It’s been awhile since I’ve commented on a Breitbart Headline, not because there isn’t anything to comment about but rather nothing’s really caught my attention until now.
Of course, the article suggests Congress is being selfish and greedy by quietly sneaking a pay raise into the current Continuing Resolution spending bill needed to keep the Government funded and running smoothly.
But, let’s take a deeper look into what Breitbart didn’t mention:
While Congress has given themselves more job-related living and travel costs which can be reimbursed – which Breitbart did mentioned – Congress hasn’t given themselves a pay raise since 2009. And, Breitbart correctly states the average pay for a member of Congress is $174,000 a year, but didn’t mention the effects of inflation:
That’s a DROP of 47.1%, or almost half of their income lost to inflation.
For comparison, since 2009 the average earned income for an individual, also adjusted for inflation, has increased 11.8% (although, under Joe Biden it’s dropped about 1.1%).
That’s a comparison Breitbart didn’t mention. Maybe it just wasn’t sensational enough.
Breitbart does mention should the funding bill pass Congress will get a Cost of Living Increase (COLA), just like those receiving Social Security. However, Breitbart doesn’t mention the raise won’t be retroactive back to 2009 or that a COLA is based on inflation, so real spending power doesn’t increase and is typically slightly lower.
Regardless of how one might feel about our elected representatives, and despite their low approval ratings, isn’t it reasonable to expect Congress to receive some sort of a raise after 15 years?
Just don’t ask Breitbart.
Did you know? It’s been 1433 days and counting since Breitbart’s banned me from commenting at their website, without warning, explanation, justification, or recourse. Perhaps because they didn’t like me adding factual, reasoned context to their most sensational articles. I’ve got no idea, as they haven’t told me
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