And They're Worth Every Penny
In case you hadn't noticed, for the fifth straight year Congress voted itself a pay raise. By a two-to-one margin in both the House and Senate, our illustrious leaders opted not to exempt themselves from an automatic cost of living increase. The five pay hikes total $21,000.
None of this should come as a surprise. Why think that Congress would contemplate setting an example by making a token sacrifice?
So what if more than two million jobs have been lost in the past two plus years. What does it matter if Congress has failed to curtail spending while the deficit balloons to the size of the Goodyear blimp. Who cares that the average citizen is being asked to foot an $87 billion bill to foster democracy in Iraq. What difference does it make that workers are simultaneously faced with increased costs and reduced health care benefits while Washington flails away at enacting reforms. What does it matter no meaningful energy legislation has passed since fire was invented. We can depend on our Saudi Arabian pals to supply us with all the oil we need. Fixing the Social Security system? Heck, there's a decade or so to go before that costs any politician a single vote.
But, we got tax cuts. Thank goodness. Imagine how bad things would be if we didn't? Double that raise!
The best part of Congress' annual self-serving act is always the quotes. The entertainment value alone is worth the pay increase. Take for example Senate majority leader Bill Frist. His line for the ages is as follows:
"I think that our representatives of government deserve a pay raise consistent with the work that we've done."
Oh Bill, stop lobbing softballs. There's no challenge in that. Actually I agree wholeheartedly with Frist. Our representatives do deserve raises consistent with the work they've done. Can you give a negative raise?
But Frist is an amateur compared to Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Ted Stevens, a Republican from Alaska. His contribution to the Congressional comedy hour went like this:
"This is not a pay raise. This is an increase that's required by law."
I'm glad we cleared that up. We wouldn't want our political leaders breaking the law. What kind of example would that set? It must have slipped Teddy's mind that he and the worthless slugs he rubs shoulders with make the laws.
We've been screwed deal with it? Maybe we should give some thought to doing something about it.
