Theoretically, if you are earning 174K a year as a Republican member of US Congress or Senate, would you risk losing your job by not supporting Trump?

Part of it is the money, but a lot of the appeal of being a congressman is the prestige – being invited on junkets, free dinners, the ego boost of giving speeches, and so on. And let’s be honest, no congressman makes ONLY 174,000 – there are campaign contributions, under-the-table gifts, speech honoraria – so income for a congress person is probably double 174,000.

Two other things:

- Congress people don’t work that hard, although they say they do. They can always blame failures on the other party; while the claim credit for any victories. There is no real accountability, since there is no real performance standard. Look at Matt Gaetz, the child molester, or Menendez, the gold hustler. Still in congress.

- Risk of finding a job. Suppose you are in Congress now as a republican, but disagree with Trump. So you quit Congress. Who is going to hire you? No republican will. You’ll be seen as a traitor. Worse yet, what are you qualified to do?

It’s self preservation that keeps them in office.

If I was to run and get elected to congress, I’d be more idealistic than most, I like to think. I was elected to do a job and that would be what I did. If my views of what was good for my constituents didn’t align with what Trump wanted, I wouldn’t support it. I wouldn’t support him or oppose him blindly, for some silly party support. In the end, I should be able to tell my constituents what I was doing and why I was doing it. If my constituents didn’t want to re-elect me that is okay too. It’s supposed to be a temporary job anyway.

In addition to the $174K, they also get free health care and a lot of expenses covered. It’s part of the package when you sell your soul.

@seawulf575 your last sentence – “it was supposed to be a temporary job anyway” is right on.

The problem is that members of both parties – for 100 years or more – have turned their congressional positions into sinecures. And they never leave.

@elbanditoroso I don’t necessarily agree that the job itself is easy. To do it right can be extremely difficult and stressful. The problem is that for the past 100 years or more, we have gotten an increasing number that don’t want to do it right. They have no honor, they have no morals…it has become a farce.

I know that the left hates Kari Lake from AZ, but her bombshell against the Repubs (and she is a Repub) trying to bribe her to get out of the race shows she has backbone and values. In answer to this question, she was willing to pass on being able to write her own ticket because of those values. I wish more politicians had that sort of attitude.

In addition to the $174K, they also get free health care

Nope! That’s a myth.

Reps, Senators and their staff buy health insurance from the ACA (aka Obamacare) exchanges, just like other Americans without company-sponsored health insurance.

The Relationship Between Congress and Obamacare – Updated on October 15, 2023

she has backbone and values

True, in that rotten dishonest values are a kind of value.

Lake’s core campaign plank is “Elections where Donald Trump and Kari Lake lose are stolen!!!!”

Travel, salary, loopholes in the laws that apply to other people, and 72% subsidized health insurance. Here’s a link from 2020. You know I love to provide links.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2020/05/29/perks-members-of-congress-give-to-themselves--the-selfie-report/?sh=519286d6270f

So much misinformation!

- The $174,000 salary is unchanged since 2009.

- Outside earned income is limited to 15% of the base salary, or $26,100. Nobody gets wealthy by serving in Congress while working additional jobs.

- speech honoraria Since 1991, Representatives and Senators have been prohibited from accepting honoraria

- free health care Members of Congress purchase their health insurance through the District of Columbia ACA exchange. They choose from a menu of health insurance providers and plans, and they pay approximately 28% of the premiums through payroll deductions. There’s an Attending Physician for Congressional members and Supreme Court justices, but services are generally limited to emergency and routine care, much like a school nurse or workplace infirmary. Each eligible person pays an annual fee for the Attending Physician.

- a lot of expenses covered Representatives and Senators have accounts to pay for staff (Capitol Hill and home states), office expenses, postage, and travel to-and-from home. Usage rules are strict, and every cost is accounted for, reported, and can’t be spent for personal or campaign-related expenses. If outlays exceed the allowance, the Member of Congress personally pays the difference out-of-pocket. Members are prohibited from using campaign or committee funds, or accepting money from private sources, to cover official duties.

- Unless the Representative or Senator lives close to D.C., s/he needs to maintain 2 residences. There’s no housing allowance; the individual pays for both homes from personal resources.

