Ocasio-Cortez: $4,500 Pay Hike for Congress ‘Not Even, Like, a Raise’

ntknetwork.com ^ | 06.11.2019 @12:51pm | Staff

[Red Badger]

The freshman Democrat wants more money in her paycheck, calling it a cost of living increase rather than a raise.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said that she doesn’t believe that a $4,500 pay increase for members of Congress should be a considered a raise but rather a cost of living increase.

She argued that members of Congress aren’t paid enough, and so they often turn to lobbying or other related fields in which they can make more money. The current base salary for a member of Congress is $174,000. The average American’s salary is $56,616.

.@AOC defends a $4,500 pay raise for herself: "It's not even like a raise." pic.twitter.com/ugFaZuSm7c — Molly Prince (@mollyfprince) June 11, 2019

“Members of Congress, retail workers, everybody should get cost of living increases to account for the changes in our economy, and then when we don’t do that, it only increases the pressure on members to exploit loopholes like insider trading loopholes to make it on the backend.”

Ocasio-Cortez called opposition to the pay hike “superficial” and argued everyone should get a pay raise.

“It may be politically convenient, and it may make you look good in the short term for saying, ‘Oh, we’re not voting for pay increases,’ but we should be fighting for pay increase for every American worker,” she said. “We should be fighting for a $15 minimum wage tied to inflation so that everybody in the United States with a salary, with a wage, gets a cost of living increase.”

“You can vote against pay increases all you want. In my opinion, voting against a pay – it’s not even like a raise, it’s a cost of living adjustment. So, you can vote against a cost of living adjustment all you want,” Ocasio-Cortez said, but that’s just going to contribute to member burn out and corruption.

Voting to increase her own pay “may not be great optics,” she admitted, but she reiterated that it was the right thing to do.

Yep. Voting against cost of living increases for members of Congress may sound nice, but doing so only increases pressure on them to keep dark money loopholes open.

This makes campaign finance reform *harder.*

ALL workers deserve cost of living increases, incl min wage workers. https://t.co/fCdgHKx4G1 — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 11, 2019

[cableguymn]

she would make a horrible hooker.

she wouldn’t shut up.

[SMARTY]

$4,500!!??

In the real world, that’s a chunk!!

[unixfox]

Peanuts!

[DoughtyOne]

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...this is a general all-purpose message, and should not be seen as targeting any individual I am responding to...

Just $136.00 dollars to 95.00%

[sparklite2]

It’s downright suicidal if you expect to become part of those of which you seek to ensure your future.

---

But guess what? She’s bending them to her ways. The ridiculous Green New Deal thing is hers and it’s not only on the table, but flourishing in the House as framework for Socialism, which she and Bernie are trying to normalize.

We’ll see how normal it becomes, but the point is that AOC, for whatever reason, is having more impact on politics than any first term Congressman I ever heard of.

[Red Badger]

In DC that wouldn’t even be a decent BRIBE!................

[Bullish]

Lord, what a idiot.

[NohSpinZone]

And the clown is missing the point by making this purely about salary. You have to factor total compensation, as we say in the corporate world.

Here’s a short list of the perquisites she and the rest of the do-nothings get:

https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/10/20/10-perks-congress-has-that-you-dont.aspx

239 days off in a calendar year for campaigning and such. Amortize that and her salary looks yuuuuuuge.

[Red Badger]

I would pay them double to stay home..................

[I want the USA back]

She has joined the ranks of the privileged ruling elite, which takes all the privileges that it can, while scorning the people who work to pay for those privileges.

[Brian Griffin]

She’s gone from weaned piglet to a Smithfield size pig in about the usual six months.

https://modernfarmer.com/2016/05/raising-pigs/

[morphing libertarian]

didn’t she get 10 mill from netflix Obama’s new trough?

[morphing libertarian]

Pelosi represents the Feces District San Fran

[seawolf101]

She was stealing tips before she became a congresswoman. I would consider that a raise.

[Red Badger]

Don’t know...............

[The_Media_never_lie]

Most teachers don’t get a $4500 raise. What’s she talking about?

[morphing libertarian]

https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-netflix-documentary

[Southside_Chicago_Republican]

If the pay isn’t enough, they can always, like, look for a better opportunity. You know, like most productive citizens do.

[LexRex in TN]

My math says that a $4500 increase on a $174,000 salary is about 2.6%. My “raise” last year was 1.5%. F@#* off, AOC.

[Lean-Right]

Considering congress house members
only “work” 138 days a year,
their average salary is $1270 per
day. Over that 138 days, a $4500
raise adds $32 per day to the
$1270, bringing it close to $1300
per day. Granted, the overworked
congress politician doesn’t get
time and a half for overtime....