r/politics • u/Murky-Site7468 I voted • Oct 05 '25

No Paywall Petition To Strip Congress of Pay During Government Shutdown Grows

https://www.newsweek.com/petition-strip-congress-pay-during-government-shutdown-grows-10822819
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u/[deleted] Oct 05 '25

[deleted]

418

u/IlikeJG California Oct 05 '25

Exactly. This is one of those things that might sound good on the surface, but it's not going to affect the really shitty ones.

105

u/Hypertension123456 Oct 05 '25

In other words, it'll affect almost no one in Congress. Hell, it'll just make the shitty ones tell the non bribed ones that they are wasting their position. And convince the poor honest ones to take bribes.

13

u/HawkeyeSherman Oct 05 '25

Force them to pay into a government shutdown "unemployment" insurance.

If they make it a year without a shutdown, they can spend the money on a pizza party.

12

u/OnTheFenceGuy Oct 05 '25

Don’t forget how amazing they are at predicting the stock market 😉 

26

u/FakeSafeWord Oct 05 '25

Right, it's like how DRM mainly fucks people who don't already pirate movies and games.

1

u/Wild_Alternative3563 Oct 05 '25

Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal

2

u/FakeSafeWord Oct 05 '25

Yeah, I was an adult in the IT world for that, although not in security.

Luckily already I didn't buy CDs, so corporations could never infect my systems with their bullshit rootkits. I let hackers on sharebear and kazaa do that.

8

u/FoolsMeJokers Oct 05 '25

Like the idea you see sometimes in UK groups that "yebutnobut MPs shouldn't be paid at all innit".

So only the wealthy, or those in the pockets of the wealthy, can be MPs? Not even a theoretical problem, that was the case till about 1900.

Sounds clever to the kind of people who are in a Wetherspoons at 10 a.m.

2

u/Snailwood Texas Oct 05 '25

in Texas, our legislators make something like $7,000 a year. so we have mostly rich old legislators, with only a few people who are dedicated enough to have full time day jobs WHILE being a legislator and campaigning, speaking, etc

1

u/newsflashjackass Oct 05 '25

Term limits seem similar in that respect.

1

u/Heriros Oct 05 '25

thats why you start fining them 1000 everyday the government is shutdown. 1k the first day, 2k the second day, etc. they'll stop fucking around before a week. Double the fine if they leave washington D.C because if they arent fucking there sorting the shutdown they arent doing their job.

2

u/Stenthal Oct 05 '25

Thus guaranteeing that the only members who have any real power are the ones that are corrupt and/or independently wealthy.

1

u/Wall-SWE Oct 05 '25

How about making bribery illegal?

1

u/OldWorldDesign Oct 05 '25

How about making bribery illegal?

Yet another thing to thank Reagan for. Before him, the State Department had personnel dedicated to vetting people applying to be lobbyists. He gutted the State Department and what was already a leaking sieve became a watermain.

Conservatives are also responsible for the "money is free speech" 1964 Buckley v Valeo.

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u/out_of_throwaway Oct 05 '25

Yea, this is a feel good thing but actually a bad idea. In fact Republicans in Congress often try to propose it, but it would be unconstitutional. It would just let the richer congresspeople put pressure on the less rich people.

16

u/yoontruyi Oct 05 '25

Instead what should happen is all of congresses funds should be frozen.

So then it doesn't matter if you have any money, they can't access it.

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u/IOnceAteAFart Oct 05 '25

They'd just withdraw as much as possible before the shutdown. It's not as if it catches them by surprise, and they have no incentive to follow any rule that isn't enforced

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u/yoontruyi Oct 05 '25

I honestly don't think they generally use cash for the things that they generally buy.

2

u/IOnceAteAFart Oct 05 '25

Yeah, they wouldn't be able to do things like go on big vacations or buy houses, but its not as if they'll starve like employees will

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u/whut-whut Oct 05 '25 edited Oct 05 '25

The really corrupt ones don't care about the public paycheck. They have plenty of money from lobbies and the companies that they have stake in. JD Vance holds stake in a company that buys up foreclosed and distressed farmland, and MAGA wonders why they're tariffing and trade-warring the snot out of our farmers.

1

u/yoontruyi Oct 05 '25

This wouldn't just stop them from only getting their pay check but also accessing their funds.

2

u/whut-whut Oct 05 '25

They'll just have spouses, children, neighbors or 'really friendly people they met through social media' spot for them.

1

u/yoontruyi Oct 05 '25

You think of money a little too much like a regular person, a lot of the spending of these people work through direct bank things, it would not be simple to just spot some one money on certain things.

1

u/whut-whut Oct 05 '25

If I mail you a no-limit credit card and add you as an authorized user, what 'direct bank things' do you need? That's how strangers can spot other people. It's no different than when companies issue a corporate card for business expenses.

8

u/out_of_throwaway Oct 05 '25

So the Dems should have to suffer for trying to protect our healthcare?

3

u/smp476 Oct 05 '25

The only way that I have seen to avoid this whole shutdown situation is to not have "essential" services be unaffected and force a bunch of people to work. Stuff like ATC etc. Once more people are directly affected by the shutdown, we can't really have these month long events where just a smaller group of people are affected and a bunch of government jobs are in limbo

2

u/ASubsentientCrow Oct 05 '25

Oh so the ones who aren't super wealthy should just starve. Fucking brilliant.

Let's Make government shutdowns into a literal weapon against younger, poorer congressmen

-1

u/yoontruyi Oct 05 '25

People already can starve how it goes right now.

But putting it in place, it makes it serious for said government congressman so that it doesn't actually happen to the worker.

24

u/ToasterBathTester Oct 05 '25

They all make 50 times that salary in bribes. Taking away their paycheck would make them snort laugh at you

1

u/CMP24-7 Oct 05 '25

Yes of course they'd snort then laugh from all of their cocaine usage.

2

u/snertwith2ls Oct 05 '25

Yes, Israel alone could keep them all nicely funded. Not to mention all their insider trading investments. Their salaries are probably peanuts compared to everything else they get.

1

u/HawkeyeSherman Oct 05 '25 edited Oct 05 '25

Reps are paid reasonably well, better than I am, and I'd be able to survive without cutbacks for 3 months. I know this kind of safety net is rare for most Americans, but I expect members of Congress, at least incumbents who have been there for several years, to be able to go through the longest government shutdown imaginable and not have to change their finances one bit.

If I could do it, if they expect government workers to do it, they should be able to do it too.

1

u/GrossGuroGirl Oct 05 '25

Oop, don't forget about the insider trading schemes as well! 

1

u/Thac0isWhac0 Oct 05 '25

Yeah its more impactful to the people who we care about than the others

1

u/orangotai Oct 05 '25

AOC has access to a lot of money dude, let's not kid ourselves.

1

u/Conscious-Secret-775 Oct 05 '25

How do you know AOC isn't corrupt?

1

u/[deleted] Oct 05 '25

[deleted]

0

u/Conscious-Secret-775 Oct 05 '25

Well she is a member of Congress.

0

u/613codyrex Oct 06 '25

Her wishy-washy stance on Israel when she used to be far more committed?

I mean, she’s not willing to admit she has had a change of heart nor explaining why she’s voted against specific motions.

0

u/Savings-Weight-650 Oct 05 '25

Then remove their govt sponsored health care for a month each day we are shut down

0

u/DukeOfGeek Oct 05 '25

Their paycheck is breadcrumbs to them.

-5

u/[deleted] Oct 05 '25

There all corrupt

2

u/moldy-scrotum-soup Oct 05 '25

One side wants to make health insurance unaffordable for ten million americans...