Another Reason Americans Have No Faith In Government

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It's nice to know Dems and Repubs are bipartisian on something.
They should be given a pay cut.

I don't begrudge a pay hike for our members of Congress.

Yes, many of them are wealthy already (though not all) and yes they get a vast number of perks not included in their pay.

But the fact remains that maintaining a residence in both Washington (a very expensive place to live I'm told) and in their own districts is great, not to mention the costs of traveling regularly to their home districts (and everyone wants Congressman to get back to the people they represent as much as possible).

And the fact that most Congressman were they working in the private sector would certainly be commanding higher salaries than they get in Congress.

And I know it is unknown to many, but alot of business conducted by government officials has to be paid out of their own pockets.

I remember reading when Carter was president, one of his wifes worries was the costs of food for state dinners and other meetings at the White House.

The president has to pay for it out of his own money and for the Carters in the late 1970s who weren't exactly known for throwing big dinner parties, the numbers came to something like 1,000 dollars a month. A very large some indeed.

I wonder if they'll vote for this pay raise in the middle of the night like they did a couple of years back.

Give congressmen free room and board on a military installation near DC. Give them coach travel to and from their home districts. Pay for whatever business expenses they have in running the country. And that's it. Congress should be a calling, not a way to make 10 times the poverty level in this country and a free pension for life. Not to mention the ability to vote themselves a pay raise whenever they bloody well feel like, despite the low approval numbers.

Give us, their bosses, the ability to determine their pay.

Do you really want members of Congress obsessing over their bank balances every night instead of studying legislation?

Do you really want members of Congress more vulnerable to the temptations of bribery and kickbacks? (we already have problems with that, want it to get worse).

Why do you think NFL officiating crews are always professional men with no money problems whatsoever?

Because the thinking of the NFL is people already doing well money wise would be less tempted by bribery and other inducements.

The NFLs reasoning seems to have worked for decades.

The rest of us do. Why not them? Might teach then some fiscal responsibility.

You think throwing MORE money at them will make it any better?

By your own admission, most Congressmen are already well off before they get to Congress. Why would they need to worry about the checkbook once they get to DC, especially if all of their necessary living expenses are already covered? They're not going to be any more tempted by bribery than they already are, and may be less so if the people who run for office are doing it out of a sense of duty and not out of a sense of entitlement or a sense of a ticket to riches.

I didn't say most Congressman were already well off.

I said many were.

And in fact MOST necessary expenses are NOT covered.

The only way that expenses for Congressman are covered is if they live in their offices and eat every day in the congressional cafeterias.

A number of them do that, but that means of course that they aren't living with their spouses or children which raises a whole new range of problems.

Plus, it makes them more easily accessible to lobbyists. Does anyone think that is a good idea.

Why shouldn't they? The rest of us have to deal with work problems and then real life problems at the same time. Why should they be exempt just because they are lawmakers? If they're successful enough that they can run a multimillion dollar campaign, they can figure out how to send little Billy to Harvard. Or Billy can get student loans and go to a state school or get a scholarship or the GI Bill like the rest of us.

Decent politicians take the average workers wage and not a penny more.

Liek I wrote earlier, I'm in favor of taking care of their living expenses completely. Andrews AFB or Ft. Meade are right there. Put the Congressmen in barracks or in BOQ type quarters. Give them free food and a small clothing stipend and transportation to and from their hame districts (coach) and that's it. Anything beyond the basics needs to come out of their pocket and it isn't my concern how they pay for it.

As far as lobbyists, they already have unlimited access to Congressmen, so this isn't going to change anything, unless you have people in DC that are there because they want to make a difference and not to make a ton of money.

I'm curious, how many Congressmen aren't millionaires (liquid or assets)?

Do "rest of us" have to study and vote on legislation thousands of pages long?

Do "rest of us" have to study the percentages of budget allocations than run into the TRILLIONS of dollars?

Do "rest of us" vote on confirming judges that will be in office for the next 25 years?

Do "rest of us" vote on issues of war and peace for the country that could cause or prevent the deaths of thousands of people?

Do "rest of us" have to concern ourselves with the well being of 600,000 other people (average Congressional district)?

I think not.

Sure. Why not? Everybody else does.

It's seems to the taxpayer it's that way now.
I'd love to give myself a payraise for doing a crappy job. Wouldnt you?

Is my family their concern? If I have to leave my $100,000 job to serve in a reserve unit in Baghdad, does the government make up the difference? No, my family gets told to make due. Same thing here. If daddy wants to become a congressman, then he needs to plan ahead or already have the money to support them.

It's not my problem what happens to Mr. Smith's family when he goes to Washington. It's his problem. And frankly, with the sheer number of well off congressmen, I think they're going to be okay.

Is my family their concern? If I have to leave my $100,000 job to serve in a reserve unit in Baghdad, does the government make up the difference? No, my family gets told to make due. Same thing here. If daddy wants to become a congressman, then he needs to plan ahead or already have the money to support them.

It's not my problem what happens to Mr. Smith's family when he goes to Washington. It's his problem. And frankly, with the sheer number of well off congressmen, I think they're going to be okay.

So what? Because they do a hard job means they need to be paid incredible amounts of money and have a pension for life? They said they were the best man for the job and we gave it to them. That doesn't mean they need anything more than basisc subsistance. People should want to go to DC because it is the right thing to do and because they are passionate about it and not because they will make serious bank from it.

How many William Jeffersons would we be spared if there was no money in it for them?

More likely because of voter apathy.

Dont forget a popularity rating lower than Bush.

No, some of us do real work that is actually important.

And voter stupidity.

The polls for congressional performance is NEVER high. IIRC, about the only time in recent memory it was over 50% was in the aftermath of 9-11 and the beginning of the Iraq War and we all know that had nothing to do with performance.

People can feel they are "called" to do a job and enjoy doing it. They can feel they are doing it to make their community better.

Like teaches (of which I am one).

Despite that, despite the "calling", the enjoyment and satisfaction I feel about the work.

Despite the fact that I feel I'm making a difference in peoples lives.

I still take every raise, every opportunity I have to get money out of my position.

Despite being paid well above average for the area I live in.

A sense of duty and feel of a calling does not mean you are obligated to sacrifice monetarily or that being well paid besmirches your efforts in some way.

And doesn't anyone think it more than a bit ridiculous that the LOWEST paid NFL players are paid the same as a member of Congress?

Being well paid doesn't besmirch your ability. Being well paid because you have the power to simply give yourself a raise at will does.

How about we pay congressmen, but we pay them the Federal Minimum Wage then? It's enough to live on according to the government and the only other perk they get is free airfare to their home districts as needed. If they have a big family they can't support, let them get on Welfare. It's good enough for me, it's good enogh for them.

That's a private deal between the team owners and the players and doesn't come out of my pocket. I don't care how much they get paid as entertainers. It's out of whack to be sure, but that's neither here nor there.

Also, why does this thread say "Americans"? There are overpaid politicians almost everyhere, who are all constantly giving themselves payrises.

The raise is less than 2.5% and they didn't get one last year. I don't know about you, but if I only got a 2.5% raise over two years, I'd figure my employer thought I was doing a poor job. Do you suggest they are doing even worse than poor?