alt Hacker NewsIf we don't pay them well (and we arguably already fail to do that[1]), then it becomes really hard for anybody but the independently wealthy to be in Congress.
1 - $174,000 is the current salary. With that, they have to maintain two households (one in DC, one in home district/state). That salary is far from unusual for white collar workers in major metro areas.
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> If we don't pay them well (and we arguably already fail to do that[1]), then it becomes really hard for anybody but the independently wealthy to be in Congress
Congress should be paid minimum wage. They are the ones who determined that this is enough to live on so everything above that is wasteful spending of public funds. If they don't think it's enough, they can change the minimum wage to a liveable amount.
I would bump it to $10M/year. In terms of importance, this is still vastly underpaying these jobs.
That should take the edge off any money seeking schemes. It's hard to bribe the wealthy!
For 435 congress people and 100 senators, that adds up to $5.35B, which is about 6 hours of federal spending.
Give them spending rights. You need a second home in DC? Ok, if you pass a means test we reimburse your rent and travel costs. There's no sense in giving them additional excuses for not doing their job. 174k is plenty of money to live off.
Yes, like every other profession in the US seemingly, Congress is also underpaid. But letting them individually fight for getting as money as they possible can before they retire via means the typical person doesn't have access to, isn't right either. I agree they should be paid appropriately, so they also can survive on their salary, but still think they shouldn't be able to do certain things others can, because of their position.