He’s not alone: AOC and others have argued lawmakers should be paid more in order to protect against corruption and make the job more accessible.
It might still be true that someone could be refused a top secret clearance if they had too many debts. The theory is that if someone is under financial strain, they’re easier to bribe.
As much as it might not feel good, it might be logical to pay congresspeople more, if it can be shown it makes them less susceptible to bribery.
And, while $174,000 seems like a lot, even someone like AOC thinks it’s not enough. One problem is that they’re legally required to have two residences, one in their district, and another one in DC. So, she needs to pay full-time rent on a place in DC ($2500 / month) and her district in NY (say $2000 / month). That’s $54k per year just on rent. I don’t know what the other costs are, but the people who get to congress who aren’t rich already often seem to struggle.
To me it makes sense that congressional reps be paid enough that they’re not under any financial strain. It means it’s harder to bribe them, and that they can focus on doing their job instead of on their personal finances.
I don’t mind paying them more. Make it a lucrative career. You know what… Why not $5mil/year. Attract the best and the brightest… Maybe.
But make the consequences count. Any hint of malfeasance… Any remote indication that they are betraying the will of the people, make them pay it all back and put them in jail. Like… We see that you took money from Comcast, then voted favorably on their bill. Jail.
‘Most of us don’t have wealth’
God damn it, he’s so close.
What about the rest of us, who manage to scrape by on 60K or less after y’all have already taxed away a third of it? Where’s our relief you whiny shit? 💩
Agree with your point, but man I didn’t realize 60k was considered “scraping by” now
