tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21829866.post2743078004974138436..comments2023-08-20T07:06:14.115-04:00Comments on Thurber's Thoughts: Hypocrisy in government - Congress gets a raiseMaggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677808307727487766noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21829866.post-5991642691582562152008-12-23T08:41:00.000-05:002008-12-23T08:41:00.000-05:00I agree foregoing a pay raise would have been smar...I agree foregoing a pay raise would have been smart. And, I definitely agree that lifetime medical care for senators/representatives regardless of term in office is insane (IE auto industries huge retiree medical costs).<BR/><BR/>I don't know if the pay for legislatures includes an additional housing allowance or not. If not, and members must maintain a D.C. area residence, even an apartment, and their home residence - 170K a year is not a pile of money. <BR/><BR/>Being in the House/Senate in the modern era is a full time, year round job. I also don't know what kind of travel fees we pay for them. Every trip home, some, probably all of them, but I have not done that homework. What do states kick in to get their senator/representative home at times?<BR/><BR/>So while I agree the automatic raise (sounds unionish) is a bad system, while I agree voting not to get the raise this year would have been politically savvy, I don't think they are overpaid on a basic level. Now of course if you collect a paycheck from anyone at any job, and don't do the job -- your overpaid.<BR/><BR/>TAHLCynical Counselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03013429047654810331noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21829866.post-12579545202926471082008-12-21T00:38:00.000-05:002008-12-21T00:38:00.000-05:00Tim,I agree. Remove the financial incentive to st...Tim,<BR/><BR/>I agree. Remove the financial incentive to stay in office at any cost, and you wouldn't see the same sort of behavior coming out of Congress.<BR/><BR/>The original intent of the founding fathers was that serving the government was an obligation..a duty. A temporary period between your life before and after political office. <BR/><BR/>Too often we see political decisions made solely for the reason of "will this help me get re-elected?" Instead the obvious, better and truer question is "what is the right thing to do?"skeeter1107https://www.blogger.com/profile/15125467565568229281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21829866.post-89289033824912850062008-12-20T09:40:00.000-05:002008-12-20T09:40:00.000-05:00navyvet,I would propose to make it simpler still a...navyvet,<BR/><BR/>I would propose to make it simpler still and simply eliminate the retirement benefits for all of Congress. Perhaps if they had to provide for their own futures, they would not and could not remain professional politiciansTimothy W Higginshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17118861693269565715noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21829866.post-78651304520391590532008-12-19T14:22:00.000-05:002008-12-19T14:22:00.000-05:00Wasn't that long ago that the Pres. was paid $200,...Wasn't that long ago that the Pres. was paid $200,000/yr...<BR/><BR/>If I were King, Congressional pay would decrease $20,000 each year until such time that they eliminate deficit spending annually.<BR/><BR/>Then their salaries would be frozen at the lower amount for 10 years....afterwhich any increases would have to be voted on by the "people" bi-annually to coincide with Congressional elections......<BR/><BR/>Also, their benefits would be reduced 50% for each year that they spend our $ resulting in a a deficit.....<BR/><BR/>Merry Christmas.<BR/><BR/>ps....we are only safe when Congress is not in session......navyvethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12367264325929819549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21829866.post-85281664066912331692008-12-19T13:19:00.000-05:002008-12-19T13:19:00.000-05:00thanks for the clarification, Tim, but the omissio...thanks for the clarification, Tim, but the omission was in the article - not my own...<BR/><BR/>sad when you think of all the staff and offices, etc...but I'm sure many people would say that things today are much more complex, so the additional size is needed.<BR/><BR/>Of course, if Congress had stuck to the founders' intent, things wouldn't be so complex, but that point is never made by proponents of growing government.Maggiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12677808307727487766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21829866.post-81848924781656408952008-12-19T11:23:00.000-05:002008-12-19T11:23:00.000-05:00Maggie,Your information on the Congress of 1789 le...Maggie,<BR/><BR/>Your information on the Congress of 1789 left out one minor detail, that Representatives were paid the $6 per day "only when in session". In other words, they were only paid when doing the people's work.<BR/><BR/>It's a shame that what was supposed to be a service that those who were able to could perform for other citizens has become a career (and a rather lucrative one at that). It is likewise a shame that these elective representatives can demand lower pay and bonuses for the private sector while holding their hand out in the public one. It is finally a shame that we demand or expect little more from them.Timothy W Higginshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17118861693269565715noreply@blogger.com