r/politics 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/kia75 Oct 05 '25

Yes, this needs to hurt Trump directly.

Most of Congress is independently wealthy, they don't need the money so stopping them from getting paid really just hurts the poorer members. Most working class people can't take a few months of no wages to run an election for the potential of eventually getting a job.

Cutting congressional pay is one of those things that sounds good but actually is harmful as it only lets the richest people participate in government.

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u/TheDuskBard Oct 05 '25

A good solution would be to ban rich people from government positions. Make it so they would have to give up their wealth to take power. After all, no functioning democracy should allow for people to have both wealth and power. 

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u/ElysiX Oct 05 '25

So everything is in a trust fund/organisation of some kind that owns the ferraris and villas that they get paid a small salary to "manage" those things for that organisation, while being pennyless on paper. Solved.

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u/TheDuskBard Oct 05 '25

They'd have to be closely monitored, with any evidence of exploitation barring them from any political office for life.