[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve3h45tGUiQ[/youtube]
“I struggle to meet my bills right now… The benefits that were offered to me as a congressman don’t even compare to the benefits that you get as a state employee. I just experienced that myself. They’re not nearly as good.”
— Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI), quoted by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, defending his congressional salary and benefits to a constituent who responded, “But $174,000 — that’s … three times what I make.” 
GOPers Demand Sean Duffy Salary Tape Be Pulled From The Internet
that’ll bite him in the ass come election time.
Wisconsin is over paid, that is over 6 times what I make in my own business, my wife makes in here job of 13 years a year, what 2 of kids make teaching. But they are public servants……….who get paid very well to do nothing.
That moron is a former “star” of the Real World, as is his wife. They pumped out 6 kids in the first few years they were married.
I’d love to jump on the bandwagon here, but the simply reality is people adapt to their relative incomes, so he might think he couldn’t make it on anything less although it put into that situation he probably could.
I know people who spent every dime they made when they made $30k and still spend every dime they make now that they make three times as much. They have no idea how they could ever live on anything less, but they used to do it without any issues. It is just human nature.
$174k is a lot money for most of us, but I bet if you put the average person on a salary like that for a few years and then cut their salary to $125k they would actually struggle. Just look at any celebrity who falls out of favor or any athlete who retires… a few years later many of them are bankrupt and broke because they couldn’t adapt to the new reality of a much lower income.
But yea… this won’t help him earn the middle and lower class vote during the next election. That is just stupidity on his part.
Costner, I think you’re missing the point, which is:
Duffy, as are so many politicians, is out of touch with the rest of us.
44% of our congresscritters are millionaires – and some of them worth up to half a billion.
There are many among us who make minimum wage – a tenth of what he makes. And they too, have mortgages, loans, children, car payments, insurance…
Then we hear the millionaire politicians go on Fox News or CNN or MSNBC and complain to the millionaire talking heads about how the poor people need to sacrifice more.
I’m not missing the point… but I don’t think his actions are reflective of just politicians or just Republicans. It is just reflective of those with that level of income.
However – the days of a common man being elected to office are over for the most part. It is all about back scratching and people who get elected need help from those in places of power or those with wealth. There is a circular structure in place so those same types of people continue to get elected time and time again.
If you figure out how to separate money from politics you would probably solve 80% of the problems in Washington, but I don’t see it happening in our lifetimes.