(Here is my very first piece over at The Watchdog….)
-By Warner Todd Huston
A recent survey of the wealth of members of Congress revealed that, on average, it would take the combined wealth of 18 American households to equal the wealth of a single member of Congress. While this is an averaged statistic and individual cases vary, a review of the wealth of members of the Illinois delegation to Washington proves the rule rather than the exception.
The January report by OpenSecrets.org found that, “The median net worth of a member of Congress was $1,029,505 in 2013… compared with an average American household’s median net worth of $56,355.”
It is apropos to review what members of Congress are paid as they serve in Washington. Members of the House of Representatives are paid $174,000 a year, a salary that has been frozen in place since 2009. Speakers of the House and majority and minority leaders make a bit more than the average Congressman to befit their higher positions. Members of the House cannot collect a pension until they have served for five years, meaning they’d have to win election three times. Their pensions are never higher than 80 percent of their highest salary and is paid out at retirement age–unless they are still working somewhere in the federal government. In that case, they can’t collect a pension until they are no longer earning a federal salary.
So, what about Illinois? Well, the congressional salary itself certainly puts our representatives in a higher tax bracket than the average citizen of their state. According to information released by the U.S. Census, the median household income of the 13 million some citizens in Illinois is $56,777 annually. That is about 7 percent higher than the national average…
Read the rest at Watchdog Arena.
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Illinois’ House Reps Have More Wealth Than Average Member of Their Electorate”
We do a lot of carping on blogs and in the media about what our Representatives in Congress do, of course. But once in a while we should praise them when they get together and do something right.
The Illinois Republican Party held its 2012 Party Convention this weekend. On the docket was addressing some asked for rules changes and picking a slate of delegates to the GOP national convention to nominate Mitt Romney to carry the Party’s banner in the upcoming presidential election. My ultimate analysis is that this was a status quo convention, but signs show that the status quo might not be too long for this world.
For such a blue state, Illinois has some rather good Republicans in Congress, but on one issue many of them consistently fail. That is in their unfortunate support for Big Labor. The issue of Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) is a perfect example of this penchant to support issues dear to the hearts of Big Labor.
I write against what I consider the outrages of the left every day. But occasionally someone on my own side, someone I otherwise support, will cast a boneheaded vote, or say something stupid, or advocate for a wrongheaded policy. I have to address such situations when they occur and this week the Rockford Tea Party is under my microscope for advocating that voters in the newly reconfigured 16th District should undervote (as in not vote) for Congressman Adam Kinzinger in the upcoming general election.
Over the weekend I was invited to the reenlistment ceremony of Aviation Structural Mechanic, Third Class Petty Officer (AM3) Luis Mejia, a resident of New Lennox. Coming off eight years, Meija, 43, reenlisted for another six and for his ceremony he asked 11th District Congressman Adam Kinzinger to conduct his Monday ceremony.
So, it was claimed to be the end of the world if Congress didn’t vote on the debt bill. But not every Illinois Republican voted to support GOP leader and House Speaker John Boehner’s bill. Let’s see how the Illinois GOP delegation voted, shall we?