Politics: Congress Deserves a Big Fat Raise

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Politics Congress Deserves a Big Fat Raise We loathe them. Their work stinks. It's time we paid for better By Daniel Schuman Posted Tuesday, Apr 02, 2013, at 09:30 AM ET Americans loathe Congress. Cockroaches, traffic jams, and colonoscopies have higher favorability ratings. Important decisions are endlessly delayed because of petty bickering and political posturing. Congress's biggest accomplishments these days are government shutdowns and a costly budget sequestration—precisely when the U.S. economy is struggling to rebound. That's why Congress needs a big fat pay raise. You read that last line correctly. Members of Congress are overworked and underpaid, and we are all suffering as a result. While plenty of people are willing to run for Congress, being in office isn't what it used to be. Senators and representatives earn less than they have in decades. They don't have the same level of staff support, even while the workload has exploded. They work in a poisonous political environment. Representatives have every reason to keep an eye on the exit—they all could earn more as lobbyists. We get what we pay for, and there's no question we are not paying enough to keep the best people on the job. The average member of Congress earns $174,000 a year, a lot more than the median American household of $50,000. But it's not as much as the median starting pay of $234,000 for a dermatologist, and doesn't come close to the $9.6 million that the CEO of a typical public company earned in 2011. For an apples-to-apples comparison, we have to look at what members of Congress earned in the past ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Print Money. Mail Everybody a Check. Spark of Genius Marry Young	Advertisement
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