As Far back as I can remember there was always some mistrust of the political system and the participants involved in it. This mistrust is not a bad thing as it should keep us always questioning their actions and motives. This does not mean each participant is untrustworthy however the system may very well be a bit out-of-order. We as voters should never put complete trust in all political systems or participants as the system has been controlled by long serving members of the system from the local to the Federal level. We currently have an inordinate level of suspect information being issued by these folks under the guise of “looking out” for the voters. This suspect information allows for voters to support actions against themselves and to their own detriment. We have become a nation of puppets guided by an administration and Congress who seem to think we are merely puppets and can be handled as such. My go to explanation of what Congress has done for themselves is the law they enacted to receive an automatic cost of living adjustment. Prior to that law they had to publicly present it and vote it in.Public outcry was such that they enacted the law so they did not have to publicly announce it. Do Members of Congress get Automatic Pay Hikes (COLAs)?
Under the terms of Public Law 101-194, the Government Ethics Reform Act of 1989, lawmakers receive an annual adjustment in pay [a cost of living adjustment or COLA] equal to the change in the government’s Employment Cost Index for the fourth quarter of the prior calendar year versus the year before that (this constitutes a one-year time lag between when the pay raise is measured and when it actually takes effect). An automatic provision is made for this pay hike each year, and is self-implementing without any specific vote by Congress (i.e., passage of the overall Treasury appropriations bill enables the raise to occur). However, Members of Congress can, by majority vote, block the pay increase from taking place. This occurred for salary hikes slated for 1994-1997 and for 1999.
P.L. 101-194 also created a new Citizens Commission on Public Service and Compensation to make quadrennial recommendations on salaries for top-level federal officials. However, according to an October 31, 2005 Congressional Service Report, this Commission has not convened.
Members of Congress have linked their own pay increase to that of thousands of other high-ranking personnel in the federal government, including cabinet agency heads and judges.
Given the actions of Congress in regard to the often cited American People why should they get paid at all? Why not tie their pay to their productivity? I am sure they get adequate compensation from big money backers even after leaving office. Voters need to pound the water line on our elected officials until reform and accountability occurs.
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Michael1942's Blog 