(Jan 2, 2017 02:02 AM)C C Wrote: (Jan 1, 2017 11:53 PM)RainbowUnicorn Wrote: is this capitalism or socialism ??
From both taxes and business / special interests.
Rank and file is $174,000 a year.
Majority Leader - $193,400
Minority Leader - $193,400
Speaker of the House - $223,500
But it's the "afterlife" which can follow a legislative career where one can get a skyrocketing "pay raise" in the millions. By working for lobbying firms, corporations, etc that promised _X_ job in exchange for congressmen being receptive to influence when they were in office. Not to mention the thousands which were irregularly funneled in prior to exit, via the facade of fundraising campaigns for election / reelection, when there's a need to circumvent direct donations and generous gifts that are forbidden. Mediators (lobbyist agencies) obscure the actual enterprises and interest groups, whether on the capitalist enterprises front or assorted societal movements.
For someone on 24 hour a day 7 day a week call out i think this amount is fair.
doctors get a lot less and carry a much heavier burdon of responsibility while being legally liable at every turn.
comparatively it appears these people get money for as close to nothing as you can get without counting lavish luncheon meetings all paid for by tax payers where there is no required measured result from the meeting.
it surely is a bizar mix to have such massive loss and non profitability as a supposed role model of capitalist enterprise.
most politicians wont answer the phone outside standard business hours and only work around 20 hours a week at most.
which comparatively doubles their actual pay rate.
so by measure of any other profesion they get around half a million dollars per year for the amount of time they actually spend doing work.
conversly i do know of some politicians who spend all their personal weekend time (un paid and where they spend their own money helping pay for volunteers meals, transport etc..working for charitys and doing volunteer work and they are near the bottom of the pay scale at around 45k a year.
i have personally met such people and they are truly amazing to be in the company of.
it certainly appears that the more you pay politicians the less work you get out of them.
if a nation had universal health care free access and universal education i do not thinkit would be an issue.
however. such unbridled greed and extortion of power simply gives real world examples to children why they should break the law at any opportunity that presents its self.
a certainindividual was talking about banning x politicans from becoming lodyists.
that would only apply to those who had not signed any contract and would have no bearing what so ever to someone who became a consultant and patron to mushrooming(excuse the pun) charity organisations.