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October 04, 2006
Congressional Pay Raises and Minimum Wage
From Congressional Research Service Report through Library of Congress (4/18/2006):Congress is required by Article I, Section 6, of the Constitution to determine its own pay. Prior to 1969, Congress did so by enacting stand-alone legislation. From 1789 through 1968, Congress raised its pay 22 times using this procedure. Congressional salaries initially were $1,500. By 1968, they had risen to $30,000. Stand-alone legislation may still be used to raise Member pay, as it was most recently in 1982, 1983, 1989, and 1991, but two other methods are now also available, an automatic annual adjustment procedure and a commission process.
In January 2006, Members received a 1.9% increase under the annual adjustment procedure, increasing their salary to $165,200. They are scheduled to receive a 2.0% increase under the procedure in January 2007, to $168,500.
Granted... individual members of the Congress may refuse a salary pay increase, and some do.
Compared to the minimum wage facts for those states not with a higher minimum wage standard than the fed:
From Think Progress:$5.15: Federal minimum wage
26%: How much the inflation-adjusted value of the minimum wage has eroded since 1979
0: Number of times minimum wage has increased since 1997
7: Number of times Congress has increased its own pay since 1997
$0: How much more a year people earning minimum wage earn today compared to 1997
$28,500: How much more a year members of Congress make today compared to 1997
$10,700: Amount a person making minimum wage will earn in a year
$5,000: Amount below the poverty level working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year at minimum wage will leave a family of three
Who is serving whom?
How about a few years of allowing congressional raises to be voted on by the general public in contrast to self raise voting and annual automatic increases (which occur unless they are specifically voted against). Naturally this won't be looked favorably upon. Or return to the days where they were paid for actually working, rather than salary... let them feel the bite of merit income over an easy paycheck that they set the terms of payment not counting their other benefits (public and private).
Isn't it just a bit hard to swallow to have a public servant... capable of setting their own salary... ignoring the income malady of the poor and lower middle class?
Then again, business as usual.
Posted by Ravennacht at October 4, 2006 02:05 PM Posted to Idealisms | Politics