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budget cuts

Posted: Apr 13, 2011

Salary of the US President...$400,000. Salary of retired US Presidents...$180,000. Salary of House/Senate...$174,000. Salary of Speaker of House...$223,500....Salary of Majority/Minority Leaders...$193,400..........Average US Salary...$33,000 to $77,000. HELLO! I think we found where some cuts should be made!

;

May I add to that? BENEFITS! - Backwards Typist

[ In Reply To ..]
all members enjoy access to a separate piggy bank known as their "allowance." This funding generally goes toward maintaining their offices and building up a legislative entourage. In the House, representatives are allowed to spend more than $900,000 on salaries for up to 18 permanent employees. They get about a quarter-million dollars more for office expenses, including travel, and additional funding for a well-known congressional perk known as "franking." Franking is the term for the mass constituent mail sent out by members of Congress and paid for courtesy of the taxpayer.

Senators enjoy the same privilege but get a much bigger allowance for their office expenses. According to a Congressional Research Service report, the average allocation for fiscal 2010 was more than $3.3 million. Personnel money varies depending on how big of a state a senator represents -- a senator from New York is going to get more than a senator from Montana. But for starters, each senator is given a $500,000 budget to hire up to three legislative assistants.

there is "no restriction" on the number of offices they can open in federal buildings in their home states. Plus senators get to shop at the equivalent of Congress' IKEA -- furniture supplied through the Architect of the Capitol. Every senator gets $40,000 -- and potentially more -- for furniture in their home-state offices.

Bonus Tax Deduction: Members of Congress can deduct up to $3,000 for expenses while outside their home districts or states.

nsurance/Retirement: All members of Congress can sign up for the same health plan and life insurance policy available to other federal workers. But there's more. In an age when the 401(k) often becomes a substitute for a pension, representatives and senators enjoy access to both. First, members of Congress can sign up for a 401(k)-style "Thrift Savings Plan," a tax-deferred investment in which members' contributions are matched up to 5 percent.

Then there's Social Security. Then there's the pension plan. The pension payments and eligibility vary -- in a nutshell, members are eligible for an immediate, full pension at age 62 if they've served five years or more; they're eligible at age 50 if they've served 20 years; and they're eligible at any time after they've served 25 years. The annual amount of the pension depends on a lawmaker's salary and the number of years he or she served -- typically the amount is considerably less than a lawmaker's outgoing salary.

Down Time: Perhaps there's no such thing as down time for a member of Congress, what with the constant shuttling back and forth between Washington and their districts, media appearances and constituent meetings. But the work week lately has been relatively sparse. The Senate has averaged about three working days on Capitol Hill - three-and-a-half if you count Monday nights. Plus there are several breaks, which Congress calls "work periods," penciled in the calendar throughout the year. This year, members of Congress returned to their districts for a Presidents Day break, a spring break, a Memorial Day break, an Independence Day break and a summer break. Congress is about to adjourn again until early November so members can campaign. Of course, that's good old-fashioned time off for senators not up for re-election this year.

When the so-called 'crisis' is bad enough for them to start taking cuts themselves - then we can talk. LOL

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For years there has been a group very vocal about dismantling Medicare. That's fine for them. They don't need it. It is not important in that group's lives. It is important in mine. I also feel compassion for those who have less than I have. Let's cut the fluff first. Leave my support system alone. If you tell me you've cut your own support system because it was necessary, then we'll talk.

UnitedHealth Care CEO Stephen J. Hemsley $10.8 million this year - Exxon CEO $21.5 million

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Just think if that excessive compensation was used to lower costs. And people complain about the government. Sheesh!

You would not be griping if you were - Stephen or the Exxon CEO.

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just keeping the proper perspective.

Let us not forget Jeffrey Immelt....Obama's - GE buddy...

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how about 15.8 million...about tripled in 3 years, see link below. Know why it tripled? He offshored over half of GE's jobs. GE didn't pay any tax last year and will owe a "modest amount" this year according to him.

Tell me again how Obama and the DNC are against corporate welfare...this guy is the poster child for just that and he has recently been installed as an Obama advisor.

Again...do NOT listen to what Democrats SAY. Watch what they DO.

http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2011/03/ge_ceo_jeffrey_immelt_saw_comp.html

LOL--Obviously Immelt didn't take the job for the money. - sm

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You don't hire the janitor to do the brain surgery, now do ya?

