Congress Just Took a Pay Raise
by QuestionGirl • Wednesday, January 7th, 2009 - 11:53 amFrom Gary Sattler at Wallet Pop:
I think it’s a mighty fine thing that we taxpayers can afford to give our duly elected representatives a raise in pay. It’s a sure sign of how well we are doing as a nation. Never mind the fact that the recent congressional pay raise of $4,700 equals almost 20% of what I earn annually, or equals about 10% of the annual salary of a teacher, fire fighter, or cop. Those hard working legislators deserve every dollar they get — all $169,300 of them.
Did I hear you say that you lost your home to foreclosure today? Not to worry, we’ll get a member of congress right on that. Was it your electric motor assembly facility that got shut down last month, putting 130 people out of work? We have a congress person addressing that problem too.
Let’s not forget that family of five, which is living under the railroad bridge over by that place where the illegal immigrants pour in from Mexico. We have a whole committee of those slacking congressional yo-yos working on that one for you. I’m expecting that a solution to all these problems should be available to us some time in 2012.
Does my sarcasm sound a little bitter? It’s meant to, I assure you. However, my anger has always moved me to take prudent steps in an attempt to correct the things that really tick me off. If you are of a similar mind, and you take offense to a congressional pay raise in the midst of a recession which gives no hint of when it may subside, might I kindly suggest that you use the next 15 minutes to go to congress.org. Please tell your well-paid members of congress just exactly what you’re thinking right now.
H/T Bro for pointing out this most dishonorable action by congress.
January 7th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
The hike should be pegged to inflation and cost of living in the area, as it is for most government salaries.
Meanwhile, the GOP always opposes raising the minimun wage.
It's fair to complain about this, but for some context, congresspeople are often much poorer than senators, and some are not particularly wealthy. DC is also a very expensive area for housing, ridiculously so. That's why some of the younger types will share housing. Meanwhile, if you're say, a congressman from Kentucky with a spouse, two kids and a decent house, there's probably no way in hell you can afford a place remotely comparable in DC, and some congresspersons have to decide whether to leave the family at home and see them only on the breaks. Military families with deployed parents have it worse, of course, at more hazard and for much less pay outside the top brackets (which can be quite lucrative). None of that's to say it's unfair to complain, but being elected to the House is not necessarily some gravy train. In general, I'm more angry about the GOP members of Congress and the Blue Dogs, who consistently fight against any sort of economic justice, CEOs pocketing millions, and less than 100 hedge fund managers pocketing billions, etc.
January 7th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Sorry, but I'm having a hard time feeling any sympathy for someone making 170K right now regardless of their cost-of-living or anything else. If it's not enough go into the private sector. The hypocrisy is so thick you can cut it with a knife.