The first thing that the sequester should have slashed..

[Playinghardball]

[patrice]

1. KICKING!

[Delphinus]

2. Amen!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Damn right, but you know they would never do that.

[Fla Dem]

25. What about cutting their budgets for office staff and travel?

I know when I worked in the corporate world, if there were budget cuts, everything was on the table....staff, travel, equipment, everything. If we had to cut the budget by 5%, every single line item got a 5% cut. Like to see Congress do the same thing.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

26. I'd love to see that too!

[1983law]

37. Agreed.

Bullcrap foreign policy trips, vacations, and other frivolities MUST stop before one cent is taken from the average government worker/soldier trying to just get by like the rest of us.

[Fla Dem]

29. Whoops, Their ofice budgets DO get cut. Found a good article in USA Today.

"Congress will feel the pain in other ways. Members' office budgets, committee staff and leadership offices will all see the same across-the-board cuts as any other discretionary , non-defense spending. "


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/02/25/congress-sequestration/1941685/

[Cha]

34. Yeah, I had read that.. thanks for posting.

We'll see how that affects.

It would be a good idea to get their salaries Slashed too.. and should be a good election point in 2013 & 2014 if it goes that far. As in.. these CongressPeople slash your jobs because theirs are safe. Or something like that..

[DearHeart]

4. I WISH!! But aren't their damn salaries "guaranteed"?

[ieoeja]

5. Sequester was passed by the previous Congress. So they could have written in an automatic cut ...

... for the next Congress.

Actually, the Sequester does include Congressional budget cut. Congress Critters have already complained about the cuts in their staffs, etc.

[DearHeart]

20. Good! They should at least feel some of the pain that others with be going through,

although it won't hurt them nearly enough. I just feel bad for the people on their staffs. I don't want them to get hurt, just the jerks who think that this is the way out of our debt problems!

[freshwest]

6. Satisfying populist theme, but repukes playing debt ceiling and fiscal cliff games, don't need it.

Last edited Fri Mar 1, 2013, 08:54 PM - Edit history (1)

Cantor and his pals made sure of that. They see their salaries and perks just like CEOs and non-essential. They are already rich or being made rich by their cronies in the states that elected them. When we go for the cheap thrill, we ignore forget that Ethics went the way of the Dodo in the last twenty years of GOP rule. The only solution to these crooks is voting them out of office. JMHO.

[Plucketeer]

8. They could forefit their salaries

and never miss a meal - or any of the other "entitlements" they allot themselves.

[freshwest]

14. That's why I don't go for these, no disrespect intended. The reality is also, that the old meme of

tossing them all out is also foolish.

That was done, term limits tried and that eliminated good progressives. It's part of the of the American 'I want something new and shiny! Anyone will be better.'

That's the quick and lazy shot for those who don't want to know the process. Look how the desire for the new and shiny gave Congress Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, etc. They're no different than reactionary old crooks, just younger, and they're far more radical and hateful.

People wanted something new and edgy without bothering to understand what their philosophies were. Less likely to compromise, since they were already set up to go to Washington or any other state capitols, by corporate monies.

I know great socialist democrats who don't get elected precisely because they don't take corporate money. It would be against their principles as it wouldn't protect the Commons. I know others who have been there a long time that don't take a dime of it either, have even gone so far as to not take union money to run the cleanest campaign for the independents and fence sitters.

Their numbers are diminishing because they don't take Koch money, and don't get air time. They are elected solely by informed voters. But the margins are too damned tight now. I'm not against anything new. I'm against non-thinking.

[former9thward]

17. That was not the vote on th Sequester.

The House passed the Budget Control Act on August 1, 2011 by a vote of 269–161. 174 Republicans and 95 Democrats voted for it, while 66 Republicans and 95 Democrats voted against it. The Senate passed the Act on August 2, 2011 by a vote of 74–26. 6 Democrats and 19 Republicans voted against it.

[freshwest]

18. Yeah, I was thinking of their other POS votes. Thanks for being the fact checker here.

It's still their Sequester, since they were threatening the full faith and credit of the USA government their debt ceiling BS!

[grahamhgreen]

7. Naw - they're already too easily corruptible.

[spanone]

9. the most pathetic congress ever....ever.

[blkmusclmachine]

10. DC protects itself.

Wall St., too. Just like 'Family.'

[annabanana]

11. So.. the most heavily subsidized congresscritters would be just fine.. And

the ones living on the salary WE pay them would be hardest hit?

Think this THROUGH, people.

[demosocialist]

12. K&R nt

[2naSalit]

13. Undoubtedly!!

[FarCenter]

15. They should at least slash the SUV budget

Each person attending Obama's White House meeting this morning arrived in a separate large black SUV.

They could at least carpool from the Capitol to the White House (although a brisk walk would do them good).

[DearHeart]

21. This is the type of cuts that they need to start with and carpooling is a great idea! :)

I don't want every congresscritter punished, just the obstructionists and the ones who think austerity is the answer. I wonder how much money is spent on all of those SUVs, fuel costs, maintenance, etc? Must be a tidy sum.

[TeamPooka]

16. they are the first 535 Federal employees who should be fuloughed.... nt

[LiberalAndProud]

19. K&R.

[bvar22]

22. The LAST time the quarterly profits of our politicians was threatened:

[Curmudgeoness]

23. Oh, but that isn't visible enough to us peons.

We wouldn't even notice. It is like when they are looking for a tax increase to the schools. They don't cut out all the fat at the top. They threaten with cutting all sports and doing away with bussing. They want everyone to be hurt by it so they can get their way.

[santamargarita]

24. Make Bonner pay his bar bill. That alone would balance the budget.

[treestar]

28. lol

[treestar]

27. I don't think they even care about their salaries

It's the power that attracts them.

Republicans usually have other means. The salaries for Congress are nothing to them.

[quakerboy]

30. Bass Ackward

Most of them make far more selling us out than they ever do from their paycheck.

It makes great propaganda, but this idea would hurt the very few in the mold of Kucinich(whos name autocorrect wants to turn to zucchini for some reason), who are not independently wealthy, without touching the actual obstructionists who are at the heart of this

I dont know how accurate or up to date this is, but I found it interesting
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/25-richest-members-of-congress/2011/07/11/gIQAmtxiMK_gallery.html#photo=1

[I Cant Dance]

31. How could we have a budget agreement when one side only

wants to balance the budget on the backs of the poor, middle class, and elderly?

[Stuart G]

32. Well said....k and r nt

[tritsofme]

33. Most of these guys are millionares many times over.

Their congressional salaries are pocket money.

[Posteritatis]

35. Meh, most of them would get by just fine on a salary of $0.00. (nt)

[judesedit]

36. And made them buy their healthcare the same way we do. Congressional parasites. That's what they are