Petty Cash for Congress: Increased $93,000 per Member
Remember President Hopey Changey’s castigation of those nasty Wall Street types who had the gall to give out or accept bonuses in these hard economic times? Shame on them! says the President!
From the WSJ:
A few quick facts about Wall Street bonuses. The pretext for the political outrage was the New York comptroller’s report this week on the aggregate data for bonuses in 2008. That “irresponsible” bonus pool of $18 billion was for every worker in the New York financial industry, from top dogs to secretaries. This bonus pool fell 44% in 2008, the largest percentage decline in 30 years. The average bonus was $112,000; bonuses typically make up most of an employee’s salary on Wall Street. The comptroller estimates that this decline will cost New York State $1 billion in lost tax revenue and New York City $275 million. Both city and state may have to announce layoffs.
(Emphasis mine)
So, the faux Populist, Pinhead President excoriates the business community for giving and accepting most of their compensation for doing their jobs (we can discuss whether or not they earned it later!), but has nary a word of criticism for the members of Congress, who blow nearly this much money, not for their compensation, but for “petty cash”???
If you want to talk about a bunch of people who didn’t do their jobs, how about the boneheads in Congress that passed a $700 Billion (with a “B”) bailout bill, but were shocked, yes shocked! to find out that since they wrote no regulations as to how the money was to be spent, $350 Billion dollars was spent on whatever the recipients felt like spending it on!
Who is more irresponsible? The teenager who drives drunk or the adult who gives him a bottle of whiskey and the car keys???
Obama should look to reining in the wasteful and profligate spending of Congress before he turns his faux indignation towards anyone who works for a living!
Hat tip Gateway Pundit via Doug Ross
Cross Posted at Proof Positive
