Poll: America Wants Congress to Share in the Sacrifice

Last updated on April 12th, 2013 at 10:31 pm

Once again, Republicans are showing just how far removed from reality they are.  This time it’s on the question of sharing in the sacrifice, as the President is doing by returning 5% of his salary.  It’s cynical, they say while simultaneously claiming they won’t join in the sacrifice because they need the salaries they get for obstructing the nation’s business 126 days a year.

According to Gallup,  most of America wants Congress to share in the sacrifice by giving back a portion of their pay.

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When asked:  “As a result of sequestration, do you think members of Congress should or should not voluntarily return 5%/25% of their salary” It seems that what remains of people willing to identify themselves as Republicans, 82% would like Congress to return 5% of their pay, while 77% of Democrats believe Congress should take a pay cut of 5%. Regardless of party identification, 79% of Americans want Congress to share in the sacrifice they think is good enough for babies, grandma, expectant mothers and cancer patients.

Gee, I guess America just doesn’t appreciate all the hard work that goes into sabotaging the economy, declaring war on 99% of America and cozying up to the wacky Wayne Lapierre.

Seriously, when Republicans aren’t buying the sob stories about how hard it is to live on $174k a year, while 90% of Americans have to find a way to live on much less, conservative members of Congress are passing up a very simple way of “reaching out” beyond the old white men from the south.

We just feel for people who claim that taking food out of children’s mouths is just the incentive you lazy people need to get a job.  We cry a river for people who can’t manage to live on $174k (excluding perks and benefits) while claiming that people eking out a survival on $19k a year don’t need a pay raise, or benefits or even an assurance that their employers will have to pay them that minimum wage.

Actually, even the few people who still admit that they are Republicans favor a bit of that cynicism that comes with seeing the country’s leaders sharing in the sacrifice.

I’m finding the Republicans’ reluctance to share in the sacrifice ironic on a number of levels. Let’s begin with the obvious.  They claim that government has a “spending problem” therefore cancer patients should be denied access to life saving chemo-therapy, children must go hungry, and granny should suck it up and dole out more of her fixed income to the private health “insurers”.  Thanks to sequestration, Federal Government workers face furloughs and a substantial loss of income and it doesn’t occur to Republicans that they also need their salary to provide for their families. At the same time, they oppose cuts to corporate subsidies or horror of horrors the prospect of the rich paying their share of taxes because, heavens to Betsy, it’s even harder to get by on a billion dollar annual income than $174k. Yet, somehow it is easy to live on 19k a year.

The same people who claim that the poor waste their money on things like food and shelter, can’t manage to survive on nearly 10 times more income, and that doesn’t include the assets and resources they have aside from their paycheck from the public purse.  It makes you wonder how on earth these people can manage the country’s finances, when they can’t manage their personal finances.

Moreover, if we really do have a spending problem, as Republicans claim when they take a hacksaw to programs that people need to survive, one would think they would jump at the opportunity to cut even more spending by voluntarily returning part of the pay they take to ignore their constituents.  Besides if they don’t like the pay and benefits that come with ignoring their constituents, maybe they should just find a better job – perhaps at one of those sweatshops that fence people out because the working conditions and pay are so appealing.

Come on Congress, show us the sacrifice!

Image: The Uban Politico

Adalia Woodbury

Former contributor.