Reason #4: The Privileged Class
There’s a reason why politicians set up shop in Washington and never leave. Put simply, they live like kings. Most American families must bring in two incomes to make ends meet, forcing both parents to work full time. But federal lawmakers do not have that problem. The starting rate for members of Congress is over $165,000 per year, four times the nationwide average of $40,409 and more than fifteen times what workers making the minimum wage bring home. Mothers and fathers around the country constantly struggle to find and pay for adequate child care. Again, not a problem for our lawmakers. The Congressional Employees’ Child Care Centers provide excellent babysitting services.
Members of Congress have their own gymnasium, their own stores, and their own hairdressers. They have “franking” privileges, allowing them to send mail at cheaper rates. After only five years of service – that’s right, five years – they qualify for a full pension. They can supplement their retirement fund by putting an additional five percent of their salaries into a 401(k)-style “Thrift Savings Plan.” And while millions of their fellow Americans go without adequate health coverage, thanks in large part to lawmakers’ kowtowing to the health care industry, Congress members enjoy the highest quality medical care.
But many career lawmakers are not content with great healthcare, big pensions, free mail, and all the other legislative lagniappes, so they pull friends and family members onto the gravy train. A recent study revealed that 64 House lawmakers have hired spouses, children and other relatives onto their campaigns over the last six years.
Representative Chris Cannon, a Republican from Utah, put six of his eight kids on his campaign rolls. Democrat Pete Stark tapped his wife to be his elections treasurer. And the aptly named Julie Doolittle, wife of California congressman John Doolittle, was allowed to keep 15 percent of every contribution she brought in for her husband’s campaign. As the one of the authors of the study put it, “It’s a way for lawmakers to use their position as a profit center for their families … [and] to supplement their congressional salaries.”
I guess nearly two hundred thousand dollars a year just isn’t enough to get by.
Bernard Madoff, well politically connected, is also an hononary member of the Politicaly Privileged Class. If he out lives his court dates he my be speding time at Lompoc or similar facitity. Might have \”Boots\” Bataglia as a roomate!
The fowowing were observations made by Michael Santos, former inmate at Lompoc.
http://prisonreformblog.com/PrisonReformBlog/2009/01/locking-up-bernard-madoff-may-advance-prison-reform.html
Living Conditions of FCC Lompoc
FPC Lompoc, Minimum Security:
Inmates at the minimum-security camp were assigned to two housing units. The housing units were like an open dormitory. There were no partitions, just six rows of beds and lockers that stretched from one end of the dormitory to the other. Accordingly, privacy was non-existent. There were no tables for writing inside the housing unit, nor were there televisions or telephones. The housing units were crammed with people, and they were used only for sleeping. Despite the crowded conditions, I was able to adjust and, served very easy time during the two years at spent confined inside Lompoc Camp.
The housing units had community bathrooms, though they were designed to accommodate the needs of far fewer inmates. Accordingly, they bathrooms sometimes required a wait, and they I usually were filthy despite a cadre of inmates cleaning them every few hours.
Outdoor recreation was spectacular. Lompoc camp offered an outstanding weight training area with a wide selection of free weights and machines. There was not a running track, but I was able to run each morning around the magnificently beautiful compound, through tall eucalyptus trees and fragrant pines. An extraordinary garden was available where inmates could sit on wooden benches and savor the scenic vistas of the nearby valley. Being outside at Lompoc camp was very soothing.
The one aspect of Lompoc Camp that I did not like was that administrators structured the inmates’ time with work demands. Newer inmates appreciated the work, as it helped them pass through the pains of confinement. As a longer-term inmate, I preferred to spend more time writing and reading and exercising. With the full-time work schedule at Lompoc Camp I did not have as much freedom to focus on the preparations I like to make for release
http://lompocprison.com/index.html