CNN reports that the economy hasn't hurt everyone. Congress is planning to give themselves a 4.1% pay increase; the fourth consecutive pay increase. Not only does Congress have the unique power of being able to vote themselves a raise, but they have actually it set up so that their raises are automatic, and a vote needs to be held to stop them from occurring.

Last year, Senator Tom Daschle, Soc.-SD gave himself a pay raise and then had the nerve to tell Greta Van Susteren on "On the Record" that it was "not a raise." By Tom's logic, since his pay raise was but a mere 3.1%, it was in fact a pay "cut". We should all have that luxury.

Personally, I haven't had a raise in over two years. At my last company, we were told that pay raises would be frozen for during the hard economic times. While weathering the storm, I watched our number of employees decrease from over 90,000 to less than 30,000. After two years of layoffs, I had the experience of being let go right before the holidays. My layoff was followed by about 5 months of unemployment. Considering my current job pays about 3% less than my last one, I still have some catching up to do to match the 3-5% annual pay raises that Congressmen enjoy.

I will also note that my cost of living has increased threefold in the past year, since I moved from low-rent Ohio to high-rent DC. While the move was self inflicted, even had I stayed in Ohio or been living in DC the entire time, I would still be facing pretty steep inflationary increases. Property tax increases have pushed up rental prices and tax payments for everyone. The hot housing market has inflated the cost of homes, and of course there have been the ubiquitous "War on Terror" travel, insurance, and gas price hikes.

My biggest complaint about Congressional raises is the lack of accountability. Regular folk like me don't have the luxury of setting their own salary, and then seizing money from Americans (using the threat of lethal force) to pay for it. I mean I could try to give myself a raise and force my neighbors to pay for it, but I'd probably end up in jail. Even union employees have to negotiate a raise with management, and management has to negotiate their raises with the shareholders. There is always a bottom line. With government, there is no bottom line. When they want more money, they just go out and take it.

Democrats and Republicans alike have been "serving the public" for so long that they seem to have forgotten who they work for. Spending and taxes continue to increase, while private sector salaries have pretty much stagnated. I'm tempted to ask that Congressional and political salaries be tied to economic performance. Since Congress ultimately has so much say in how much money this country pisses away, they should be paid for performance. During economic slow downs their pay raises should slow down. During recessions and/or periods of high unemployment, Congressional salaries should be frozen or even rolled back. I'm tempted to recommend tying it to the size of the deficit, but I know they'd just raise taxes to cover their spendthrift habits.

Of course, for many in Washington the pay seems largely symbolic any way. Many Congressmen (Senators especially) would probably work for free if they could hold onto the tremendous power that they currently wield. That power is best illustrated by the big lobbying money that comes in to gain access to their political influence. With the passage of the dreaded Seventeenth Amendment, the checks and balances of state power over Senators was effectively eliminated. Throw in a six year election cycle, the Incumbent Protection Act, and pork barrel spending, and it's no wonder that Senators rarely worry about their job.