Jason Chaffetz thinks federal lawmakers need a massive monthly stipend added to their $174,000 annual salary in order to cover housing. Unsurprisingly, he’s making this call just days before he exits Congress.
The timing is no accident. Politicians tend to speak with more honesty when they’re lame ducks — and they honestly believe that they deserve more money.
Part of the desire for more cash is ego, but part of it makes a bit of sense. Being a member of Congress is expensive, considering that members are expected to live in the state the represent while they work in Washington D.C. This requires either two mortgages or a rental or two just to work. It’s not uncommon to hear about many representatives sleeping in their offices to avoid the added expense their job requires.
But that doesn’t alleviate the fact that Americans are in no mood to hear them ask for more money when they already make so much — particularly while their approval ratings are so low and so many Americans are trying desperately to find good paying work.
Jason Chaffetz is on the way out, though, so he doesn’t mind the optics.
See how much more money he thinks his fellow lawmakers need on the next page:
cut their pay to 38,000 and see how many stay
Working for more retirement money. Typical self serving politician.
They are overpaid as it is they have more vacation days and days off and any person working in Private Industry they have a retirement plan that is beyond reasonable actually it should be illegal they should be on Social Security like the rest of us and have a 401k like the rest of us their insurance should be the same as they’re trying to push off on us not the Platinum plan and I shouldn’t be paid for all this silly bickering and backstabbing
I hope you are kidding.
For what sitting on your hands and never accomplishing anything, I thought people got fired for performing like congress at their jobs!
tou should get a reduction of ($100,000.00
With all this b******* going on you mother f****** want a raise you got balls you get nothing and you’ll like it
Pass the tax overhaul, pass the immigration proposal, pass the Wall, pass the healthcare bill. I ask any reader, did you ever get a raise for doing a terrible job?
No way!
NO RAISE,