Congressman Jim Moran complains of lack of pay at $1.5-million per year. What!

Congressman Jim Moran complains of lack of pay at
$1.5-million per year.  What!

By Dr. Bob Uda

4/4/2014

The base salary for U.S. Congressmen (representatives and senators) is $174,000 plus benefits, plus official expenses.  These official expenses include such remuneration as staff help, travel, office equipment, and supplies.  All of these pay, benefits, and official expenses total around $1.5 million per year!  The latest complainer has been U.S. Congressman Jim Moran, Democrat from Virginia.  Do not get me wrong, there also have been Republican complainers who the voters should fire from their jobs come this November.  Only about 10% of those in Congress are worthy to be there.  The voters should fire the rest of them in November.

These politicians do so little work (about three days a week) that they do not even deserve what they currently make.  They currently receive more pay than they deserve for what they do, which is very little.  By the ratings they receive from the public, they should receive no compensation at all.  Political service should be that—community service, which is voluntary.  Instead, these useless people go to Congress and become multi-millionaires within a few years.  I wonder how they do that.  I know—through a lot of kickbacks and bribery—just ask Ex-Congressman William Jefferson, a Democrat of Louisiana.  What a bunch of crooks!

We have nothing but a bunch of liars, cheaters, and thieves in Congress and the White House.  They all should receive the percentage of what they currently make equivalent to the percentage of their poll ratings.  Therefore, our Congressmen and Senators should make about 10% of what they currently make.

I have worked in community service and other volunteer work throughout my career.  I have not received a penny of pay for the thousands upon thousands of hours of volunteer work.  I worked for no pay because I have always had a passion for community service, for service to humanity is the best work of life.  During all of that service, I never had any official expenses paid by the volunteer organizations.  I paid for my own service help (printing, mailing, etc.), travel (gas, wear and tear on the car, etc.), computers and office equipment, and supplies (paper, printer cartridges, etc.).  These congressional critters get all of these expenses paid for, yet they complain that they do not receive enough pay?  Give me a break!

Five years ago, I was making a six-figure salary working at a defense firm.  Thanks to Obama’s socialistic economic policies, I was a casualty of the downsizing of the company.  Since my passion is teaching in college, I started working on a doctoral degree in September 2006 and earned a Ph.D. degree in business administration with specialization in homeland security in July 2012.  Since then, I have taught homeland security, terrorism, and counterterrorism courses at a couple of online universities.  However, I currently make about one-fifth the pay that I had made working in the aerospace and defense industries.  If I was not passionate about teaching in college, I would go back to a job in the aerospace and defense industries.  However, since I love to teach, I live with and tolerate the low pay.

Therefore, if Congressman Moran and the other congress critters think the taxpayers do not pay them enough, then they should not run for re-election but should go back to industry and get a real job.  It is disgusting to hear about these overpaid politicians complain about being underpaid.  If I received a total of $1.5 million of pay, benefits, and official expenses per year, I would be thrilled to death.  Instead, I am thrilled about making the amount I make, which is slightly above the current poverty line of about $18,000-$19,000 annually.

Even though I work at two part-time teaching jobs, I must work over 80 hours a week to perform in quality fashion all that are required of us part-timers.  Thus, I make about $6.25 per hour, which is below the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.  Now, Congress desires to raise the minimum wage to $10.00 or more an hour.  Hence, high school and college students will be making much more money per hour than I do.  What is wrong with that picture, anyway?  Speaking of social injustice!  Can you see why, when these Congressmen complain about their low pay, I go ballistic?

One thing I will never do is to go on welfare, receive food stamps, and receive all of the entitlements and freebee benefits as received by about half of the U.S. population.  Granted, those who are invalids, handicapped, and cannot work deserve this help from the government.  However, many people just milk the system and fraudulently take advantage of all of these benefits.  These lazy bums will not work and will rather take advantage of the freebees—just like Surfer Boy.  As long as I can work for my pay, I will do so.  I have a balance of $20K on my Sallie Mae loan, which I am repaying monthly for my doctoral education.  I will take welfare assistance only when and if I cannot work because I have become an invalid.  Other than that, work is good for the soul.

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