Joe Biden recently, on his last Christmas Eve in the Oval Office, signed 50 bills into law. No, I did not review all of these 50 bills. However, despite the fact that I do not often agree with Joe Biden, one of the signed bills struck me as very apropos. Namely, the one that would preclude members of Congress from collecting pensions if convicted of crimes. Right on, JB!
Also serendipitously on that same day Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) released on Dec. 24 his annual “Festivus” list of wasteful government spending in the past year.
“Last Festivus, we bemoaned the national debt nearing $34 trillion. In just a year, Washington’s career politicians and bureaucrats have managed to push it beyond $36 trillion—unsurprisingly, with hardly a second thought,” said Paul in the report.
Realizing that Joe Biden is liberal and Rand Paul is conservative, I think that both have merit. Additionally, I have another proposal that to me makes sense.
In general, almost all members of Congress leave office much more affluent than when they first arrived in Washington.
In 2002, the average congressional pension payment ranged from $41,000 to $55,000. As of November 2014, senior Members of Congress who have been in office for at least 32 years can earn about $139,000 a year.
I would propose that if a retired Congressman’s net value is more than X, he/she should not receive a pension. While I am happy that these retired individuals have achieved a significant amount of wealth while ‘serving’ the people, enough is enough.
In addition as long as there is a budget deficit higher than Y, no retirees should receive any pension. Granted that this means that the some retirees would be at the mercy of those in Congress at the time, it would be a strong incentive for active Congressmen to keep the deficit at a minimum.
BTW: I am available (with no pay) to help Musk and Ramaswamy with DOGE!
12/28/24