WaPo fixture Philip Bump draws attention to the plight of the poor, unappreciated, politicians of DC, suggesting a raise
As the New York Post opinion writer James Bovard reminds us, The Washington Post’s Philip Bump is “the last prominent DC journalist who still insists the Hunter Biden laptop was a Russian plot” so needless to say, Bump is the village idiot of the mainstream media (even Hunter himself doesn’t claim that anymore).
But, in a nearly-unbelievable truth-is-stranger-than-fiction moment, Bump penned a Tuesday editorial for the self-endowed protector of democracy outlet, petitioning the reader to consider the plight of the poor, unappreciated, and financially-struggling members of Congress. (Yes, seriously, and this was not a belated April Fool’s Day joke.)
Here’s what Bump wrote:
From the outside, being a member of the House of Representatives seems like a uniquely crummy job. Sure, you have some ostensible power, but it doesn’t actually manifest very often for many people, thanks to the chamber’s general antipathy toward consensus. Members haven’t gotten a raise in more than a decade and have to spend a big chunk of their time trying to raise money to campaign to keep their jobs.
First of all, if there’s any perceived “antipathy” toward “consensus” it’s exactly that: perceived. This is the Uniparty about which we’re talking after all. Sure we’ve got a few “firebrand conservatives” in the ranks, but aren’t they also at the taxpayer trough? How many of those “firebrand conservatives” are forgoing their salaries, saying “no” to the perks and benefits, and truly approaching what is supposed to be civil service… like true sacrificial service to the American people? Congress is not supposed to be lucrative, and it’s not supposed to be a career—or as Bump says, a “job,” like it’s legitimate private sector employment—but like all the rest of Capitol Hill, our “firebrand conservatives” apparently missed the memo.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they’re not just rubber-stamping the Democrat bills, but that’s not impressive for a “firebrand conservative,” that’s just the bare minimum for anyone in the Republican party at this point. Congress shouldn’t even be a salaried position; member’s should receive a simple, modest daily stipend, and normal travel expenses, paid for by the member’s constituency.
Second of all, if there is some sort of legitimate policy struggle, that’s only because when Democrats present a bill, their asks are so ludicrously absurd, agreeing to their requests would be political suicide for Republicans who still have to at least feign that they’re working for their voters. D.C. Democrats ask for the world, and “winnow” things down to compromise… which is always a loss for conservative policies/values/principles. The national debt never goes down, a government program once-created never shutters, treason goes unpunished, illegal spying and surveillance on we the people continues, and everybody but the American taxpaying citizenry gets considered with our dollars.
It’s a thankless job, because based on their work performance, they deserve absolutely no thanks!
Also from Bovard:
House members also receive a yearly salary of $174,000 — more than triple the average US salary and higher pay than 93% of Americans pocket.
But the raw numbers vastly understate their windfalls.
The House was in session for only 117 days last year, so members received almost $1,500 each day they ‘worked’ — even if they only had a 15-minute token appearance in the Capitol.
Three times the average American salary, and in the top 7% of American earners as far as money pocketed. Shameful. These people can’t even pass a balanced budget, meaning all the money they’re currently siphoning off of us gets saddled onto our backs, with interest.
Oh but those poor impoverished politicians! They haven’t had a raise in ten years! Listen Bump, I’d happily agree to a small raise if they never showed up to “work” because that would be the real service. Or, how about they get a raise when they abolish the federal income tax? How about they all score million-dollar bonuses when they return to the gold standard, abolish the Federal Reserve, and hold criminal bureaucrats liable? How about when they balance the budget, and eliminate the bureaucracy? How about anyone who votes to send a single dollar overseas, gets stripped of their salary and benefits?
And, how many of them have unreported income?
What about the people who lost their businesses and livelihoods to government closures? To mandated jabs? What about the people who can’t even afford to buy a modest home? What about the people working multiple jobs just to make ends meet? What about the people who can no longer make ends meet? Fallout of federal economic policies based on the cowardice or corruption of those poor Capitol Hill creatures.
Alms? Alms for Congress? Hard pass.
Image: Free image, Pixabay license, no attribution required.