I was just told that the anticipated government shutdown will halt payments to the military and to Social Security beneficiaries, but NOT congressional salaries..
It's not bad enough that far too many servicemen and women have to depend on welfare and AFDC to feed their families, NOW our elected officials are going to make them go into bankruptcy because the government - for which they are risking their lives - won't pay the wages they've earned.
Yes, the congress that withholds their pay still pays itself !
If the country is in such sad financial shape - and I have no doubt it is - that the government must penalize its servicemen and women and must take crumbs from people on Social Security, maybe it's time some of our elected officials stood up and volunteered to take a pay cut.
The annual salary of the president of the United States is $400,000 per year, including a $50,000 expense allowance. (The real payoff comes after the president leaves office with a nearly $200,000 annual pension plus whatever he or she can collect on the side.) The vice president gets only $230,700.
According to Wikipedia. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate#Salary_and_benefits:
The annual salary of each senator and representative, as of 2009, is $174,000; the president pro tempore and party leaders receive $193,400 and the Speaker of the House gets $223,500.
Plus perks.
Along with earning salaries, senators receive retirement and health benefits that are identical to other federal employees, and are fully vested after five years of service. Senators are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). As it is for federal employees, congressional retirement is funded through taxes and the participants' contributions. Under FERS, senators contribute 1.3% of their salary into the FERS retirement plan and pay 6.2% of their salary in Social Security taxes. The amount of a senator's pension depends on the years of service and the average of the highest 3 years of their salary. The starting amount of a senator's retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of their final salary. In 2006, the average annual pension for retired senators and representatives under CSRS was $60,972, while those who retired under FERS, or in combination with CSRS, was $35,952.
Having lived in the D.C> area, I know the cost of living the high life can be steep.
But Washington is not just asking us, but forcing us, to tighten our financial belts, belts that for many already are too tight.
Let the president show some leadership and offer to take a 50 percent salary cut until the budget is balanced. He should be able to "get by" with only $200,000-a-year. I realize the executives of some of the bailed out banks and businesses make much, much more than even $400,000-a-year, but the president is supposed to be the nation's LEADER. Let's see some leadership.
One way to cut expenses would be to stop invading countries, especially countries with civil war. More especially, when the invasions are performed by the vary people the government is going to withhold pay. (If we MUST invade countries, why Libya and not Syria or Yemen, why not Sudan/Darfur?)
If that's not enough, Florida's governor - and I suspect others as well - is cutting back on Medicaid, the medical lifeline for the indigent and near-indigent. The burden will shift to the counties and county hospitals, already so far in debt they may never recover.
Basically, the people sitting on a threaded fastener are the people on whom the country depends for its safety and the old who already served their time.
