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Matheson again fights auto pay hike
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shuttdlrl@aol.com
--Mark Twain
I want the pay for members of Congress to be commensurate with the job they are asked to do. I don't want people to shy away from running for Congress because the compensation is below what they could command in the private sector. I would suggest Mr. Matheson take a closer look at the budgets being passed in Congress and ask Ms. Pelosi to allow an open amendment process on spending bills so that every member has to take a position on the spending process. When a Senator from New York asks for $250K for a Woodstock museum why not have everyone on record supporting or opposing those funds? Nah, better to oppose the pay raise and get the fluff story in the media.
And, what is Chaffetz's stance on this? Come on out and prove yourself on this one.......
With the economy the shape as it is, they should be ashamed of any pay raise and vote to forget that this year.
After all, people are losing their jobs, and the rest certainly are not getting pay raises if they are lucky to hold on to their job. And notice.....the majority of them are Democrats and have no problem getting theirs.
Most of these guys have actually taken a pay cut to serve in Congress. They need to be compensated because they actually do work very hard and MOST of them do a good job.
Having said all of that, the Democrats have done a lousy job these last two years and I think it would be funny, if it weren't so tragic, that the American people returned them to power. Apparently everyone doesn't understand how the power structure works in Washington.
Matheson's refusal to take the payraise is just a lot of grandstanding. It really is just a drop in the bucket, but it does seem to convince a lot of people here in Utah that he's a conservative.
Just bear in mind--If he were a conservative, he wouldn't be a Democrat. Just ask him who he's voting for for Speaker. When you voted for Jim Matheson, you voted for NANCY PELOSI.
Sounds like you have bought into the classic engineered argument used by politicians to justify there lavish pay and benefits.
"To Utah Rose, by taking their benefits and pay away, you are ensuring that NO ONE except RICH individuals will EVER be able to serve in Congress."
I have never made more than 75k in one year. I'm 31 years old and have a wife and children. I would be happy to do this job for a two to four year stint for 75k and no benefits. I can think of at least 10 others in my situation who would do the same.
"Either that or they will be much more subject to bribes from lobbyists."
Are you kidding? Last I checked, almost every headline about some major fraud in business or government has involved very rich people. I don't think your statement holds any weight. The amount of money a man makes is of no relevance if he has real integrity.
Its not as hard as you might think to come up with a plan. In fact, the biggest piece is there. We just need to get back to it. The hard part is getting the support from the apathetic people in this country that tend to have a short attention span. Here's a rough version of the plan:
1. Change over 1/2 of congress and 1/3 of the senate in one election year with those we know will support us. Their goal for the next two years is to gridlock the government until the next election cycle to maintain the status quo.
2. Two years later we change out the other half of congress, another 1/3 of the senate and the white house. Now its time to get to work.
3. Pass an amendment to the constitution that clearly defines what our founding fathers meant by "promoting the general welfare and providing for the common defense." Then eliminate all departments, branches, committees, programs and their associated funding. This will include almost every existing department. Appoint a committee to equitably distribute all assets of eliminated programs and departments to the states.
Matheson voted against the bailout to the banks. Now he's against pay raises.
Shame on those 'tax and spend' Democrats.
Doesn't congress deserve another half-million for a job well done?
4. Completely revamp our foreign policy to a non intervention policy that our fore fathers would approve of. Eliminate all the US tax payers hard earned money currently being dumped into other governments, good or bad!
5. Restructure our military to reflect a freedom loving people. All we need is a strong reserve military with a small active duty component that is mostly responsible for training.
6. Now that we have eliminated about 85% of the current federal budget, you can eliminate all federal taxes on income, individual and business.
7. Return to a true free market. Eliminate virtually all federal regulations on business. Yes, people will actually have to take personal responsibility for making good decisions but so will business. No more bailouts for anyone!
So a plan isn't so hard. Its the public support that is. The nay sayers of this plan will come up with every conceivable tragedy and catastrophe that will ensue with a plan like this. They will try and scare people into going the other way. I say what we are doing now isn't working and will only get worse. Drastic times, drastic measures!
It doesn't matter if he's doing it for political gains among the voter base and/or actually has a personal aversion to what's happening given current economic conditions, the fact remains that no one single other congressman, all avowed 'fiscally conservative' Republicans, has stepped forward to join with Matheson on this issue. That should tell you how divisive and polarized the Republican caucus of Utah feels towards the only Democratic congressmen representing Utah, and also show that Matheson may now be more powerful in his influence (and sanity) than all the other congressmen from Utah combined.
Look closely at Matheson's stance on important issues and his voting record and you will find that he's more a Blue Dog Democrat than not, and quite frankly, Blue Dog Democrats are part of an agenda that's more representative of Utah's social values than the Republicans are.
But just for perspective, this year's donation is only 6 one hundred thousandths of a percent of what he is going to take from you in bail out money for a problem he helped create by supporting Pelosi and Franks in their vote buying scam at Fanny and Freddy.
This is just his version of vote buying.
So what if only the raise goes to charity? That's still pretty significant. How much did you give to charity last year?
Re CATS: Your responses are always so glib. Matheson is a democrat and proud to be one. Why would he want to be a Republican? That would require him to hate minorities, pretend to be pro-life but do nothing about it, protect big business at all costs, and disregard human life re: hurrican katrina relief FEMA mismanagement. I think he's happy to be a Democrat.
As far as re-electing the Democrats, well that is because of the 6-year Bush run wherein the GOP controlled everything and did nothing. Bush is a fiscal liberal in conservative clothing anyway. People were speaking out about 2000-2006, not 2007-2008, because that was the timeframe that created the problems.
