Maureen Groppe and Paul Barton have an article about Congressional pensions. Long time lawmakers Sen. Richard Lugar and Rep. Dan Burton will be getting pensions with the fairly eye-popping numbers of $125,000 and $117,000, respectively. These numbers are big if you go with the political fiction that these are just ordinary schmoes doing an ordinary job, and nobody I know gets a pension like that. (Nobody I know gets a pension anymore — no move to a defined contribution plan?) But, if you go the other route, and look at these folks as being more like senior vice-presidents of a $2.7 trillion company, then their benefit package is fairly small.
I get it: why should we suffering taxpayers have to pay so that these public servants can live better than we do? One rationale is that, if we don’t, then companies well-positioned to exploit their lawmaking powers will. A lawmaker will have a choice between playing ball and, when he leaves office, being taken care of by lucrative, easy private sector jobs or, standing up for the public interest and, once bounced out of office, unemployed with no obvious source of income. The public will never be in a position to offer benefits packages that are anywhere near as lucrative as those that can be offered by big businesses with an interest in having the government look the other way or providing big subsidies. But, with a house payment and basic needs taken care of, a Congressperson at least has a solid option of taking the high ground.
Still and all, it grates to see that a guy like Mike Pence – who hasn’t done a damn thing in eleven years – is entitled to $32,000 per year once he turns 62.
I think these are the last of a generation with the big pensions. I thought in the 80s they moved congress to the standard federal retirement packages, right?
The gist I got from that article was that they moved closer, but not quite there. I might have read incorrectly, though.
Did you mention that most double dip, one way or another anyways? If not another government “job”, like say “Governor”, then as a “consultant” in, or out of government (see, Newt Gingrich) enriching themselves at the expense of some powerless constituencies (see, students).
Methinks you are being a bit hard on Mr. Pence. I am a bit surprised that someone as intelligent as yourself really thinks the best way to evaluate Mike Pence is on the amount of legislation he authored that was passed.
It appears the members of Congress (who would know better than anybody) seem to think Pence does a pretty good job, considering he was selected for the third highest position in the House before he resigned to focus more on his race for Governor.
The best way to evaluate him is by how much he has contributed to good governance. Evaluating the legislation he thought important enough to introduce (or repeal) is one way.
Your proposed method of evaluation is far worse. It shows only that House Republicans think he’s very loyal to the Republican Party. That’s useful for their purposes, but not terribly helpful to the country.
I was not suggesting that we evaluate Pence by reviewing his status in the Republican Party. I was suggesting that the members of the House must hold him and his opinions in fairly high esteem based upon his selection to that post. That is just one criteria of many to utilize.
Your comment: “Evaluating the legislation he thought important enough to introduce (or repeal) is one way.” Yes, it is one way of evaluating a Congressman. It just isn’t a good one. It appears that Pence’s legislative introductions are generally benign and unexciting (no introductions of Medicare Part D, No Child Left Behind, Sarbanes-Oxley, TARP, etc.) Given that, I think most people would much prefer to look at what Pence has voted for and against than Pence’s introduction history.
And if we are relating this to Pence’s campaign for Governor, your evaluation method becomes even more meaningless. As Governor, Pence will be 1 of 1, and will have a very different relationship with the 150 members of the Indiana Legislature as Governor, than Pence does as 1 of 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Republican members of the House.
I think he was chosen for how he looks on TV when the Republican leadership stands all together before the cameras. White hair always adds a distinguishing air (to the rest of the air). He is talented in that way. And I have white hair, too, so I am not just kidding.
So prematiure gray and a blind fealty to neo-Bircher idealology will get Pence elected to the governorship? I believe you. Pence, a low-end intellect, will become governor of North Mississippi.
As Yeats prophetically stated, the best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate integrity. Ain’t god been good to Indiana.
I have what I consider to be the perfect solution to both excessive Congressional pensions and the Social Security crisis. Take away the multimillion-dollar pensions they’ve provided themselves,and put them on Social Security. I’m sure that once they find out that their private money pool has dried up,two things will happen: 1) They will stop using the Social Security fund to offset the deficit. If they know that this is the only source of retirement income for them,they’ll treat it with a little respect; and, 2) pay Congress and the government the same way private business pays themselves. They provide a service, take in the money, pay all the bills, and,if there is any left, divide the profits among themselves. The first time Congress opened their pay envelopes and found them empty (along with all the perks,including free travel,
etc. that we can no longer afford to provide) I believe that the practice of spending money that they don’t have,and insulating themselves from the consequences, would stop immediately.Then maybe enough of them would resign so we could find people that can balance a checkbook.
I am for pension reform for all federal , state, and city officials.
You’re kidding right…?……begrudging a guy, no matter what party they’re from who served in Congress for more than 10 years a lousy 32K a year at the age of 62….lmao….