In the past several congressional elites have been caught with their hands in the pockets of the wealthy and it has been rumored to go all the way to the Supreme Court.
This has been a problem for many years but how can we end this cycle of corruption?
Clueless leader of Doge, Elmo, has the perfect plan…..
Elon Musk, the billionaire appointed by President Donald Trump to slash the size of the US government, suggested Thursday that members of Congress should get salary increases as a way to discourage corruption.
Although the tech billionaire is officially only an advisor, Trump has bestowed him with enormous power to cut federal spending and bureaucracy, as part of his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“It might make sense to increase compensation for Congress and senior government employees to reduce the forcing function for corruption, as the latter might be as much as 1000 times more expensive to the public,” Musk posted on his social media platform X.
Lawmakers in both parties are typically wary of the optics of large pay rises but acknowledge that competitive salaries are the best way of ensuring that the less well-off can serve.
The first draft of a short-term government funding bill that Musk helped defeat in December would have allowed for a modest salary increase by reenacting an automatic cost-of-living adjustment for lawmakers.
Congress has been blocking the adjustments every year since 2009.
(tag24.com)
This is a dumb idea.
Congress people get free travel, free healthcare, free postage, free security and access to insider information that makes them millions and somehow a pay raise will change their propensity to take bribes.
Sorry do not see it.
Greed will prevail no matter the paycheck.
The American people do not see the Congress as a non-corrupt entity…
There’s no doubt that Congress has an ethics problem. Its members have undermined public confidence with stock trades and other activities that create the appearance of abusing their positions for private gain. The Justice Department prosecuted former Representative Chris Collins (R-NY) for insider trading he committed at the White House, and last year a court sentenced him to 26 months in prison before President Donald Trump pardoned him.
Stock trades by other members of Congress and their spouses drew public ire in recent years, though the Justice Department found no grounds for charges. The spouse of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) bought stock worth millions in Google’s parent company, Alphabet, shortly before the House of Representatives announced milder-than-expected action against big tech companies. Before the public knew the extent of the threat COVID-19 posed, Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and former Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) collectively dumped millions of dollars’ worth of stock in companies likely to be affected by the pandemic. More recent reporting has raised questions as to whether Senator Burr shared nonpublic information with his brother-in-law, and whether his brother-in-law made trades based on that information. In one Senate term, former Senator David Perdue (R-GA) engaged in 2,596 trades, some involving companies potentially affected by the activities of committees on which he served. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) did not disclose his spouse’s February 26, 2020, purchase of drug manufacturer stock for over a year. Insider reported last month that, this year alone, 43 members of Congress — including Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Representative Susie Lee (D-NV), among others — failed to comply with disclosure requirements for stock trades.
These are only a few examples of a broader pattern of conduct that has undermined public confidence in Congress. Transformative change is overdue.
No doubt POGO will be targeted by the GOP, DOGE and Trump…..silence the critics of corruption….and soon.
This corruption is not a new phenom…..no it has been with us for a long time…..a history lesson those interested….
https://www.cato.org/blog/long-history-corruption-congress
Why give them a raise for they barely work to earn their paycheck at all.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
Paying the bribes to their friends in the form of an unnecessary pay rise.
Looks like Zelensky walked into an ambush in the Oval Office. Trump and Vance were brutal. (And incorrect and stupid of course) Zelensky stood his ground, and they told him to come back when he is ‘more grateful’, and ‘ready for peace’. Vance even asked him why he wasn’t wearing a suit to show ‘respect’.
Even though I have no axe to grind for Z, DT and JD just humiliated America on the world stage, in my opinion.
Best wishes, Pete.
I just read the report…I want to look into it more chuq
Do not worry about ending congressional corruption, my friend, Trump and Company are already doing a good job of that … where there is no congress, there is no corruption….problem solved.
Just him and his lackeys get all the bribes…good plan chuq
Salary increased would be dismissed as puny pennies compared to corruption and enrage voters too. But real corruption is how the non elected management-disbursement class that direct and re-direct approved grants to friends, political agenda groups and unbelievable improper and unintended clients. . It becomes untraceable but much has been recently revealed. I don’t understand why democrats, the left and even Trump haters are not celebrating these evil revelations unless they benefit financially from this arrangement.
I wish I could explain the lack of concern by some….but too lazy or too much noise chamber for them to notice. chuq
I am in favor of increasing their salaries, because I think they should be paid more. Not because I think increase in pay would reduce corruption in those that choose to be corrupt. Don’t think they all are corrupt.
I am in favor of more disclosure if their financial dealings and interests. Would not restrict their right to buy and sell property, including stocks, but think it should be reported and disclosed.
I do not think they deserve a raise…..they have done very little for the people so why should we do anything for them….some make millions off of insider info they needs to stop…..I say if they work more than 3 or 4 days a week then maybe they should get more income but that would be open to scrutiny. chuq
The best way to end congressional corruption is to shut congress down and replace it with something else. And I believe that this is a work in progress at the present time.
I think they are working toward that end but it is not to curb corruption but to make it more efficient…..chuq