We Can Do Even Better

Congress has finally decided that crooks should not be supported for life by tax payers. Fine. Better late than never. But I say we can do better, I say congressman should not be supported AT ALL by tax payers. There should be no salary for federal lawmakers (I'm not sure about state and local yet, but I think I'd be agin' paying them too). This would immediately eliminate the ugly spectacle of one group voting to make a weaker group give them more of their money. It also might (I grant, only MIGHT) discourage financial opportunists from seeking these positions for immediate monetary gain. Hey, these people are called public servants and act like martyrs for taking these jobs in the first place. If they are sincere about that, they won't mind these new changes.

So won't only the wealthy then be able to hold office? No. Here's how these people will get paid. They'll raise the money. Just like they do for their campaigns. You build into the campaign finance laws a salary fund. Some percentage of the total hand out take goes into the candidates pay. Granted, this too will be abused (see "only MIGHT' discourage financial opportunists) but at least then the people being shafted will be those who volunteered for it.

Paying pols strikes me as silly. The majority of the job seekers are in it for power and the big payoff of lobbying or sitting on corporate boards that comes after you've "served" your fellow citizens. We'll still have a flood of candidates and we won't be growing the welfare rolls.