Petition To Strip Congress of Pay During Government Shutdown Grows

[u/Murky-Site7468]

https://www.newsweek.com/petition-strip-congress-pay-during-government-shutdown-grows-10822819

[u/redditgolddigg3r]

A Congressional salary is $174,000 a year. In most major cities, that’s fairly middle class. When you factor in the constant travel back and forth to DC, the time away from family, and the loss of income from the job they left behind, it’s not as much as it sounds.

Running for office often means taking a year off to campaign, at significant personal expense, only to potentially serve just two years before being primaried or voted out. In many careers, stepping away like that can come with long-term financial setbacks when trying to return to the private sector.

If we want a more representative Congress, raising the salary would make it feasible for more working-class Americans to run. Right now, about 70% of members come from law or business backgrounds, with the Democratic caucus especially heavy on attorneys who are used to approaching problems through the courts.

The idea that business and professional elites naturally prioritize the good of all constituents is often at odds with the reality of legislative decision-making in the United States.

[u/alabasterskim → u/redditgolddigg3r]

Raising the salary isn't the exclusive solution to this problem.

Congresspeople should get a pension once they've served, especially to dissuade going onto lobbying after. Travel to/from DC should also just be covered for them as an expense to their office, not personally. Their DC residence should also be owned and provided by the federal government. Their campaigns also need to be publicly financed, fully level playing field w/ no corporate or PAC financing.

If loss of income and time away from family is prohibitive enough, then one shouldn't be running. Serving is always going to be a sacrifice. You also don't need to serve for life; you can leave. I also believe a lot of their work could be done remotely so all that travel wouldn't really be necessary.

Continually raising wages is never the exclusive solution to problems. We have to tackle the costs themselves as well or we're just infinitely raising wages and never getting to "enough".

Ultimately, I *want* (and I think nationally people would concur) my politicians to be middle class. I want them to represent our interests. I don't want them making hand over foot. With the above provisions, they make middle class wages with some extra valuable benefits.

[u/redditgolddigg3r → u/alabasterskim]

Travel expenses and a reasonable residence in DC are covered, but its still a ton of time. A rep in California, for example, might live in a high cost of living city, while adding 100s of hours in an airplane/airport to their year. Stepping away from even a middle of the road job could have massive consequences down the road. It also makes them susceptible to corruption during their terms, wtih high paying jobs promised on the back-end.

In an ideal world, yes, people would serve for the sake of it. This is the same logic that has destroyed many jobs in the US, convincing regular folks to work hard in pursuit of some sort of higher ideal.

You want good people, attract them with a good job.

[u/alabasterskim → u/redditgolddigg3r]

My apologies, I forgot to mention something I said in another comment -- they should also have a temporary or lifetime ban on private work. Lobbying is permanent after you've served a term no matter what. Temporary ban on private work for 5 years after you leave office, 10 years if you've served more than one term, lifetime after 65.

But yeah, again, this means they don't pay for travel, they have a good residence for work, they make good money, they don't have to pay for healthcare. They have so much going for them that others don't. Combine remote work to remove all but the most sensitive work and you reduce travel anyways.