Controversy Over Pay Raises

This Congress that now wants thousands of dollars in pay raises has presided over the dismantling of the family farm, the misallocation of taxpayer resources to a corrupt Pentagon, and has protected industry that pollutes our earth in the name of free enterprise. It has allowed the American taxpayer to be raped by our own government officials who have arranged for the buyout of savings and loans knowingly run by the greedy and corrupt, has encouraged by its tax legislation the merger-acquisition-buyout mania that makes a few men wealthy but puts the average man out of work, and is allowing the sale of America to foreigners.

These men and women in Congress have the power, authority and responsibility to deal with these and our many other serious problems, yet they refuse to do so until the situation reaches “meltdown.”

Sadly, our members of Congress seem to be concerned with only two things: retaining their seats and increasing their salaries and benefits.

We, who scramble for pennies at a personal level, pay the bills. Congress spends our pennies into the billions, often paying for corruption and ineptitude at the highest level without oversight and accountability. This misallocation of our tax resources contributes to the lack of resources for domestic programs to alleviate the suffering of many of our fellow citizens now out of work, living in shelters, many of whom are children.

It is incredible that under these circumstances our Congress has the temerity to come begging for thousands of dollars in pay raises, saying they are long overdue. This “let them eat cake” attitude on the part of Congress is immoral.

It is my feeling that when Congress has the fortitude to handle some of this nation’s problems on a bipartisan level with the best interest of the country in mind, there will be overwhelming public support for a pay raise. At this point, I think we deserve a refund.

LAURELLA CROSS

Irvine