What do we expect from members of Congress? I suppose there are a few hundred million answers to that question. But one thing is for sure, if we don’t receive what we expect, we can fire them either every two or six years. Instead, more often than not we keep renewing their contract and keep complaining.
One target of such complaining is their pay. It’s not hard to find blogs and reports that purport to show Congress is overpaid and compare their pay to average Americans.
In fact there is no way to compare the salary of a member of Congress with other jobs and their pay relative to the average American is irrelevant. What may be relevant is that Americans are unable to adequately evaluate and hold accountable members of Congress. Take the recent example of Jesse Jackson Jr recently overwhelmingly reelected in Chicago. He and his wife are under investigation for misuse of campaign donations. His lawyers are seeking a plea bargain, he has mental problems and to boot he somehow maintains a home in Washington, DC and a home in Chicago, where his wife is an alderman, on his Congressional salary.
Members of Congress follow various rules and procedures regarding their expenses and perks. They do not receive a housing allowance.
No average person could afford to serve in Congress unless they were paid well. Do we want a Congress made up only of wealthy people … the dreaded 1% (that’s nearly what we have now)?
Let’s say you are age 45 interested in politics and willing to run for office. To serve in Congress you must put your business on hold or quit your job. You must either sell or rent your home and move your family to the high cost area around Washington, DC or maintain two homes and commute to see your family. Now putting this in context let’s say you are now living in a small town in Iowa when you have to make these decisions. To make matters worse, you may be out of your new job in Washington in two (or six) years. If it happens you do lose your job within the first six years, you receive no pension or other benefits to take with you.
Would you take the job?
The problem is not pay and benefits, the problem is lack of accountability and the ability for politicians to make a lifelong career out of being in Congress. That’s not their fault, that’s our fault.
Done right Congress is a 24 hour position. How much would you want to do the job of a member of Congress?
Related articles
- Find out how rich (or poor) your Member of Congress is – in 1 amazing chart (washingtonpost.com)
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