Despite the recession and continued mismanagement of the economy by politicians that resulted in 14.5 million Americans losing their jobs and the net worth of the nation sinking $1.33 trillion in just the first quarter of 2009, members of Congress continue to live high on the hog -- at taxpayer expense.
It's not just Nancy Pelosi and her jumbo jet. It's all 435 members of the House, according to a new report by Politico.
From a Politico expose on how Congress is spending more on itself:
While businesses across the country are cutting back, members of the House saw their own office budgets increase by an average of 7 percent between 2008 and 2009.Read the full story, "Hard times, but not in the House," at Politico.
An office's budget — called the Member's Representational Allowance — is meant to cover the day-to-day costs of running a congressional office: staff payroll, travel expenses, rent for district offices and the like. The average MRA for 2009 is nearly $1.5 million, up almost $100,000 over 2008.
While House members have given up the automatic pay raise they would have gotten for 2010, they haven’t turned down the 7 percent hike in their 2009 MRAs — an increase that outstrips the inflation rate, the consumer price index and the 5.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment for recipients of Social Security.
There appears to be no organized movement to freeze the MRAs.
Here's an idea: Why don't we lay off Congress until the economy turns around?
Originally posted at TONY PHYRILLAS
