How Would You Like A Congress With More Millionaires?

The rapidly escalating, well-planned income disparity between the rich and the rest of America hasn't been this bad since the 1920s. Anyone who thought we could have held off the impact by electing a weak, inexperienced, conservative Democrat instead of another Coolidge, Hoover, Harding type has been proven wrong. I'm guessing-- and cringing-- it's going to take a monster like Rick Perry to inspire voters to find a real solution... if democracy can survive 4 years of his brand of dangerous fascism.

A good day for me starts between 4 and 5 AM. 3 is too early-- and that's what time I woke yesterday... and for no apparent reason. I flipped on CNN and Ali Velshi, "the hairless prophet of doom"-- was doing some chit chat with a couple of babes about how congressional pay should be cut. What a target. Is congressional approval even still at double digits? And they make over $170,000 a year-- with perks, WAY over $170,000 a year. When one of the babes-- playing the brains of the trio-- brought up that then only millionaires, like extreme right plutocrats Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Darrell Issa (R-CA), could afford to be congressman, Velshi approved... vigorously.

The case for lowering congressional salaries-- and reducing perks-- sounds really good but how would you like to see a Congress made up of all millionaires... lots and lots and lots of Vern Buchanans, Jim Renaccis, Kenny Marchants, Gary Millers, Fred Uptons and Trent Franks? The last time Congress cuts it's pay was 1933-- think Great Depression-- and it went from $9,000 a year to $8,500 a year. Unlike today, their perks weren't quite as out of sync with normal peoples' then as they are now. Congressmembers then were somewhat more in the same boat as the rest of us. Maybe that helped spur them to action (i.e., the New Deal).

Now, nearly a century later, as the nation’s unemployment rate is 9.1 percent and a special congressional committee aims to reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion during the next decade, there are a few murmurs that maybe Congress should take a pay cut.

In a letter Tuesday to the 12 members of the committee, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance urged a 10-percent cut in congressional salaries, which would save $100 million over 10 years.

"During a weak economic recovery with high unemployment and many Americans being forced to do with less, Congress should not continue to reward itself with extravagant salaries and benefits," wrote David Williams, president of the Washington-based, non-partisan organization.... Congress has given no indication that it is moving toward a pay cut, although last year lawmakers agreed to a two-year pay freeze.

...The salary is just part of the total compensation package. According to Williams, benefits for health care, pensions and sick leave boost the total value of the pay package for the average lawmaker to $285,000 a year.

Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste in Washington, said lawmakers “are certainly better compensated than the average wage earner in the United States,’’ even as he acknowledged that “we’re not going to balance the budget by cutting their salaries.’’

The average full-time worker in the nation receives $51,000 a year.

Defenders of the pay received by lawmakers point out that unlike most people, members of the House and Senate have to maintain two residences-- one in Washington and one in their district. To save money, some lawmakers sleep in their offices.

In addition to their pay freeze, lawmakers this year approved a measure to cut overall congressional expenses by 5 percent.

Other measures have been discussed, but not acted upon. In January, just before she was wounded in a shooting, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., introduced a bill co-sponsored by 18 other members that would have cut congressional salaries by 5 percent.

“We are living in tough economic times,” she said at the time. “Everyone is being forced to make sacrifices. Members of Congress can’t ask any American to cut back before we are willing to make some sacrifices of our own.’’

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, introduced bill last April that would require a lawmaker to wait until age 66 before receiving a pension-- the same age as Social Security. Currently, a member can retire as early as age 50 with a full pension, depending on how long they served.

I bet it isn't hard to guess why I put the video clip of Elizabeth Warren's first TV appearance after officially declaring her candidacy, right? She is, after all, the answer to the plutocrats who dominate of entire democracy. Did you like what she had to say? You can support her here.