U.S. Congress, the Best Part-Time Job in America

Following their Summer hiatus, the U.S. Congress reconvened on August 3.  They broke again on September 21 to allow members to go home and campaign to keep their jobs.  During their most recent time in Washington, the Senate was actually in session eight days, the House was in session ten days.  Both houses of congress also decided to not discuss any important legislation until after the November election when both parties hope that the congressional numbers will be more in their favor.

what eye thynk:  So basically, they decided to sit in Washington and not work for nine weeks, before going home to tell their constituents how hard they're working for us. We're paying these guys $174,000 year to work part time!

And it gets better...President Obama wants to lift the federal salary freeze that he implemented in 2010, which means our part-time congressmen could get a
pay raise next year.  What a great gig!

Aside from their inability to put together a 40 hour work week, their collective decision to do nothing constructive until after the election is unconscionable. They are, quite simply, holding the country hostage to their own ambitions.

Awhile ago I posted an opinion that congress should be paid like piece-workers: create a piece of legislature that can pass both houses of Congress and that the President signs into law, and then we’ll issue you a paycheck. This would certainly eliminate the filibuster/vote blocking/dig in your heels and refuse to compromise attitude that has all but de-railed our federal government.

While I recognize that a piece-work congress is a fantasy, term limits shouldn’t be. It is time to face the fact that congressional longevity doesn’t result in congressional productivity. The argument against term limits has always been that it takes time to find your way around Washington politics and that experience is important. (Of course, this argument is made by those most likely to lose their jobs were term limits implemented.) 

Let's be honest here...the most important job in our government is that of President, and if he can be expected to figure out the lay of the land inside of four years, I’m sure Congress can do the same.  Design the congressional election cycle so that only half are up for election every four years resulting in a congress made up of experienced veterans half way through their eight year term and newcomers arriving with fresh ideas and fresh energy.

Romney says he wants to run the country more like a business. In this case, he may be onto something.  In the real world, if you only showed up for work eight days in nine weeks, and, while you were there, refused to do anything until your best friend got hired too, you wouldn’t be employed for long.

With a pay rate of $174,000 a year, I doubt we’d have any trouble finding competent men and women who would respect the job enough to value accomplishment over obstructionism, especially when faced with the impermanency of their position.  "I helped pass an infrastructure bill that is putting thousands of people to work rebuilding our roads and bridges" looks a lot better on a resume than "I voted 'no' on everything so that the other party would look bad".