dsw162
07-08-2007, 06:26 AM
Published July 07, 2007 12:20 pm - If congressmen receive a raise in pay, then it should be determined by the average increase in annual wages for Americans, not an automatic cost-of-living increase.
Raise for Congress? Hah
If congressmen receive a raise in pay, then it should be determined by the average increase in annual wages for Americans, not an automatic cost-of-living increase.
Better yet, let it be tied to their performance on the job, as difficult as that might prove. Given Congress’ inability to pass needed immigration reform, its members surely don’t deserve any increase this year.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 244-181 last month against a bid to continue blocking the automatic annual increase its members receive because of COLA, the federal cost-of-living adjustment provision.
Cost-of-living adjustments for members of Congress were suspended last year when Democrats fulfilled a campaign promise to deny themselves pay increases until a minimum wage increase was approved.
A minimum wage increase passed Congress and was signed by the president earlier this year, raising the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over the next two years. The first increase, a 70-cent jump, will take effect July 24.
Representatives, however, would receive about $170,000 in annual salary if COLA goes into effect, a more than $4,400 increase.
But Congress continues to be ineffective, and only about 14 percent of Americans, according to recent polls, approve of the job Congress is doing.
Besides not taking care of immigration, Congress continues to earmark money for projects that increase our federal deficit, and they are not dealing with other important issues, such as health care.
If Congress votes its members pay increases, it would be a slap in the face of many hardworking Americans whose annual salary increases don’t come near equaling the cost-of-living increase they face. Unlike Congress, which doesn’t worry about where the money will come from to pay for their inflated budgets, most Americans must cut spending to deal with inflation.
http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/opinion/local_story_188122007.html?keyword=topstory
Raise for Congress? Hah
If congressmen receive a raise in pay, then it should be determined by the average increase in annual wages for Americans, not an automatic cost-of-living increase.
Better yet, let it be tied to their performance on the job, as difficult as that might prove. Given Congress’ inability to pass needed immigration reform, its members surely don’t deserve any increase this year.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted 244-181 last month against a bid to continue blocking the automatic annual increase its members receive because of COLA, the federal cost-of-living adjustment provision.
Cost-of-living adjustments for members of Congress were suspended last year when Democrats fulfilled a campaign promise to deny themselves pay increases until a minimum wage increase was approved.
A minimum wage increase passed Congress and was signed by the president earlier this year, raising the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour over the next two years. The first increase, a 70-cent jump, will take effect July 24.
Representatives, however, would receive about $170,000 in annual salary if COLA goes into effect, a more than $4,400 increase.
But Congress continues to be ineffective, and only about 14 percent of Americans, according to recent polls, approve of the job Congress is doing.
Besides not taking care of immigration, Congress continues to earmark money for projects that increase our federal deficit, and they are not dealing with other important issues, such as health care.
If Congress votes its members pay increases, it would be a slap in the face of many hardworking Americans whose annual salary increases don’t come near equaling the cost-of-living increase they face. Unlike Congress, which doesn’t worry about where the money will come from to pay for their inflated budgets, most Americans must cut spending to deal with inflation.
http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/opinion/local_story_188122007.html?keyword=topstory