More importantly, when is the last time you gave away 5K just like that? And don't count tithing in the mix. Just because the government allows that contribution to be considered a donation for tax purposes, very little of that money, if any, goes to the poor. Try giving tithing PLUS 5K to humanitarian efforts and then re-post.
The point is, Matheson is a blue dog democrat trying to shake things up. Matheson also voted against the bailout twice. What are the other boys doing to help the deficit? The UT GOP delegates voted FOR the bailout AND want the pay raise. Given the choice, I'll take Matheson.
The fact is that the constitution requires them to maintain a residence in the state they represent. They also have to live in Washington. Washington is really expensive. Some Members who keep their families in their districts actually do camp out in their offices or share a place with other Members. That does help with expenses. But, those who bring their families with them have to find a decent place to live.
In reality, many of these guys take a cut in pay in order to serve. At least that's true for Republicans. (A lot of Democrats run because they need the job.) Although public service can never compete with the private sector, these guys need to at least make enough to provide a decent living for their families. Believe it or not, that's hard to do in Washington on what they make.
I know you're mad but, please, give these guys a break. They're not over paid.
By keeping the salaries of Members of Congress low you are really making it difficult for anyone but wealthy people to serve. John Adams, our second president, feared the same thing. We need to make it possible for those from the middle class to have a chance.
It is really hard to make ends meet when you are trying to maintain a house in your state and another one in Washington. Not everyone lives so close they can go home on a train every night like Joe Biden.
I think the reason that people make such a big deal about Congressional salaries is because it's something they can actually relate to. What we really need to be concerned about is the billions and trillions of dollars Congress is wasting. Salaries are a drop in the bucket.
Matheson is doing this in order to make a few political points. Apparently it is working with this group, but it really is trivial. Everything else he does is based on what Pelosi allows him to do. If you don't know that you're really naive.
Good job Matheson.
But, as a CPA with years of big business experience, I don't think it's fair to get a cool 2.8% every year just because. Their raises should mirror the economy and the amount of revenue raised by the federal government in any given year. So in some years, they could get more than 2.8%, but in a year like this, much less.
You also say they are grossly underpaid for what they do, but just because they travel a lot doesn't mean they pay for it all. They get per diem wherever they go, and they can deduct the mortgage and interest on BOTH houses on their taxes. Ever wonder why there is a two-house limit on said deductions? Now you know why.
In your last point, you note that Matheson does this to earn points. What's your point? Every politician does that. Why can only Republicans do it and not Democrats?
Guess what? Not all of them are Republicans. My guess would be it's about 55/45 Republican, and that's only a guess because not all of them are open about it and some of them change their minds from time to time.
Members carry the responsibility for the governance of the entire country. I agree, they haven't been doing such a hot job lately, but their responsiblity is much greater than that of CEOs that make many times more than they make.
Also, Members of Congress do NOT get per diem. They have equal travel budgets that they have to live within no matter how far their district is. This includes staffers that must travel on business.
I know this is hard to understand unless you have been there, but it's the truth.
But, understand this from someone who has a lot of experience in Washington--he only votes conservative when the Speaker releases him to do so. HE WOULDN'T DARE DO OTHERWISE IF HE EVER WANTS TO GET ANYWHERE IN CONGRESS. They don't really need his vote on most bills. They only need his seat to ensure that they control the speakership and all the committees. That's how the game is played.
So when Matheson comes home and pretends to be a conservative, please realize that it is an act. His very presence as a Democrat in Congress insures that LIBERALS will control the agenda. If that is what you want then fine, vote for him. BUT JUST UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS WHAT IS GOING ON.
ANYONE with experience in Washington will tell you this.
But...you say Matheson is a liberal and you are greatly mistaken. He is a Blue Dog Democrat. He voted against the bailout, which would make him fiscally conservative. He is voting against a pay raise for himself, which would make him fiscally conservative. He has a proven record of not voting blindly along party lines. I'm sorry if you don't understand that, but that is the facts.
Bush, on the other, hand, signed the Partiot Act, increasing government's role into our lives. Bush single-handedly increased the deficit that was a balanced budget when he took office. Bush did NOTHING in 8 years to make abortion illegal. Yet he has an R next to his name.
ANYONE with or without "Washington experience" can tell you the letter next to their name does not tell the whole story.
BTW--ANYONE can tote "Washington experience" so you may want to clarify what you do. A 16 year-old flipping Burgers at Johnny Rockets in the district has "Washington experience."
I hope he is successful.
You seem to have missed my point altogether. When Jim Matheson votes conservative it is because he has been RELEASED to do so by the Speaker. The Dems know he represents a REPUBLICAN district. Therefore, in order to protect his seat, they release him to vote "his district" on bills that his consituents are going to take particular note of.
It's the same game that Bill Orton played for three terms. When Bill got into trouble was when the Dems went into minority status and they couldn't release him. They needed every vote. That's when his true colors really came out.
I know you don't like to hear this, but it is nevertherless true. Utah is conservative because the people in this state believe in conservative principles. It isn't because they can't read the ballot or because they don't know how to vote any other way. The only way a Democrat can get elected in Utah is to talk like a Republican. That's how Matheson keeps getting elected.
However, would you expect a representative, even as a gesture, recognize that maybe now is not the time for a raise? Never. Do you think they believe their pay should be commensurate with the job they have done?
A government of the people, by the people, for the people is long buried with the rest of the ideals that this country was founded on.
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