It is time to talk taxes. OK, don't yawn, it is time to talk about the people who decide the taxes.
For starters, the median income for a family in the United States is around $56,000. Some are lucky enough to do this with one breadwinner, but typically it takes two.
For those families, a host of headaches present themselves on a daily basis. Braces. College. Mortgage. Job. Health Care. That run-down car that needs to be replaced. The list goes on and on. These are the typical Americans.
These typical Americans depend on their duly-elected representatives in Washington to do what is right for them. The expectation is that Congress-persons are looking out for them, to do what is in their best interests.
The funny thing is, our Congresspeople are paid a minimum of $174,000 per year, about three times the average constituant. Depending on position, that could rise to $223,000 per year. If they can hang on to their jobs for 25 years, they will get 80% of that each year for the rest of their lives, a damn sight better than Social Security (which they wil also collect!)
If our typical household is in the middle--50%--then the starting salary of a Congressperson is in the top 10% of wage earners. In other words, they make more than 90% of all taxpayers.
This answers a lot of questions, doesn't it?
How are they "in-touch" with the "average" American? They're not.
Do they consider the average American when debating tax policy? How can they?
Can they relate to the trials of the common man? Not from their limousines.
Isn't it funny who benefits from the "tax cuts for the rich?" They do.
Like it or not, we are now in the hands of "professional politicians." Their pay and power is such that they will do anything to hang onto their jobs. Given the circumstance, wouldn't you?
All this leads me to believe that their hearts are not into looking out for us. The are no longer "us," they don't look like us and they don't act like us. The only time we are important to them is when voting time rolls around.
I say enough.
Want a Constitutional Amendment that would fly through state ratification? How about this one: Congressional pay will be equal to overall median pay in the United States.
Hell, take away the wealth, and we might actually find people who want to run for public office because they actually care for the people, not for the money. Congresspeople who can vote on issues with the sensibility of the common American's needs. Americans who step up to serve, not take.