Congressional Raises & Minimum Wage

If you make the Federal minimum wage, you earn $5.15 an hour — officially raised last in 1998. Working 40 hours (if your employer allows that) a week 52 weeks a year with no vacation, no holidays, and no sick days, you would earn $10, 712. (If you work those max number of days, that’s 260 days a year.)

Congress works less than 250 days over every two year period called “a session”. They are in Washington D.C. less than 3 days a week and are facing record lows in approval ratings. Yet, this week, for the seventh year in a row, lawmakers embraced a %2 “cost of living” raise that bringing their salaries to $168,500.

Because Congress got bad press every time they voted to give themselves a rest in the 1980’s, in 1989, they changed the rules to make the raise automatic as long as they did not vote to block it. Democrat Representative Jim Matheson from Utah did attempt to get a direct vote to block the increase but this was voted down by those same lawmakers who don’t want to give a cost of living increase to those who do earn minimum wage and struggle every day to make ends meet and pay their bills.

The increase is about 1/3rd of what minimum wage earners might make in a year.
Is it me or are the wrong people getting the raise here? When was the last time you were allowed to decide whether or not you got a raise and how much?

I kind of like Chris Weigant’s suggestion that we pass a similar law doing an automatic annual cost-of-living $2 increase of the minimum wage unless it’s blocked by a Congressional vote just like their salaries. Heck, let’s tie them together. Seems practical. I mean, if we can’t stop them from giving themselves raises when they’re doing piss-poor jobs and wasting time blathering about debating on “hot topics” which aren’t nearly as immediate as other issues, then we should at least get something for the people who are working and are trying to get ahead and are trying to support their families and pay their bills and live honest lives.

tags: Congress, minimum wage, politics

2 comments

1. on June 15, 2006 at 5:51 pm

   Big Dog said:

   The Congress will be in session 97 days this year at the current rate.

   I agree in part with the proposed solution. The big difference is that a Congressional pay raise takes taxpayer money. A minimum wage raise puts the burden on the employer who will increase the cost of goods to cover it. In both cases it is the taxpayer who gets screwed.

   We the people should get to vote on Congressional pay raises. We do have the ability to get rid of all of them and we should.

2. on June 28, 2007 at 4:13 pm

   David Slater said:

   the whole sorry system needs an overhaul…a MAJOR overhaul.

   what a bunch of –sh-les

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