Imagine telling your boss you’re taking six weeks off between April and July, then rewarding yourself with an additional entire month off, and still collecting a six-figure salary.

While most hardworking Americans show up five days a week, clock in 40+ hours, and worry about how to fund retirement, members of Congress are living in a completely different reality. While most Americans must navigate high insurance premiums and 401(k)s, members of Congress enjoy a base salary of $174,000/year, and also receive major perks:

• A generous taxpayer-subsidized, lifetime medical health insurance benefit for life
• A taxpayer-funded, lifetime pension after just 5 years of service
• Hefty travel budget allowances
• Unparalleled access to confidential financial and investment data

From healthcare to pensions, travel reimbursements to gym access, Congress has quietly built an ever-growing benefits empire for itself, funded by taxpayers who will never get the same treatment.

Workload Comparison Chart

Even more alarming is the congressional work calendar that reveals fewer than 150 actual working days per year, with whole months off, scattered three-day work weeks, and Friday sessions rarely occurring.

Category	Congress	Average American Worker
Annual Salary	$174,000+	~$58,000
Workdays per Year	~135 days	~240 days
Paid Time Off	6+ weeks + month recesses	2–3 weeks
Pension Eligibility	After 5 years	20–30 years (if any)

Here is an example of Representative majority leader Steve Scalise’s 2025 work calendar that reports 135 total workdays, and Kevin McCarthy, with 113 total workdays.

When Politics Becomes a Profession

Turn on the news and you’ll hear the same stale question: “But Congressman, don’t these undocumented Gone are the days when people left their careers to serve the country. Today’s Congress has flipped that idea. Some members of Congress use their service to launch careers.

For example, members of the progressive “Squad”, specifically AOC and Rashida Tlaib or figures like Jasmine Crockett, have voting records that often reflect personal ideological crusades, literally with anti-American overtones, not necessarily the will of the people. What’s worse is that they’ve built powerful personal brands, focused on media exposure, confrontation, and identity politics. Their rise to power seems less about “public service” and more about a political lifestyle upgrade, which has turned legislative chambers into social platforms for future endeavors.

Congressional Perks Beyond the Paycheck

Despite the Congressional Stock Trading Act of 2022, which requires each Member of Congress to divest any specified investment owned by the Member, the Member’s spouse, or a dependent of the Member. This requirement applies for the entire period of a member’s service in Congress and for 180 days after that service ceases.

Loopholes and lax enforcement allow legislators to make suspiciously well-timed trades. Many have far outperformed the market, raising questions that never seem to reach the ethics committee. The result is the equivalent of “insider trading”. Over 50% of Congress are already millionaires, far outpacing the average American worker. Having wealth entering Congress is not the issue at hand; it’s using that Congressional wealth and perks for re-election dominance to further one’s wealth.

The Millionaire Club

Government service was never meant to be a lifelong career. Yet there are members of Congress serving 40, 50, even nearly 60 years, building influence, power, and personal wealth, while average Americans face job changes, layoffs, and retirement uncertainty.”

Below is a list of some Congressional millionaires:
Nancy Pelosi: $120 million, Dianne Feinstein: $90+ million, Rick Scott: $200 million, Darrell Issa: Over $300 million, Jared Polis: Over $300 million

Below is a list of present members of Congress with decades of service:
Sen. Chuck Grassley 50 years, Sen. Ed Markey 48 years, Sen. Ron Wyden 44 years, Sen. Chuck Schumer 44 years, Rep. Hal Rogers 44 years, Rep. Chris Smith 44 years, Rep. Steny Hoyer 44 years, Sen. Dick Durbin 42 years, Rep. Marcy Kaptur 42 years, Sen. Mitch McConnell 40 years

Wealth Growth of Congressional Members

Congress should not be a springboard to wealth. It should be a solemn responsibility, a service, not a career. Yet every year, “representatives” grow richer while the country slides deeper into debt and division.

Time for Accountability

A drastic change has occurred in what political parties now represent:

• Democrats represented “Classical Liberalism” which emphasized limited government intervention, free-market capitalism, and personal liberties, while modern liberalism supports an active government, regulated capitalism, social “woke” justice and partisan grandstanding
• Republicans represented “Classic Conservatism”, preserving American values and traditions. Modern conservatism believes in liberty, economic prosperity, and restoring the American dream, using “Common Sense” traditional values for every citizen of this great nation

Unfortunately, special interest donors have assumed the equivalent of party leadership. First Amendment rights have been corrupted by violence accepted as free speech. As a Representative Republic, not a Democracy, the American people have spoken, which is the line that separates freedom from dictatorship.

Common Sense

President Trump is not only our president, but he is also a consummate businessman who brings “Common Sense”, conservative values to American politics and economy, which appear to be detested by Democratic Liberals. Liberalism equates to “anything goes”, which might be acceptable at dinner party discussions, but a total disaster when American lives and the country are at stake.

Final Thought

No matter what your political stripe, a country is defined by its borders, language and culture. Having open borders and a sudden, total dismantling of traditional American values is the equivalent of a government coup. We must hold our elected officials accountable, not just for how they vote, but for how they uphold our American values…ON OUR DIME.

A democracy will exist up until the time the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury. The result is that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.” Alexander Fraser Tyler

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Our Democratic Republic holds in the balance…vote wisely

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