Slash Their Pay!

I get real tired of reading and hearing about the budget and how Obama, Congress, and whoever else has their hand in the voluminous pot provided by taxpayers are cutting programs such as the Pell Grants, Medicare, energy for low-income people. I have my own idea about what cuts should be made and here they are:

• The President, the Cabinet, members of Congress and the Supreme Court plus anyone else who is part of the elite government that never seems to be affected by paycuts or layoffs should take, not only a paycut, but benefit and perk cuts as well. Specifically, none of the above should make an annual salary greater than the salary of the average American worker permanently. This year the base salary for members of Congress is $174,000 and some can add up to more than 3 million in allowances. Check out this Fox News article for more juicy albeit irritating details: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/09/29/benefits-members-congress-shabby/.   

                                                                                                              

• Benefits such as health insurance should be reduced to what the average American worker has AND each individual should pay for his/her own insurance premiums and medical expenses not covered by insurance - ya know, like we commoners do. There should be no tax-free perks anymore: trips, cars, postage (no wonder the USPS is going bankrupt), and whatever else on which they lavishly spend taxpayers' money.

• And what's with the retirement benefits for these elected officials who are officially draining the coffers so generously filled by taxpayers eking out a living? Not only do they get a 401K but they also get a pension (the longer they're in office, the bigger the pension), and Social Security. Even after they're dead, their families get a year's salary paid by you-know-who, the taxpayers. Slash all but one of the retirement benefits and give that money back to the taxpayer. We know what to do with it. The economy would bounce back and most of us would be able to afford health insurance, food, and housing, things an elected official doesn't seem to have to worry about.

• Furthermore, I think we should set up a time card system in Congress where legislators have to punch in and punch out to get paid. They should be paid on an hourly basis. We need people serving us who really want to do good for the country rather than reaping the hard-earned cash of taxpayers.

• And one more thing, so many of our elected people seem to want to do away with Medicare and Social Security. Fine, do away with those programs, but time it with a very young generation who won't pay into those systems for 50 years as the older generations have had to do.