A New Bill Could Create a Congress of Millionaires
Abolishing congressional pensions is a bad idea — and part of an insidious trend.
Joke’s on us.
Photographer: Olivier Douliery/Getty Images
Let’s put this bluntly: In a system of representative democracy — the system that all modern democracies have, in one variation or another — an essential requirement is quality representatives. That is, politicians. And as with every other profession, if you want quality, you have to pay for it.
I raise this because (very rich) new Senator Mike Braun of Indiana and (also very rich) new Senator Rick Scott of Florida are pushing now to eliminate pensions for members of Congress. We might as well call their bill the “Congress for the Wealthy Only Act.” We already have a lot of millionaires in Congress. Cutting pay, whether it’s salary or pensions, is a good way to prevent anyone else from running. The truth is that we should be looking for ways to make it easier to serve (such as building housing for members of Congress on Capitol Hill), not making it harder.