In case you've been wondering, “What's good for the goose is good for the gander.” is a 17th century English proverb:
I think the proverb is essentially true. Though in this instance I'm not talking about male and female geese, those of us in government and the rest of us who are not. We have a sort of us versus them situation on our hands, featuring politicians and bureaucrats versus us common folk.
Which is why my idea for a new law called the “Goose Gander” law. I think the English origin of the phrase is also appropriate, given that much of our legal heritage comes from English common law.
A Goose Gander law is also high on the list of dictums I would issue if I were Dictator for a Day. I don't believe in dictatorships and would never propose one, but if I could be Dictator for a Day the topics in these columns and podcasts are the sorts of things I'd like to accomplish.
I am tired of hearing about special privileges that a few people get, but the rest of us do not. It's especially tiring knowing we (the unprivileged majority) are paying for these privileges while not receiving them.
Be prepared to get tired while reading this.
So how does Goose Gander work?
Basically, Goose Gander would dictate that lawmakers cannot exempt themselves from any of the myriad laws they create for the rest of us. They cannot give themselves anything: privileges, property, perks, that they don't also give to the rest of us.
My Goose Gander law is based on the principle that we are all created equal. No person is better than another person. I have to obey the laws and the rules the same as you, right?
So, why isn't Congress equal?
It's not enough that Congress gets to vote its own pay raises. It also gets to exempt itself from laws, and give itself perks and privileges that the rest of us mere mortals have no access to, but of course, are paying for.
Let's start with compensation. As of this writing members of Congress earn at least $174,000 a year. Some earn more, primarily through seniority and position or title. These include the House majority and minority leaders, $193,000 and the Speaker of the House, $223,500.
The House is scheduled to be in session 172 days in 2022. That's the time each member is expected to be on the job. There are some who would argue this is a part-time job.
There's also nothing exclusive about where House members may work in their off-hours. While there are ethics laws designed to prevent conflicts of interest, Congress has exempted itself from a good portion of those laws by creating loopholes allowing them to work for companies holding government contracts. In some instances, they may be in industries that Congress writes legislation to regulate.
Here's a classic example. Between 2005 and 2018 Representative Jim Cooper (D-TN) - while a Congressman paid by taxpayers - was also on the payroll of Vanderbilt University as an adjunct faculty member. Cooper received $250,000 in total compensation.
Vanderbilt got an adjunct professor to teach health care policy in the university's health care MBA program. But that's not all Vanderbilt got. Between 2014 and 2018 the university received $2.6 billion in federal contracts, grants and direct payments. Cooper's not just any congressman. He's a powerful Congressman on the Budget Committee and the Committee on Oversight and Reform. A side note: Vanderbilt's executives and employees were - and may still be - Cooper's #1 campaign donors ($135,261).
This is the kind of abuse we talked about in a recent column and podcast promoting Term Limits. It's also the kind of abuse a Goose Gander law might prevent if Congress knew conflicts of interest were allowed for everyone.
Imagine a Congressman receiving medical treatment, only to learn his doctor had been treating him with the drug a pharmaceutical company was paying the doctor to promote, as opposed to the best drug for the Congressman's particular medical circumstances.
(You can listen to a dramatization of this situation on the podcast version, also titled Goose Gander.)
With Goose Gander - Everyone could have conflicts of interest and earn more money!
But wait, there's more!
If you're in congress you get social security and a special annuity pension.
This is interesting because no one knows how much those pensions amount to. Most of the time you can't find out because pension annuities to federal employees are considered private information and not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Even though we're all paying for them we don't have the right to know how much we're paying.
But there are some things we know.
We know members of congress get a better retirement plan and savings plan than the many of us on social security.
Currently, the, the average social security recipient NOT a member of Congress receives about $20,000 a year. That's not even close to the average pension members of Congress are getting. This paragraph from Investopedia is worth quoting in its entirety:
“Congressional members are eligible for their own unique pension plans under the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), though there are other retirement benefits available, ranging from Social Security and the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Currently, members of Congress are eligible for a pension dependent on the member's age at retirement, length of service, and salary. The pension value can be up to 80% of the member's final salary. Since 2009 Congressional pay has been $174,000 per year, which, at an 80% rate, equates to a lifelong pension benefit of $139,200. All benefits are taxpayer-funded.”
