A question for the ages…….seers will be contemplating this when the rapture (if you believe in that sort of thing) occurs………personally, I think it is because we elect morons, amateurs and douche bags…….we have not had a statesman in 50 years……but what really makes them suck the “Big One”?
I have heard many theories….the media would have you believe one thing and bloggers another….but just what makes them so impotent?
Now hear is a theory……
Newser) – File this one at the opposite end of the spectrum as “throw the bums out.” Daniel Schuman argues at Slate that we need to give Congress a hefty raise. The workload is way up thanks to slashed staffing levels, while salaries are way down relative to previous decades. What’s more, the work environment is “poisonous,” and lucrative pay awaits in the lobbying industry. No wonder we can’t keep good lawmakers. “We get what we pay for, and there’s no question we are not paying enough to keep the best people on the job,” writes Schuman.
Members of Congress make a base salary of $174,000, which is nothing to sneeze at, but those in office 20 years ago would have made $214,000 in today’s dollars. Singapore provides a model: It has an uber-efficient government in part because it pays top government ministers seven-figure salaries. “If we want our representatives to work for us, we must pay them well enough to stay focused on the people’s business,” writes Schuman. The same applies to their staff. “Right now we aren’t paying for quality work, and it shows.” Click for Schuman’s full column.
What complete crap! The Congress works 3 days a week….and that is on a busy week……..and for every holiday they take a month off……..and then this dipstick thinks they need more money…….what they need is to be paid piece work or pay them for part time employment……personally, I think they are over paid for the work we get out of them……..
Surely, there are some thoughts on this?
I have thoughts, but none are particularly good
Personally, I think they should live in a dormitory, use car pools & secretary pools, no free postage and definitely NO free gym privileges….just a few thoughts…..
OK, I’ll go even further out of the box: No politicians at all. Congress is handled on a rotational basis by school teachers, nurses, policemen, firefighters. That’s it. That’s congress. They meet in the local school sports center. They have 3 months to assess and pass tabled bills for the last congress, and 3 months to work on and table bills for the next congress to assess and pass.
Congresses (ie. a town or a suburb) are selected by lottery. they serve for 6 months.
I like the idea….kinda like the pebble selection in ancient Greece…..everybody serves……I could live with that….
There’s always the idea of merit pay. Effective legislation that benefits their constituents as a whole get bonuses. But who would manage such a system?
A good idea…..kiinda like piece work…..pay according to production….
I agree with you lobotero, if congressmen feel they are under paid for what they do I saw we lesson their work load. Personally I prefer them to take more time off, the less time they spend in Washington is the less damage they can do to the country.
I have proposed before that congress should be paid the same as the average household income of Americans or of their constituents. If they want to earn more they will want to pass legislation that helps us earn more first.
An excellent idea…..but be careful……sounds like a socialist idea….LOL