All in a Day's Idle

This is the broken record playing on Capitol Hill since the right-wing took over the House nearly two years ago:

House adjourns after few fall work days, punting on unfinished business

Is it too much to ask that Democrats take back the House of Representatives and keep the Senate come November?

Dead Zone

I can't remember a time in my collective memory when Washington has been so utterly useless.

• Aseconomy falters, Washington fails to act

It drives one point home: elected officials have no interest in their constituents other than garnering their votes. Once safely in office, they cite the atmosphere in Washington as the reason progress is not being made on a variety of issues. Republicans blame Democrats, and Democrats blame Republicans.

However, one fact cannot be disproven: Washington has never been as ineffectual as they are now, ever since the right-wing took over the house.

God forbid we elect another one of them to take over the biggest job in the land.

Cut Congress Benefits (CCB), Part One

Job security is a constant source of worry and stress for most Americans. Unlike members of Congress, we don't have assured benefits at the end of our working lives. Some of us have to make choices between paying rent, buying food or obtaining medicine, much less deciding what to do with a pension.

The perks enjoyed by members of Congress appear to rival those of a financially thriving corporation. While the base salary of a junior member of Congress is $174,000, they also have access to an "allowance" that helps fund their office staff. For instance, House members are allotted more than $900,000 to pay the salaries of up to eighteen employees. On top of that, they receive $250,000 for travel expenses and mass constituent mailings (also known as "franking"), the cost for which is borne by the taxpayer. Worse yet, Senators receive $3.3 million for office expenses. Some senators also receive $500,000 to hire up to three legislative assistants.

According to a report from the Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) and Our Generation (OG) advocacy groups, "Federal legislators earn 3.4 times more than the average full-time American worker and are among the highest paid legislators in the industrialized world."

Furthermore, the report states: "Congressional salaries and benefits are compared with what private sector workers receive, and with those of foreign legislators. Members of Congress receive an annual salary of $174,000 - which alone puts them in the highest-paid 5 percent of U.S. workers. They also, however, receive a host of additional benefits that put their total annual compensation at around $285,000. By comparison, the average full-time American employee earns just $50,875 annually."

David Williams, president of TPA, says: "Congress has run up a $14.3 trillion debt and a $1.5 trillion deficit, yet they are still among the best compensated employees in America. It is time to hold our representatives in Washington responsible for their job performance. With the high salaries Congress is collecting, we don't think it's too much to ask that they do their jobs and get our economic house in order."

The TPA also points out that that if congressional salaries were cut to $100,000 taxpayers could save $39 million each year.

Current annual salaries for top positions in the House and Senate:

• Speaker of the House ($223,500)
• House Majority Leader ($193,400)
• House Minority Leader ($193,400)
• Senate Majority Party Leader ($193,400)
• Senate Minority Party Leader ($193,400)

Many of us would be more than grateful for just a fraction of such salaries, willing to work our fingers to the bone to earn the money. That's more than can be said of our legislators at the moment.

Members of Congress also enjoy an annual cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA), unless Congress votes against it. Why not leave constituents to vote on whether members of Congress receive annual COLA’s instead? Because congressmen and senators know they would never be granted raises if they let us decide the issue.

If members of Congress faced the same level of financial and healthcare insecurity the average American deals with every day, perhaps their voting consciences will take a direction for the better. Most important of all, perhaps the sense of urgency and panic many of us feel will be experienced by those in power and will propel them to set aside the poison and acrimony now polluting Washington D.C. and get down to business.

Pay cuts for members of Congress should be implemented, above and beyond any wage freezes currently in place. Since the rest of us have to live within our means, right in line with the virtually non-moving Cost of Living index, so should members of Congress. If they cannot live on their wages, so be it.

Pay Freeze

Typical:

> Who gets a paycheck in a shutdown? Congress

If there's going to be a government shutdown, the first pay freeze should occur in Congress. They don't deserve their exorbitant salaries in the first place, and it's their fault the shutdown is looming to boot. Why should they get paid?

Collective Ineptitude

If the "real" emergency facing the country is the growing national debt rather than expiring unemployment benefits, as Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has said, why doesn't he and his fellow-lawmakers forego their salaries and benefit packages until every American who wants to work has found a job?

• To woo votes, Democrats scale back jobless aid

If Congress wants to scale down or cut off unemployment benefits, why not stop their own salaries first – which we pay, by the way – until every American can put food on the table for their families and children? Why should the so-called lawmakers be allowed to live comfortably off the backs of their constituents while people are going bankrupt, losing their homes or suffering without health insurance?

At this point, every last member of Congress makes me sick. They are socially retarded, out of touch with reality and the common people. Why doesn't someone – anyone - get off their ass and speak the truth for a change?

God forbid they should go without. I'm sure none of them have to worry about where to sleep tonight, or stress over what's going to be on the dinner table for their families.