yeah, grand scheme of things a few hundred people getting a salary that's comparable to what they'd get in industry, makes zero difference to total government revenue.

The only reason to make it lower is either out of some weird sanctimonious need to put them in their place, or some idealistic notion that lowering salaries would result in a congress full of serene monk-like sages who exist only to serve their people, when the reality is that it would heavily incentivize even more corruption than we see now.

Give them a million dollars each, and tax them 100% on every penny they make from any other source.

[–] Drusas@fedia.io 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I wouldn't give them that much, but I wouldn't cap it as low as OP suggested.

[–] skisnow@lemmy.ca 5 points 3 days ago

I know it seems like a lot, especially to someone making a regular salary, but I figure it breaks down as $500k for what they would have got working in a similar level position in industry, and $500k to remove any right to complain about not being allowed to keep any of the money from their investments, house sales, book sales, media residuals etc. It's a number that pretty much everyone can be equally unhappy with.

I'm not simping for millionaires here, just trying to navigate a realistic solution to the underlying problems of corruption and billionaire-level wealth inequality.