- campaign contributions Campaign money isn’t a personal slush fund. The safekeeping and use of such money is subject to complex law, far beyond the scope of this discussion, and regulated by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

- Congress people don’t work that hard It’s astoundingly difficult and demanding to be a Member of Congress. In addition to what’s done in Washington, the real work takes place at home. Each Representative has an average of 700K bosses in the form of constituents, and a Senator answers to as many people as living within the entire state. When Congressional members are home, they’re working.

@Love_my_doggie And yet, there seems to be an inordinate number of congressional persons that do quite well.Senators_and_Representatives(Personal_Gain_Index) doubling their net worth yearly. Amazing that you can do that on $200k/yr

@seawulf575 It says “the page you are looking for does not exist.”

Try it now. I was trying to clean up the link.

Here’s a Wikipedia link about the wealthiest congressmen, currently:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_current_members_of_the_United_States_Congress_by_wealth

https://ballotpedia.org/Changes_in_Net_Worth_of_U.S.Senators_and_Representatives(Personal_Gain_Index)

@seawulf575 Still doesn’t work. I provided a Wikipedia link about the topic above.

Here’s an article about how they get so wealthy. Atlantic (magazine) has an article but I know they have a paywall. Here’s one from Business Insider. I haven’t yet read it:

https://www.businessinsider.com/how-richest-members-congress-made-money-house-senate-2019-2#15-francis-rooney-226-million-1

How many of you have worked on a Congressional staff? I did so for many years.

Some legislators have considerable resources—earned, inherited, or by marriage—before being elected to office, which is how they can afford to do the job. Otherwise, Members of Congress generally live very modestly and humbly. Quite a few legislators stay in their Capitol Hill offices, because they can’t afford a 2nd residence.

@Love_my_doggie If you’re partly referring to me, please forgive me, but I am not putting congress people down. I’m only googling and providing links to what I find.

A lot of congressman are rich without the salary and perks of being a senator or representative, so my thought is, if you have over a million dollars and a house and earn $300k a year, will you risk giving up $174k a year for your integrity. The 15% rule I didn’t know about, does it apply to capital gains, dividends and interest?

It’s not a sure bet you will lose. Depends what state or what district. The politician could become an independent and try again.

This is the richest one, from the Wikipedia link (provided above). He has an MBA and owns McDonalds franchises, in addition to a hog farm and other businesses. Interestingly, he pushed for the PPP to be increased to larger amounts for franchises, which benefits him as a franchise owner. Details are in the article.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Hern

@JLeslie The 15% rule I didn’t know about, does it apply to capital gains, dividends and interest? No. The law affects earned income, which doesn’t include investment income, capital gains, or other passive forms of income.

^^Ok, so many of them are earning high “incomes” they just aren’t toiling away for it.

@Call_Me_Jay Do you agree they are making money off of investments? Stock market, real estate, etc.

^^^ Yes. “Earned income” is active, sweat-of-your-brow money, generally subject to Social Security and Medicare taxation.

Someone might inherit a massive investment portfolio and have high capital gains and interest/dividend income. Or, the person might have earned the resources and invested them well. Yet another legislator might have married someone well-off (e.g. Bernie Sanders).

I would stand my ground and hold my character against people like Trump if I was making $17.5 dollars an hour or $1.7Million.

My job and income is not held hostage by who I work for if I do not believe in them. I have left plenty of organizations because the top moved in the wrong way.

I would hope I’d have the integrity to do that.

It’s fascinating how many people in congress are so good at trading that they consistently beat the market by huge margins. I’m amazed, they must be so smart. Even the best people on Wallstreet can’t compete with them. Corporations must recognize just how smart they are when they give them high positions and seats on their boards when they’re out of office.

If I was there to serve the Constitution and the Nation, I would demand Trump’s ass be locked up.

My husband left two jobs during his career because he felt the people at the top were pushing the line ethically. They were within the law, but it just felt bad to him. I feel confident he would leave office or stand up for the truth even if it cost him his job. I’m sure there are others like him, but most probably don’t last long in politics. Hard to sleep at night for those people who get so uncomfortable in those situations.

I am somewhat pleased that I have almost nothing in common, with politicians.

The benefits may be exponentially more, than the actual salary.

The more corrupt you are, the more you are rewarded

Such offices should actually get paid like a teacher, or first responder.
Mandatory term limits, should be in place.

It should be somewhat of a burden to have such power. These positions should not be lucrative, by design.
It sucks to punish the few who are building fortune through legal means.
However. As long as someone can make a career out of a political office, it will draw the worst types of people.