Congress gets a pay raise

[[AK]Nuts]

Did your congressman support HR 5087? Probably not. 5087 would have prevented the automatic pay raise that congress gets. With single-digit satisfaction ratings do they really deserve a pay raise?

Why not E-Mail him or her and ask why not?

Post the responses you get here.

[[AK]Swae]

Has congress even voted on this yet?

[[AK]Brorlis]

My Rep is actually one of the 34 co-sponsers.

[[AK]Nuts]

Im just shocked at the lack of co-sponsors.

[[AK]Bribo]

My Rep is actually one of the 34 co-sponsers.

Same here. But she's a Democrat in a heavily Republican district so Madam Pelosi usually allows her to play the game and vote against these kind of things.

[Slaughter]

My Rep is on there as well, too bad our stupid district voted him out and replaced him with Corkie.

[[AK]Squidly]

I'm not the sort of person who gets worked up over what OTHER people get paid.

[[AK]Hylander]

I'm not the sort of person who gets worked up over what OTHER people get paid.

Neither do I, unless it's under the following circumstances:

1) They are my employee, and it's coming out of my pocket
2) It's an elected official, and it's coming out of my pocket
3) Any other situation, where it's coming out of my pocket

[[AK]Squidly]

Neither do I, unless it's under the following circumstances:

1) They are my employee, and it's coming out of my pocket
2) It's an elected official, and it's coming out of my pocket
3) Any other situation, where it's coming out of my pocket

House, Senate, and Executive salaries are so small as to be a joke anyway.

Low salaries are part of the reason behind some of the corruption in Washington.

[[AK]Hylander]

House, Senate, and Executive salaries are so small as to be a joke anyway.

That's some joke.. considering it's more than my household income.


Congress: Rank-and-File Members' Salary
The current salary (2008) for rank-and-file members of the House and Senate is $169,300 per year.

Congress: Leadership Members' Salary (110th Congress)
Leaders of the House and Senate are paid a higher salary than rank-and-file members.
Senate Leadership
Majority Leader - $188,100
Minority Leader - $188,100

House Leadership
Speaker of the House - $217,400
Majority Leader - $188,100
Minority Leader - $188,100

A cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increase takes effect annually unless Congress votes to not accept it.

[Slaughter]

And next year they'll be up to 174k/yr.

[[AK]Nuts]

And that's just their salaries. There are countless perks, per diem, spouse coverage plus all the kick-backs, buy-offs, pay-offs, gift giving, etc...

[[AK]Squidly]

That's some joke.. considering it's more than my household income.

No offense, but that's a ridiculous standard.

They SHOULD be making more than most of us.

Like professional athletes, I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

[[AK]Nuts]

I don't have a huge problem with how much they make but automatic pay raises are not okay by me. They can't expect CEO's to work for a dollar yet live in a world where their own pay is not tied to performance or results.

I e-mailed my rep and asked him what work he did in 2008 to justify a pay raise. I asked him to see his 2008 goals and his 2008 success metrics. Did he accomplish his goals? Did he EARN a pay raise.

[[AK]Hylander]

No offense, but that's a ridiculous standard.

No less so than calling elected officials salaries of $170,000 a "joke".

You can't compare them to upper management of a corporation or business that can be measured in profitability and performance metrics. These are elected officials who are suppose to represent us. I don't have a problem with them getting their COLA. If they 'failed' at their job, their constituents should rectify the situation by electing someone else. That's the way the system works. My point is my dollar is paying their salary, so I do care what they are making.

But to call what they get paid a "joke", considering all the benefits, expense accounts, networking, contacts, etc - is pretty short sighted. And that's before taking into account their actual performance as elected officials.