Rich Politicians
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
By law, members of Congress get automatic cost-of-living increases (.9 percent) unless they vote to turn them down. While back, they voted for a pay freeze second year in a row. The lobbyists that buy the congressional members will make up the difference, so this is a non-story.
It looks like 40 out of 100 Senators are millionaires, and 237 Congressmen out of 435 are millionaires. Poor old wealthy millionaires. Just brings tears to my eyes! And the rest of them are pretty well off.
It's about time they start taking pay cuts, and they need to pay for their own perks they enjoy at our expense now. Taxes and pay freezes just do not mean the same thing for millionaires. There is a mega difference between freezing the pay of extremely wealthy multimillionaires who don't even need the money and freezing the pay of folks struggling to make ends meet.
It is then little wonder that our elected officials cannot understand how hard it is today to buy groceries, put gas in the economy car and pay utilities (all of which are going up). Cut their pay the same way they want to cut everyone else's.
And what are all of the perks of being a member of Congress? They get $174,000 (I could handle a pay freeze if I had a salary that size) a year, plus everything else they get is plenty, so they aren't exactly taking a hit.
I make quite a bit less and my bosses require something to show for it and done the way they want it. When was the last time Congress gave us something to show for their salary, and it was something we actually wanted them to do?
They passed a 10 percent reduction in federal employees' pay - why not peg the salary at the median income for Congress and reduce 10 percent on staffers' pay. It's suppose to be an honor to represent us not make a career out of it.
If you really care about the national debt, reduce Congress' pay every year there is a deficit, and give them a raise when there's a surplus or even pay them minimum wage and they have to pay for their own health care. No easier way to balance the budget. Then we'll see who really wants to make a difference in this country.
This system is 200 years old; you would think with technology, there would be a way to go directly to the government (the people), who actually work for a living and ask them what they think. As long as we have this system in play, the American taxpayer will get fleeced. I say cut one congress in every district and let the American people read and vote on bills on a secured online website. And our vote would be the primary vote. Congress will get a little taste of how such decisions wind up playing out.
Finally, downsize the IRS and come up with a fair flat tax for everyone. No more loopholes!
Anthony Burchette
Warsaw, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
By law, members of Congress get automatic cost-of-living increases (.9 percent) unless they vote to turn them down. While back, they voted for a pay freeze second year in a row. The lobbyists that buy the congressional members will make up the difference, so this is a non-story.
It looks like 40 out of 100 Senators are millionaires, and 237 Congressmen out of 435 are millionaires. Poor old wealthy millionaires. Just brings tears to my eyes! And the rest of them are pretty well off.
It's about time they start taking pay cuts, and they need to pay for their own perks they enjoy at our expense now. Taxes and pay freezes just do not mean the same thing for millionaires. There is a mega difference between freezing the pay of extremely wealthy multimillionaires who don't even need the money and freezing the pay of folks struggling to make ends meet.
It is then little wonder that our elected officials cannot understand how hard it is today to buy groceries, put gas in the economy car and pay utilities (all of which are going up). Cut their pay the same way they want to cut everyone else's.
And what are all of the perks of being a member of Congress? They get $174,000 (I could handle a pay freeze if I had a salary that size) a year, plus everything else they get is plenty, so they aren't exactly taking a hit.
I make quite a bit less and my bosses require something to show for it and done the way they want it. When was the last time Congress gave us something to show for their salary, and it was something we actually wanted them to do?
They passed a 10 percent reduction in federal employees' pay - why not peg the salary at the median income for Congress and reduce 10 percent on staffers' pay. It's suppose to be an honor to represent us not make a career out of it.
If you really care about the national debt, reduce Congress' pay every year there is a deficit, and give them a raise when there's a surplus or even pay them minimum wage and they have to pay for their own health care. No easier way to balance the budget. Then we'll see who really wants to make a difference in this country.
This system is 200 years old; you would think with technology, there would be a way to go directly to the government (the people), who actually work for a living and ask them what they think. As long as we have this system in play, the American taxpayer will get fleeced. I say cut one congress in every district and let the American people read and vote on bills on a secured online website. And our vote would be the primary vote. Congress will get a little taste of how such decisions wind up playing out.
Finally, downsize the IRS and come up with a fair flat tax for everyone. No more loopholes!
Anthony Burchette
Warsaw, via e-mail[[In-content Ad]]
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