{{
`${userDetail.user.displayName}${userDetail.user.cachedBungieGlobalDisplayNameCode ? `#${standardizeBungieGlobalCode(userDetail.user.cachedBungieGlobalDisplayNameCode)}` : ""}`}}
{{getUserClans()}}
4/4/2014 7:30:46 PM
32
Congressmen are "underpaid"
[quote]Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) said in an interview with Roll Call on Thursday that members of Congress are underpaid and can't afford to live "decently" in Washington.
"I think the American people should know that the members of Congress are underpaid," Moran said. "I understand that it's widely felt that they underperform, but the fact is that this is the board of directors for the largest economic entity in the world."
Members of Congress make $174,000 per year currently.[/quote]
Mkay
[quote]Moran, for what it's worth, represents a district just across the river in Nothern Virginia, so he doesn't have to deal with maintaining two homes, like many members do. [/quote]
Oh, the struggle of being able to afford two homes.
-
I couldn't even imagine what the hell I'd do with 174,000 a year. But, he has a point in some manner, and let me explain. The gap between the rich, the middle class, and the poor is starting to disappear. Soon there won't be a middle class. And, already in some regards, this exists today. And here's an example. I was out and about with a friend, traveling across the province with him as he went over to his visit hist friend. Now, my buddy knows a lot about boats, and so his friend asked him for some help in looking to buy one. So, cutting through all the crap, here we are on the docks on some marina in BC. And my friends's pal has 500,000 ready to go to buy a nice boat. And, it occurred to me at the time but I didn't bring it up later until my own friend started talking about it. His friend had 500,000 dollars ready to go to buy a boat. And he couldn't buy one single boat there. To the millionaires and billionaires there, he was a poor man. So, when a man can walk down on the docks with 500,000 basically in his pockets, and he's considered poor, what does that make me? Wanna know how much money I made last year? 8,000 dollars. And that went fast. Bills, supplies, repairs, you name it. And I look at even a small piece of land around here, maybe one or two acre's worth, and it's ridiculous how much it goes for. We're talking up to 30 or 40 thousand dollars. Granted, the area I live in is bad for trying to make money, but even still. How, how the hell can I possibly work my way up to that level of money to buy a property of only a few acres? Around 12 years ago, my friend bought 10 acre's for 10,000 dollars. And in only twelve years, the prices have changed that much? It really makes me think sometimes, how screwed the system is. I worked out at a nearby lake last year for a contractor who was working on some millionaires summer cottage. The dude had three god damn houses. Do you know how long summer lasts out here? At the very most, in extremely rare cases, three months. So that means, this dude will probably only spend a couple weeks of the year out here. But why? What the hell is the use? Such a beautiful place, wasted. When he already has two other homes! Anywho, moral of the story is, if a dude can walk down the docks with 500,000 dollars in his pocket, and is actually poor compared to the people around him, then I must be the equivalent of a walking 3rd world country. It's just silly.
-
1 回复
-
6 回复由cxkxr编辑： 4/4/2014 8:20:52 PM
-
6 回复I actually agree with them here. They are expected to have a home in DC and in their home states. DC is pretty expensive, and $174k isn't enough to own a home in DC, let alone in their home state too. But pay them more? Nope. My plan is two-fold. 1) Give them homes in DC. They don't have to be mansions, but they should have a condo or townhome. 2) CHange the way they operate so they spend more time in their states with their constituents. The real problem is that they spend too much time in DC, and have become removed to the realities of their people.
-
3 回复if a soldier can live on ~$10,000 a year, i think congressmen can live more than comfortably with $174,000
-
1 回复I know we're all supposed to hate anyone who makes a lot of money, doesn't do much, and then complains, but I do think a valid point could be made. One, most have to maintain 2 homes, because they are required to be at home half the year, and DC the other half. Considering the job does require you maintain two locations, and one is in DC where living expenses are high, $200,000 a year isn't that spectacular. Second, if they were paid more, maybe there is a small chance they wouldn't supplement their income by selling votes to lobbyists. It's more likely they'd just take the pay increase and continue to make as much as they can selling votes, but you can argue that the more you pay them, the less incentive they will have to seek the money in an unethical way.
-
3 回复Both congressmen and the president are over paid. Getting paid 100K a year is MORE than enough. Their is no reason they should really get paid what they do. And a bunch of benefits.
