives voted to increase the money each member gets to pay their staffs by 9 percent, although it’s up to each representative to decide on the amount of raises for individual employees.
That sum also includes expenses like office supplies and travel, but nonetheless it’s still almost three times higher than the rate by which Montana and the rest of the nation’s workers saw their wages climb, according to numbers from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And for some staffers, a 9 percent raise seems downright measly. Statistics show some, including some who work for Montana’s three-man congressional team, have often received raises that approach 25 percent.
(Excerpt) Read more at billingsgazette.com ...
Matsdorf said Baucus also gives “appropriate pay increases,” adding that the senator’s staff don’t “do it for the money, rather they do it to make a difference for our state and our nation.”
[Socialism w/pay raise]
Pay your taxes - Congress really needs the money. :)
(the attitude of most of those elected.....F the people)
This comparison between wages and the amount to run their offices doesn’t make a lot of sense. I would rather know how the actual salaries of the staffers compare to wages of others. This 9 percent includes money that the Senators pay for travel, office supplies etc, as it says right in the article. You’re comparing apples with oranges, or maybe apples with applesauce - there is a correlation but not a direct relation.
Loyalty doesn’t come cheap in Obamaville DC.
Yes it does. Who on Earth can live on 33K in Washington D.C. or anywhere for that matter. You folks act like these guys are becoming rich cause they went from 32K to 33K. It is a miserable amount of money to live on. I have in the past but greatfully now make 15K more. If this was a Bush story everyone would b!tch about such a sorry amount of money.
Reread the article. NOWHERE did the article state that anyone in DC was making $32,000 nor did the article state that they got a raise from $32K to $33K. The $32K to $33K figures came into play as the average pay in Montana.
Reading comprehension is a great thing to master.
Oops your right....One point for you for Christmas.
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