Proving once again why he is widely known as Jim Moron

Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va., has announced that members of Congress are underpaid. Now, most people would think that the $174,000 annual salary collected by most members of Congress -- some get more, based on leadership posts -- would be just fine, thank you. After all, the median household income in 2012 was $51,371, meaning those poor, impoverished congressman are only making more than three times the national median per household -- and nobody is calculating how much their spouses make.

Sure, these guys have homes back in their districts or states and also have to have a place to live in Washington while Congress is in session. Moran seems to think this is a reason for a raise:

Moran says the congressional salary isn’t enough for some lawmakers, who have to pay for housing in Washington and in their home districts. He notes there are members who sleep in their offices, rent “little” apartments or rooms from others on Capitol Hill or share housing with their colleagues while they go about their business in Washington.

Wow. Living in "little" apartments. Renting rooms from others. Getting roommates. Sounds like what a lot of people I know have had to do when they first got here making a lot less than Moron -- excuse me, Moran. My heart bleeds for these fucks. Fear not. Moron -- excuse me, Moran -- has a solution to help these poor, oppressed members of congress:

The congressman, who will retire at the end of this term, plans to introduce an amendment to the spending bill that funds the legislative branch that would give lawmakers a per diem.

First of all, please note the part of that sentence that reads "who will retire at the end of this term." Moron -- excuse me, Moran -- has been in Congress since 1991 -- 23 years, kids -- and apparently thought the job paid just fine. Face it, being a congressman is just like any other job -- if you think it doesn't pay enough, don't take it. Given the opportunities for graft, corruption and legal pocket-lining, Moron -- excuse me, Moran -- apparently  thought the job paid just fine right up until he hit retirement age (he was born in 1945). I have no idea whether Moron -- excuse me, Moran -- took advantage of those opportunities for graft and corruption, but I do know he never complained about the pay before this.

As for his bill that would give lawmakers a per diem, I hope something like that passes. But not one that gives them a salary and a per diem. I think that federal legislators, like most state legislators, should have to hold real jobs because their jobs as members of the legislature are not full-time. Give the Congressfucks a per diem while they are in session. Make it enough that they can live on it, but not so much that they want to be in session all the time. Those assholes would go home so fast your head would spin. And then we could return to the citizen-legislator model the founders envisioned.

Face it -- legislators who had to earn a living subject to the laws they pass would be a lot more careful about the laws they pass. As it is, Congress is exempt from most laws, including things like sexual harassment laws, because they're too important to have to worry about stuff like that. Full-time legislatures create professional elite classes who view their role as to rule over the masses, not to serve the people.

Moron -- excuse me, Moran -- is flat wrong. Congressmen don't make too little, they make too much. Make them actually earn a living instead of sucking off the public teat for a far more comfortable living than the vast majority of the public enjoys, and you might see responsibility return to government. Make them live by the laws they pass and maybe they'll start considering the burden their legislative pronouncements place upon the public. Most important, make them go home to make a living and they will hear from the people they supposedly represent every damn day -- at the water cooler, in the bathroom, in the break room, in the parking lot -- and what they will hear might make them re-think what they do in Washington.

Final bonus -- if they are working for a per diem instead of a salary (with multiple perks) that is the envy of almost everyone in the country, they might be a little less eager to stay in Washington creating rules on how the rest of us have to live our lives. Particularly if those rules also apply to them.