What if it paid minimal with few perks to be a senator or congressman?

[guzzijohn]

When our country was a bit younger it was a sacrifice to be a congressman or senator. If I remember correctly Davy Crockett had to borrow money to get to Washington after being elected to congress. It would be interesting to see what the make up of our congress and senate would look like if it paid minimum wage with few perks. Probably would not need term limits as people would not want to stay in for long with so little reward. Do you think we would get more "real" people under these circumstances or just more wealthy that did not need to worry much about the pay. I think it would also be interesting if the candidates were given an equal amount of money to campaign with and were not allowed to use personal money or take donations of any sorts.
GuzziJohn

[MGMorden]

You'd still see the rich in those positions.  What poor man could afford to take a job with virtually no pay?  Even if they paid for your immediate needs (ie, setup an apartment building with provided meals just for elected officials), you're still going to come out of the deal unemployed with no money to tie you over until you get back on your feet.

It's an interesting thought experiment, but in practice?  Pretty much an impossibility.  Or rather, it wouldn't make much difference.  Heck IIRC the presidency still only pays $200k per year.  Now to most of us that's a lot of money, but many CEO's make much (MUCH) more than that, and to just about anybody elected to the presidency recently it's peanuts compared to their existing cash on hand.

For the most part it's bribes and power that attract people to these positions.  The bribes are unofficial/off the books so you have to tackle those separately, and the power, well, you could take it away, but at that point the whole reason for them being there is kinda diminished.

[yellowtail3]

fed legislators is a sweet deal... and pension after a short stint, too. Sweet.

A pension... what the heck is that?

[Pat/Rick]

If the pension and benefits were removed I doubt alot of people in the offices would even run. Yes I do believe we as a nation would see a resurgence of folks whose moralities were not as questionable. May even see a atronger nation as more folks would, I think, concentrate on the needs of this nation and not be as interested in the welfare of other nations.(As it should be anyway). But then, wouldn't the process start all over? The politicos figuring out that they could vote their own pay and benefits, etc.  Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts, absolutely.

[Old Fart]

I've seen a lot of folks do volunteer work for years without any expectation of reward or payment.
Others who wanted a plaque to hang on the wall.
Even at this level you run into people who are power hungry and only do it only for recognition.
So I'd suspect you'd get a mixed bag up there.

[gypsyman]

I'll bet if you do a google search and look up what a few of the senators and reps.got paid,it doesn't add up to what their worth. In our state of Ohio, John Glenn had a military pension, but now that he's retired, he's worth a few million more than what his congressional pay would/should add up to.
With all the ''sweet deals'', and back door dealings, anybody that gets elected to more than one term, shouldn't get paid at all. There is more than enough graft and corruption to compensate for their time. I think I'll go check my freezer, and see if there's $90,000 in cash wrapped up in some tin foil. gypsyman

[Bigeasy]

Reminds me of the old saying, "Pay peanuts, you get elephants"

Larry

[billy_56081]

I think they should be paid the average wage of the people they represent. 401K that is the average for the people they represent. Standard health insurance. Travel pay reimbersed at coach rate. No per diem. Basic allowence for Quarters at an E5 rate.

[elhoward622]

I also am on board for the "pay the politicians" less idea.  Not saying the politicians of old were any less corrupt; they were often more corrupt.  I do feel that the great politicians of our past had more of our countries interest in mind.  Clay the compromiser ironed out huge bi partisan deals that held the nation together in the face of collapse.  Our politicians only have special interest groups, their constituencies, or their own agendas in mind.  Its always Republican v. Democrat drawn in a hard line.  Even when the country is floundering in recession and a prolonged war our politicians chose to vote for job security not national security.  We need some REAL Americans back in Washington. 

[magooch]

What would happen is that people would be writing in to forums like this and wondering if it would improve our Congress if we paid them more, so they wouldn't have to resort to graft and corruption.  And wondering what the hell they were thinking when they lowered the pay of Congress in the first place.

[elhoward622]

So either way the politicians will still screw us then? You may be onto it!

[billy_56081]

What would happen is that people would be writing in to forums like this and wondering if it would improve our Congress if we paid them more, so they wouldn't have to resort to graft and corruption.  And wondering what the hell they were thinking when they lowered the pay of Congress in the first place.

They are doing it when we are paying them what we are no. So hey why not get the same thing for less?

Also for those who think that the low pay will not attract the good people to these jobs, do you feel the current bunch is doing a good job?

[magooch]

My point wasn't that members of Congress need to be highly paid, but they do need to be compensated enough so that average people might be attracted to it.  If the pay were too low, no one but the wealthy and those who plan to abuse the office would be willing to do the job.

Even if the pay and benefits are fair, we're still going to get a few good ones and a lot of duds and it is still going to be the voters that are responsible.  You have to wonder about the caliber of people in some areas when you look at who they send to Congress.  I'm not overlooking some of the clowns my own state sends.