are we just going to sit and take it... and keep taking it..

[boann]

congress tied their raises to the annual COLA raises.
that is what I have an issue with.

I have no problem with COLA.

imram was asking if there was some news or link about them voting extra raises.. there was recent news about them voted the judges new raises. that is what got me all pissed off this morning anyway. oh sure just go and vote more money out the door and then i remembered they get their raises every year unless they vote to not take them... and they haven't voted to pass on it this coming year.. in view of the whole situation it seems only right.

[Imran Siddiqui]

congress tied their raises to the annual COLA raises.

They are federal employees... they didn't tie their raises to it.

[Imran Siddiqui]

there was recent news about them voted the judges new raises

But that didn't pass. For fairness, though, judges haven't had their pay raised since 1991.

[Kuciwalker]

boann is an idiot

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
boann is an idiot

Huh?

[boann]

http://www.ntu.org/main/letters_detail.php?letter_id=562

February 01, 2008
Stop Congress's Automatic Pay Hike

Dear Representative:

On behalf of the 362,000 members of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), I urge you to cosponsor bipartisan legislation (H.R. 5087) that would prevent an automatic pay increase for Members of Congress in 2009. Rank-and-file Members of Congress currently make an annual salary of $169,300 (more than double the median household income of $78,978 for the Washington, D.C. metro area, including wealthy suburbs). This sum doesn't include taxpayer funds used for lavish pensions, health plans, and generous allowances for travel, staff, and office expenses. In light of mixed economic indicators, Congress should reject an automatic pay hike that would pad a sizeable Congressional compensation package.

How did this auto-pilot pay raise system come about? As explained by Pete Sepp in the NTU Foundation Policy Paper "Congressional Perks: How the Trappings of Office Trap Taxpayers," it didn’t start out this way:

According to Article I of the U.S. Constitution, compensation paid to Members of Congress "shall be ascertained by law." The Founding Fathers intended Congress to set its own pay through the appropriations process, on the supposition that Members would be guided by their own sense of honor. In fact, lawmakers lived without a yearly salary up until 1854, having contented themselves prior to that time with a per-diem system that paid a flat rate for each day Congress was in session.

But thanks to a series of post-war measures, culminating in a 1989 "ethics" law, Members of Congress have sought to avoid accountability for salary hikes. Annual pay raises are now tied to the Labor Department’s Employment Cost Index:

COLAs [Cost of Living Adjustments] now take effect once the TTHUD bill becomes law, although taxpayers would never be able to identify any language in the bill that appears to authorize these pay grabs. Members of Congress would need to specifically vote on, or insert, language blocking the raise if they do not want the increase to occur.

Taxpayers are thus condemned to fight a bizarre annual battle over a COLA whose existence is only recognized when Congress opts to block it.

Even though Members of Congress received automatic pay increases each year between 2000 and 2006, taxpayers were enthused to see the House reject a pay hike for 2007. Our members strongly believe this action should be repeated in 2008. We're counting on you to make a stand against automatic Congressional pay increases by cosponsoring H.R. 5087 and directing the resulting savings toward reducing the deficit.

Sincerely,

Kristina Rasmussen
Director of Government Affairs

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
boann is an idiot

I know.

[KrazyHorse]

We're counting on you to make a stand against automatic Congressional pay increases by cosponsoring H.R. 5087 and directing the resulting savings toward reducing the deficit.

By 5 million dollars or so?

Yeah, I'm sure that ~0.0001 % of the federal budget will really help.

[SlowwHand]

KH, you and Kuci are in serious need of manners.

[KrazyHorse]

Eat me.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse

We're counting on you to make a stand against automatic Congressional pay increases by cosponsoring H.R. 5087 and directing the resulting savings toward reducing the deficit.

By 5 million dollars or so?

Yeah, I'm sure that ~0.0001 % of the federal budget will really help.

It wouldn't be for the actual money, rather it would be symbolic.

I am surprised they didn't think of this themselves.

JM

[KrazyHorse]

I'd rather that legislators be paid a wage which is competitive with those of comparable ability and education in the private sector so that government will attract talented individuals than make a "symbolic" gesture worth very little money which might drive talented individuals away.

[SlowwHand]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Eat me.

What a geek. Go play with yourself. Go get drunk and post idiotic things.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
I'd rather that legislators be paid a wage which is competitive with those of comparable ability and education in the private sector so that government will attract talented individuals than make a "symbolic" gesture worth very little money which might drive talented individuals away.

Yeah, it doesn't make much sense that we pay CEOs millions of dollars, but pay our Congress people in the low 6 figures.

Basically, in a capitalistic society, the group who serves out of duty/loyalty/etc is small enough that there isn't enough to handle all the jobs that we need them for (teachers, police officers, congress people, etc).

You have to admit that it would be good for votes. Maybe in another year?

JM

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by SlowwHand


What a geek. Go play with yourself. Go get drunk and post idiotic things.

Wahhh. Slowwhand the moron is angry at me for calling one of his friends a moron.

You're a joke, dude. Half of your posts don't even parse as English.