Disagree with me if you can

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I realize I am in a VERY small minority when I say something needs to be done about Congress' pay.

Yes. A minority. But before I splain that, lemme slap some information on you:

Current congress pay is $174,000 a year. http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm

Sounds like a lot? Could you maintain a home in two places where the average home cost is $200,000 or more? That includes paying the mortgage, the light bill, taxes, etc etc. Most members of Congress have to live in the Washington DC area. Only a handful live close enough to commute.

Property in DC is very expensive to boot.

Those who are required to live in Washington must also maintain a residence in the place they represent. Yeah, they could rent in one place or another, but they still have that payment. Yeah, that varies widely, but in some places, a house is gonna set you back $500K or so.

Add to that all the necessary incidentals of life: food, soap, clothes, etc etc.

One solution is to provide members of Congress a free digs in Washington. We give the president a palatial estate. You could say all they deserve are dormitories like college students live in. That's not fair to the congressman's family. They need an actual real place to live.

If you build it, they will wonder.

OK. It could be a decent apartment. That'd be a mite cheaper. But considering what a member of Congress has to do during all his waking hours, apartments could become a problem.

That would help a lot.

Congress, like a very few other professions, never actually quits working. They don't get to punch a clock. They are on 24/7, even on vacation they field calls, talk to constituents and so forth.

I hope you get the idea 'cause I'm fixing to shift gears on you.

What's the average net worth of a member of Congress? $725,000. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078964/Growing-wealth-gap-members-Congress-rule-survey-reveals.html

Who's at the bottom of the heap? http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/25-members-of-congress-with-lowest-net-worth/2011/12/27/gIQAOJApKP_gallery.html

At the top? http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/25-richest-members-of-congress/2011/07/11/gIQAmtxiMK_gallery.html#photo=2

WARNING! Another transmission grinder approaching.

Do you think Congress should be a Citizen Legislature? In other words, should members of Congress be ordinary, average joes?

Or should it be a chrysoaristocracy? (yet another Favorites link for Tom, Rebel, my sister Rachel and brother Shag).

Lemme put this another way. Set aside your willingness to run for Congress and serve in Congress. I ask could you afford to quit your job and serve in Congress? Put your money on the table and see if it adds up. Can you, yes you, afford to serve in Congress if you have to quit your job and accept the pay Congress gets. You must keep all your present expenses and add to that the expense of being a Congressman with a domicile in Washington.

How hard can you squeeze?

It also means losing whatever retirement contributions (if any) you get from your job, losing your insurance (if any) and all the other fringe benefits you get.  You're going to have to shuck out some more bucks to be a Congressman - trips home, suits, other expenses related to being in Washington and being elected.

Since congressional "perks" probably also make you mad, let's do away with them. Now you have to pay for all these extras that come along with serving in Washington.

Can you afford it?

If you are being truthful with yourself, the answer is probably going to be No, couldn't do it. Would not be enough money.

So.

We have established that you want a government of, by and for ordinary people.

Ask not, less ye receive.

We have established that an ordinary person probably could not serve in Congress at the present pay scale.

You also complain that there is too much money in Congress, Congressional campaigns and the rich members of Congress are out of touch with the rest of us.

Yet you want to CUT congressional pay. By cutting the pay you will limit service in Congress to only the rich people who can afford to make such financial sacrifices.

Me? I say Congress needs a raise or more perks. Like you, I cannot afford to give up my job to serve in Congress (never mind I won't run and could not be elected, we're strictly talking money here).

You may disagree with me. But if you review what I have laid out here and I am accurate (which I am), then your demands are not matching your desires.

Around here we call that cognitive dissonance. Someone with less tact will call it hypocrisy. Whatever works for you.