I am so tired of how, if I want to get a raise, I have to ask the boss, and even give reasons. Hey, like, instead just give me access to a giant pool of money and let me hike my own salary as I decree fit. Actually, what I’d like to do is set an automatic so-called “cost of living adjustment” so I don’t even have to bother going through the motions of considering whether I deserve a raise. That way I could just get thousands of dollars more per year, year in, year out, regardless of how well I do my job.
Okay, I know you’re ahead of me. It’s our beloved Congress I’m talking about. Several years ago the House put in place what they call a COLA, or cost of living adjustment. So members get a raise every year, automatically, unless they go out of their way to refuse it. Which they never do. To them. this COLA is the nectar of the gods. And who cares if they deserve it or not?
The latest “adjustment” adds $3,400 a year, giving members an annual salary of $158,103. I guess it’s a bonus for the hundreds of billions in new debt we’re plunged into. The war is one cause of that debt, but then there’s all the endless pork-barrel spending congressmen do to sustain their something like 99.9999 percent re-election rates.
Somebody else should handle the job of raising their salary. Maybe it can be done by national referendum. I doubt that congressional pay would be hiccupping out of control if the whole country were voting on it.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.