Oooh, I just had a thought.
Dec. 31st, 2013 07:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conulyCongressional salaries are about 174,000 a year. Congress is in session only 130 - 180 days a year, and even if we assume members of congress spend several of those "free" hours a week listening to constituents, it's clear their hourly pay is pretty darn high.
And the minimum wage is pretty darn low.
It would never happen, but instead of tying minimum wage to inflation (which we ought to have done already), what if we tied congressional salaries to the minimum wage? Some reasonable multiple of the minimum wage for hours spent on the job, when congress is in session, and a little more to cover hours spent on the job answering constituents. None for when they are campaigning, that should be done on their own time, they have enough of it.
No matter what the effect on the economy, I bet either minimum wage would get increase real fast, or congress would start being in session for a lot longer.
And the minimum wage is pretty darn low.
It would never happen, but instead of tying minimum wage to inflation (which we ought to have done already), what if we tied congressional salaries to the minimum wage? Some reasonable multiple of the minimum wage for hours spent on the job, when congress is in session, and a little more to cover hours spent on the job answering constituents. None for when they are campaigning, that should be done on their own time, they have enough of it.
No matter what the effect on the economy, I bet either minimum wage would get increase real fast, or congress would start being in session for a lot longer.
