Should the Democrats get a pay decrease to themselves?

In January, whent he Democrats take control, should they give themselves a pay decrease, taking out of a effect the many pay increases the Republican leadership gave over the last few years?

That includes congress critters. Instead they ought to give everyone else a raise by 1) increasing the min wage and making it cola adjusted 2) scrap the tax giveaways to the idle class and substitute real tax breaks for middle class working families (tuition health care etc.) 3) raise the highest tax rate significantly on income over 1,000,000 in order to start to control the out of control ceo compensation packages. 4) cola adjust all tax rates so that the government cannot inflate stealth tax increases like they did with the AMT.

really like the term "idle class" sums them up all so well.

But we have to frame it correctly. I didn't invent the term. It is a great one.

Presently rank-and-file Congresspeople are paid $165K a year. This doesn't include their generous benefit packages and expense accounts. With a few exceptions, Congresspeople don't do the sort of work which warrants such a robust compensation package. Even in the hypothetical situation that they did their jobs properly, their pay would be a bit high compared to comparable positions in the private sector.

However, Congressional compensation is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to spending by the federal government. So in isolation, the issue is pretty much just symbolic. If however, Congress were to revamp the system of keeping government accountable, streamlined, and fiscally efficient, then a pay rollback would be a tiny part of the picture.

The widow Bono is sending her chickenhawk son to USC, amd has two new cars. What to do? dire straits?:nopity: All those dresses for society balls to buy what's a girl to do?

It's in another thread somewhere. The annual $3000+ increase will not take effect next year if the legislation is signed into law.