Congress — that hard-working bunch of men and women who have been assiduously and selflessly aggrandizing themselves serving the public in recent years by working together to control spending and balance budgets — allowed their automatic COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) increase to go into effect:
Despite record low approval ratings, House lawmakers Tuesday embraced a $3,300 pay raise that will increase their salaries to $168,500.
The 2 percent cost-of-living raise would be the seventh straight for members of the House and Senate.
[snip]
In the early days of GOP control of Congress, lawmakers routinely denied themselves the annual COLA. Last year, the Senate voted 92-6 to deny the raise but quietly surrendered the position in House-Senate talks.
Polimom has a thought or two about this:
There are corporate environments that also reward divisive behavior, juvenile antics, and political corporate back-stabbing, but these companies also often suffer from a high rate of employee turnover and low job satisfaction. Only in government would we carve this nonsense in stone, and then reward it.
The seventh straight year for COLA increases, minimal as they are (2% this year), compares rather badly with our rigidly defined minimum wage, which hasn’t had an increase since 1997.
And speaking of that minimum wage:
The House Appropriations Committee backed the proposal by a vote of 32-27 during work on a massive fiscal 2007 funding bill for labor and health programs.
The surprise result came after seven Republicans on the committee supported the Democratic amendment.
But the legislation faces many hurdles, including possible efforts by Republican leaders to have the proposal stricken from the legislation, according to Republican and Democratic aides.
Under the proposal, which was offered by House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, the current $5.15-per-hour federal minimum wage would rise in 70-cent increments starting January 1, 2007. On that date, the minimum wage would be set at $5.85 and a year later it would go to $6.55 before topping off at $7.25 in 2009.
[snip]
Republicans have blocked the move, claiming it would discourage hiring of low-skilled workers and hurt the economy.
Fascinating. Polimom can’t help wondering why it’s always good for the goose, but never for the gander.
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