Repbulicans Dole out bonuses to staff while preaching fiscal responsibility

There was just a separate story out about Democrats doing this as well. Are you shocked?

 

http://hamptonroads.com/2011/03/us-congressmen’s-bonuses-staff-topped-100000

 

most liberal board i have ever seen.. i wonder why?

not say it's a bad thing

 

5.6% is not an extraordinary bonus amount. Don't see why I should be bothered. I am bothered that the Democrats aren't paying bonuses. Do you want to compete with the private sector for quality workers, or are you satisfied with the dregs who can't find employment elsewhere? Pay a bonus.

 

I have never in my working life received a bonus. I guess those are the breaks when you a) work for yourself or b) work for the state.

 

c) have a **** job.

 

I don't work for myself or the state and I get bonuses.

 

Same here. We tend to get less of an annual raise, but we get performance/incentive bonuses if our company meets certain objectives (with number one being we have to turn a profit).

 

yeah as long as they stay within their budget, then i have no problem with this.

 

The majority of Hill staffers make **** salary, especially when you take cost of living into consideration in DC. I work near Capitol Hill and work in the DC metro area. I live in a 2 bed/1 bath apartment in a building that is 50 years old and the rent is over $2,100 a month, and you pay extra for a parking spot if you need one.

Most staffers have to start out working either for free or for a very low stipend, and if they're lucky, they get hired on full time making around $30k a year. These guys work pretty long hours and often in extremely stressful and/or demanding situations.

After spending several months in the halls of Congressional offices, I can't tell you how important staff members are. Make a visit to Washington, DC, go to a Senate or House hearing and watch how much the Congressmen rely on their staff. Half of the time they are asked a difficult question, they turn around and look to their 25 year old staffer for the correct answer.

I say pay the kids more and give them a bigger bonus in most instances.

I'm not quite sure why, but it seems like our society is moving closer and closer to being one where success is frowned upon. I'm sorry, but I want the people making the laws in my country to make a good living. I want these kids to be rewarded and paid off for working hard, obtaining a good education, and wanting to help their country. These staffers on both sides of the aisle are so important. The Chiefs of Staff can make a pretty good salary in the mid $100k range and a couple other might make decent salaries, but the vast majority of staffers are not getting rich working on the Hill.

I know some will say this thread is about the hypocrisy of one political party, but this is so incredibly petty and shows a lot of ignorance. Wow, an average salary of $58k in a city with pretty high taxes (DC income taxes) and an incredibly high cost of living. I just ran a cost of living comparison calculator (unsure how accurate it is), but it says making $58,810 in DC is like making $34,764 in Houston, TX. Considering how well educated most of these kids are, it's a crazy low salary. Also, I'd guess that a lot of the younger staffers are carrying fairly significant student debt loads. Keep in mind that the relatively high salaries of the senior level staff and the low overall number of employees skews the average to a higher level than it is for most of the staff.

There are a lot of screwed up things going on in this world that are a result of people on both sides of the aisles (trust me, virtually every politician in DC is so bought and paid for it's funny to watch partisan minions bicker back and forth on a message board about which party wants the best for their country), but giving staff a small year-end bonus isn't one of them.

 

Maybe there were services rendered? You feel me? ... not there. STOP TOUCHING, SENATOR!

 

meh, they still find the pay too low, they can always change jobs.

But they don't, because they see payoff down the road. In the end, free market dictate that congressmen can low-ball young staffers because young staffers want something other than money. So they can't cry poor when they actively sought the job in the first place.

Personally, I don't really care either way. In the grand scheme of things, these are peanuts spending. A congressman deciding to dole out some $4000 bonuses is basically nothing compared to fighting a bunch of wars that only profit corporate interest while ruining the country's economy and killing our soldiers.

 

Wow.. So coming in under budget, returning money to the fed and able to pay a nice bonus to the low-paid staff at the end of the year is hypocrisy? If they were over budget or kept the extra money then yes that would be hypocrisy. I have no problem with this.

 

Sometimes you can be amazingly rude. Sheesh.

 

One can easily counter that a democrat, whose party is supposed to be "for the working people", finds problem with a small bonus for low paid staffers is hypocrisy.

 

My comment was intended to express that people who work for themselves (as I did for several years) and people who work for the state (as I have for several years) don't get bonuses. I have much better than a **** job, so Casey's comment doesn't apply to me, but I suppose it did in the years before I worked for myself.

 

libs crying about people getting too much money

work hard and u will do

if you wanna spread the wealth.. do it outta your own pockets

 

The combination of salary and bonus is not that high for DC. My bigger problem is the size of their staff. 18 people for each congressperson seems high. Of course, I have never done the job so I do not know, but since they are asking others to make sacrifices and want to cut the size of the government, they should start by cutting the size of the staff. They could start by eliminating one or two people a year for the next 5 years. No need to fire anybody, just do not replace everyone who leaves.