Members of Congress also get to take advantage of something called the Thrift Savings Plan. It's a sort of 401k for federal workers, in everything but fees paid by participants. The fees paid by TSP participants are much lower than typical 401k fees, because they are taxpayer-subsidized. This saves participants thousands of dollars over a lifetime compared to the average 401k.
But wait - IT GETS BETTER!
If you're a Congressman you also get Worker's Compensation Insurance and Social Security Disability. AND - LISTEN TO THIS - You can claim Congress made you mentally ill and claim worker's comp as a bonus!
Jesse Jackson Jr. did just that! The Chicago Tribune reports Jackson is knocking down a cool $138,500 a year… more than he made as a freshman congressman - and most of it in tax-free worker's comp that you and I are paying for. This would be in addition to his lucrative Congressional retirement benefits.
Side Note: Jackson pleaded guilty to looting his campaign fund of _ of a MILLION dollars to pay for vacations, luxury goods and celebrity memorabilia.
Congress takes care of its own. NO member of Congress has ever been stripped of a federal pension due to a conviction.
So what are some of the other perks that a congressman gets that you and I don't, and that a Goose Gander law might eliminate?
Try finding a parking space around the U.S. Capitol sometime. Not a problem in Congress. Congressmen can park illegally. They've got special Congressional plates.
You probably don't have special plates, correct? They also have free RESERVED parking at Reagan National Airport, and a dedicated customer service line to handle their airline reservations. Your Congressman can reserve seats on multiple flights, but only pay for the flight boarded!
(Listen to a dramatization of this on our companion podcast of the same name - Goose Gander.)
If you're in Congress, having a dedicated customer service line for airline reservations is great if you travel back and forth between the capital and the state you represent. With 195 days off each year, that can happen a lot. Those 195 days represent the days when Congress is out of session.
How many days off are you getting this year?
If 195 days off isn't enough, and apparently it's not, members of Congress also get subsidized healthcare - about 72% subsidized - and a taxpayer subsidized gym membership. Just $25 a month gets any Congressman who wants it a full gym membership complete with sauna, steam room, paddleball and a swimming pool.
Some Congressional Perks we don't find out about unless the news media uncovers them.
IN 2017 BuzzFeed and other news organizations began reporting on a sexual slush fund in Congress, a special fund established to use taxpayer money to pay off claims of sexual harassment against members of Congress.
Sexual harassment complaints must be filed with the Office of Compliance, set up and funded by - Congress! The complaint process is long and involved. Complainants who have gone through it say it's like going thru a grinder. A requirement for accepting a settlement: you never talk about it.
In 2017 the Washington Post reported that the sexual slush fund paid out $17 million for 264 settlements with federal employees over 20 years for various violations, including sexual harassment. Since then the Office of Compliance has changed its name. It's now called the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights. Same job. Different moniker.
Apparently some Congressmen have settled on the side, electing not to go through the Office of Compliance / Office of Congressional Workplace Rights.
BuzzFeed also reported:
“Michigan Rep. John Conyers, a Democrat and the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives (at the time), settled a wrongful dismissal complaint in 2015 with a former employee who alleged she was fired because she would not 'succumb to [his] sexual advances.'” Conyers reportedly confirmed the settlement but vehemently denied the claims of sexual harassment.”
A side note - Conyers wasn't the only one accused of sexual harassment. The #me too movement triggered other allegations. By 2018, four Democrats and 5 Republicans had been forced out of office over sexual complaints.
It's time for a Goose Gander law, preventing lawmakers from exempting themselves from laws they create for the rest of us, and preventing them from giving themselves anything - privileges, property, perks - that they don't also give to the rest of us. Goose Gander might not take care of every abuse, but it would certainly be a start.
Listen to this episode on the Dictator for a Day Podcast. Same topic. Different presentation!