Double standard version 2.0

Am I the only one on the planet that can’t stand the double standard hypocrisy of our elected officials? Well I’ve talked about it before, but this time, this time above all previous, is so offensive that I just want to scream it out. Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, can’t we all agree that the Political Class (I refer to them as the Ruling Class) do not at all represent the people…at all!

What do I mean by represent the people? Ask yourself the following questions: Do our elected DC officials work for a business that needs to be successful, or if not successful, then the business dies (BK)? Do they or have they ever cut paychecks on a Friday? Do they have employees that rely on them to make good decisions?  Do they have strict budgets they need to abide by or does the money just fall from the sky like in DC? When times are tough does it affect them the same way as you? Are they from similar demographics or are they millionaires? Do they live in average neighborhoods? What about their education and previous jobs? Does their income reflect the average person’s pay in your state? Just about half of the 100 Senators in DC are millionaires. Does that 50% distribution sound the same as in your state based on the total population of your state? Footnote that the number of millionaires is especially interesting when considering the average pay of a Congressman is $176,000 per year. Most Senators come from a legal background. 55 US Senators are lawyers (55%). Is your state comprised of 55% lawyers? You get the point. At least half of our elected Senators are millionaire lawyers. The answer is: Our federal politicians might just as well be from another planet.

In addition to the above, Federal employees have a basket of benefits that the average citizen does not have. For example, Congress gets nearly 6 months off when including their out of session time and all of the Holiday days they are given. To be clear, Congress, our elected public servants) get every imaginable Holiday day off. One example you may have never heard of is Emancipation Day. Yep, they take that off also. And if it happens to fall on a weekend, then they just take it the following Monday. Sound good? Pensions are still provided to Congress with eligibility at 5 years. In addition, Congress people can participate in a fairly standard 401k style plan. Congress tried to exempt themselves from Obamacare and from my recent research it appears that they actually are using the ACA with certain reimbursements of some 72%. Congress receives many more benefits including annual staff allowances, furniture allowances, free travel, expense allowances, and free gym memberships for life.

But what’s really the point of this post is the CARES act that was just passed. These supposed leaders in Congress passed the biggest spending bill in the history of the world and yet through all of the process leading up to it and through its passage, they were never under any fear of job loss or cutbacks to themselves. Our Congress and its massive bureaucracy, was totally insulated from the real-world impact of COVID-19. The same people that can’t get anything done, didn’t have any downside or loss of job risk at all. How is it possible that a group of people can pass something that has no impact before or after passage on them? Congress jobs were never at risk. Their budgets and employees were not facing cuts. Nothing. So how can they truly pass something that doesn’t apply to them? Answer is they do it all the time. That’s the hypocrisy.

You may ask: “How could they have taken a step towards true representation?” They all saw this thing as it unfolded into the meltdown of the economy. Why wouldn’t they have done what every business leader does in a capitalistic free market environment? Take immediate pay cuts. Feel the pain of the people they represent. And it they didn’t get the CARES bill passed timely, take more cuts. It’s called “LEAD BY EXAMPLE”. Feel what your constituents act feel.

They should have been the FIRST ones to feel the impact of COVID-19. But the way it is, they are not impacted one bit. My understanding is an actual pay cut may not be possible due to Constitutional reasons, but obviously the money could be donated back to the CARES funding. I’m sure it could have been figured out. What about staff cuts and layoffs? Well they should have had to make staff cuts. Just like all the rest of the world is forced to do. What do they do? They went out on a limb and did a hiring freeze. How brave is Congress? Real sacrifice.

The bottom line is that our representatives don’t represent us. They represent themselves. And the bubble they live in excludes them from feeling the pain of the rest of the world. Their self-anointment as rulers of us automatically excludes them from being questioned. After all, they are more important than the rest of us!

One final point…for those Trump haters. There is one person in our government that puts his money where his mouth is and his name is Donald Trump. Trump donates 100% of his Presidential salary to various charities and has been doing so since day 1. I can’t think of any other “public servants” that can say the same.