You seriously need to buy a vowel, friend... - you don't even know

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how clueless you are, or how ridiculous you make the left look with posts like these....now do ya??

You just made the Republicans appear rude and crude - and heartless.nm

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nm

I'm not a Republican. You just made - Democrats appear

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whiny and self-righteous and able to find the splinter in everybody else's eye while totally UNABLE to find the timber in their own.

Thanks for that.

I was addressing your post, nothing else. - nm

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nm

They ARE rude, crude and heartless. They prove that fact - every time they open their collective mouth.nm

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nm

WAIT A MINUTE! UnitedHealth gets Medicare money - and their CEO makes 10.8 million?

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Okay, let's start, after we get rid of fluff elsewhere, by talking to UnitedHealth about cutting a little. Of course it isn't in their best interest to do that, because if we go Private System, the CEO's salary is going to go up MILLIONS! Those on Medicare, and all of us will be if we live long enough, will be struggling, hoping that the reduced coverage pays enough that we won't have to sell our homes and take bankruptcy if we get sick. What if we need nursing care on-site, assisted living or nursing home for a family member? The Private System cuts off where Medicare, our current support system, doesn't. MESSAGE TO UNITED HEALTH, you have a huge contract to insurance Medicare patients as secondary insurance, and I think you are proving the point that Private Insurance is not the way to go. You make more than the President of the United States! But you are wanting to take care of all of us in our old age, up to a point. The shorter that 'point', the more money the CEO makes. I'm very much against allowing private insurance the ability to abuse us further, after having been abused by the private insurance system already for many years. I'm not buying it.

Rather large problem with the logic.... - United Health Care is

[ In Reply To ..]
a for profit business. The federal government is running 14 trillion in the red so by your rationale we need to fire Obama and hire the CEO of United Health to be president.

Works for me.

Hardly. I think United Healthcare is despcable but they may be the best available - of the private healthcare organizations

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That's sure not saying much that they may be the best private health care has to offer, but I think that may be true. I've been so hurt by private health care organizations that I wish they would all go out of business.

None of it is going to matter if no one - addresses cutting the

[ In Reply To ..]
cost of health care. That is the core issue. I don't mean health insurance costs, I mean the charges. An insurance company has to make money to stay in business. When health care costs go up, premiums go up. Same way with any other kind of insurance...homeowners, auto, etc. Until that is addressed, the cost of insurance is NOT going to go down, I don't care what Obama says with his Affordable Health Care.

And if mandatory insurance or a fine is ruled unconstitutional, Affordable Health Care is dead in the water anyway.

I don't know why so many people are blin and deaf to cutting costs....that is the key.

Yeah, those poor insurance companies. We don't want them to go broke - LOL

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LOL. Of all the things to worry about, I don't think that one is on my list. LOL.

There's a lot of contagious hysteria these days about this and that going broke - My opinion

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Calmer heads are working on solutions that make sense without taking food out of the mouths of babies, health care and shelter away from the elderly, etc. It's good that the country is having the discussion. It's interesting to see how much more effective the calm approach is when compared to the hysterics. I like the way it's going.

Please read this and understand, folks... - the Democrats don't

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think the deficit is important, no big deal really, they LIKE the way it's going.

Should be all the incentive you need to vote Republican. THIS post is a prime example of the mindset of the Democrat today.

La-la-la what deficit. We'll just print more money.

Sigh.

You have just completely told a lie and you want - people to believe YOU (sm)

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when all you're offering is an opinion, not backed up by one fact.

Well, if the government goes broke there - goes your freebies sooo...

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you better hope it doesn't. Who will get the last LOL then?

The government is not going broke. We are a rich country - despite all the recent hype

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Sure we need to make some changes, and we're doing that, but America is a rich country and we're not about to go broke. People start hysteria in order to get their way politically. There is a middle ground which is much smarter. Let's correct the problems that we have and not throw the baby out with the bath water.

Drunk on the kool-aid. Deficit of 14 trillion - and that's not a problem.

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again...you don't want ANYTHING to come between you and the government tit, including your fellow Americans.

Gee, thanks for that.

Right on! Well said. - nm

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

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