This is a guest post by Tampa Bay Scene’s John Koniszewki
Every now and then when I’m online I see a post that says something along the lines of, “We should change Congress’s salary to minimum wage. Then we’d see some change!” This latest bill won’t manage that, but it’s a step in the right direction in terms of curbing the amount of money congress uses (and abuses).
This latest bill, under the catchy title “If Our Military Has to Fly Coach Then So Should Congress Act,” is pretty self-explanatory. It stops Congress from buying first-class seats on airplanes when they travel for Congress-related business, according to wate.com.
“Members of Congress should not be using taxpayers’ hard-earned money to buy luxury airline seats,” said Republican Paul A. Gosar, one of the members of Congress to propose the bill. Our country is sitting in a big ol’ hole of debt and I highly doubt this would make a dent in the problem. Still, it would be nice to know that the vast amount of money Congress receives isn’t being spent on someone’s extra legroom.
Via: washingtonpost.com
Although this is a step in the right direction for cutting congressional spending, Congress still has some cushy travel benefits. Our Congressmen and women have an average travel allowance of $256,574, a hefty amount that will remain untouched by the newly proposed bill.
I understand that travel is part of the job and that airline tickets aren’t cheap, but is all that money necessary? At least a portion of this ludicrous allowance should be cut from their budget too. Last time I checked allowance was something given to pimply, prepubescent teenagers, not members of Congress. They should be perfectly capable of finding cheap flights online.
Via: guestofaguest.com
Of course, this bill will not stop members of Congress from ever being able to attain first-class seating on planes. They can upgrade their seating by using frequent flier miles. Judging by the travel allowance, they must travel a lot, so Congressmen and women shouldn’t have any trouble racking up those frequent flier miles.
Hopefully the bill will pass. It would save money while hardly affecting the lives of those in Congress. Still, it would be nice to see more cuts in congressional spending in terms of luxury. I understand that holding such a high position in our country comes with a certain amount of grandeur; I just think that it shouldn’t. It’s far more important what Congressmen or women do with their positions in terms of progress and achievement as opposed to how much deeper they can sink our country into debt.
Featured photo courtesy of: au.ibtimes.com
