Does Congress deserve a pay raise? Let's pose that question to the average American family struggling to pay utility bills, put food on the table and pay for gas so they can drive to work to send most of their pay check to the government. In case you haven't heard, Tax Freedom Day, the day you have to work until just to pay off your tax burden to the government, is April 23, 2008. You can keep your money after that day.
Back to the proposed Congressional pay raise.
Phil English, a Republican who represents Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District, believes he and his fellow "public servants" should forgo a scheduled January 2009 pay raise because so many Americans are struggling -- not to mention Congress isn't doing much these days.
The congressional pay raise is automatic under the annual adjustment procedure established in 1989, which uses a formula to determine member pay based on a measure of changes in private sector pay, according to a post at the Butler County Radio Network Web site.
Since taking office 14 years ago, English has opposed every congressional pay raise and has donated nearly $30,000 to local charities in lieu of accepting annual pay raises. In addition, English has introduced legislation to force Congress to vote directly on pay raises.
Read the full press release on why English opposes a Congressional pay raise on his Web site, http://www.house.gov/english/
1 comment:
It takes a minimum of $2 million to win a Congressional seat these days. Ask yourself why a person would spend that kind of money to get a job that pays $170,000 a year. Let's face it. Members of Congress are in it for the favors and money they can get from lobbyists. The longer they stay in Congress, the more they line their own pockets. They should be paying the taxpayers for the privilege of fattening their wallets. No pay raise! Cut their pay instead!
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