Federal Government
Risch, Crapo Charitable Vows For Wages Unacceptable
October 1, 2013 
A story by Statesman writer Dan Popkey about the federal shutdown reports, “Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch say they will donate the portion of their $174,000 annual pay earned during the shutdown to charity.
Such a simplistic move by our elected officials illustrates the problem. They have no shame.
These guys shutdown the government then proclaim, “We will accept the public’s cash for not working, donate that public money to our favorite private charity, and deduct it from our income tax.” The donation comes out of the pockets of the United States Taxpayer, not the senators.
THE MONEY SHOULD GO BACK TO THE UNITED STATES TREASURY however minuscule the amount may be. The gesture is otherwise empty and deceptive. They don’t deserve to have the taxpayers fund donations to charity in their names.
Those workers who were furloughed shouldn’t be paid for not working either. Even though it wasn’t their fault, we taxpayers get nothing for our dollars. Get laid off at a private firm which is poorly managed and you don’t get back pay. Try telling YOUR boss, “I am going to take time off, but I want you to pay me anyway so I can donate my wages to my favorite charity while I am gone.”
Americans are tired of this crap. Washington needs to look to Greece, Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia to see what happens when a citizenry reaches its limits of abuse. With a 16% approval rating, the days in office are numbered for many along the Potomac.
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Comments & Discussion
Comments are closed for this post.
Oct 2, 2013, 1:06 am
Somehow statements like these from our Honorable Senators and Representatives just cause me to have to call in the bull sh*t monitor repairman, again,
Oct 2, 2013, 6:20 am
Risch and Crapo just need to go. Vote them out. Neither have represented Idaho’s for years.
Oct 2, 2013, 8:20 am
My wife lived in west Yellowstone when the federal government shut down, closing the park. Just as snowmobile season was to start and provide the tourist dollars the town is dependent upon. The shut down really hurt a lot of families and businesses. It is a shame that both political parties are putting politics and special interests in the way of compromise, and they are hurting a lot of business and families.
Oct 2, 2013, 9:30 am
Let me try and understand this. Congress is in session only 126 days in 2013. The other 239 +/- days Congress is basically “shut down”, while these guys and gals are campaigning, fund raising and vacationing.
I need a job like this!
EDITOR NOTE–There may be some openings coming soon if only voters have a memory.
Oct 2, 2013, 10:39 am
This gesture also illuminates another issue that you didn’t identify, Dave. Namely, both Risch and Crapo are plenty wealthy that forgoing a few paychecks isn’t that big of a deal. Wouldn’t it be nice if some of our representatives in Congress actually knew what it meant to live paycheck to paycheck?
Oct 2, 2013, 10:53 am
Guardian- a spectacular point which well illustrates the cluelessness of these self absorbed buffoons. I heard on the radio this morning that Simpson was already introducing legislation to refund national parks….after just 1 day of shutdown. Unprincipled, fake leadership has us at $17 Trillion of debt, with inflationary consequences that are wiping out the middle class- and that’s all the better they can do? Their stupidity and incompetence would be funny if it wasn’t so sad….and serious.
Oct 2, 2013, 11:57 am
Just yesterday, I was reviewing LIFE magazine’s Aug., 1969 special issue on Woodstock. I was struck by Hugh Romney’s (later Wavy Gravy) comment that they were having cream pies and seltzer bottle flown in for security—clown ammo. Wouldn’t it be fun to dress up as a bunch of clowns and visit these clowns’ offices properly armed?
Hmm…could this be considered a terrorism threat?
Oct 2, 2013, 2:28 pm
I kind of like the idea that the House of Representatives is working on funding various agencies that have an effect on the people also known as constituents. This is a true form of zero based budgeting. You provide funds for what is important and then let the fat and waste die for not being fed.
Under the normal Congress, just add a percentage and everything just gets more expensive but nothing gets done.
Have you watched the local TV channels? Some people are actually going on-camera wailing on how they are actually being affected – Right Now! Since most of us wait for a paycheck every couple of weeks or once per month, how can a few hours really hurt people on day one?
Oct 2, 2013, 2:37 pm
There is no difference between D & R anymore. Both are lie, tax & spend. They are working from a script because the news today was predicted in the media weeks ago.
With today’s modern high-speed, secure, reliable, and easy to access communications… I see no reason whatsoever to have a representative government. We can all instantly represent ourselves. Yes I’m talking about a total lockout of these worthless bums from bother parties.
Until we vote out the congress entirely: For each new law, two laws must be repealed. Each new law must be less than 100 words, have one focal point, and fit on one page of 8 x 11 paper. No earmarks. House and Senate term limits to one term. Only two paid staffers. One Presidential term of 6 years. AirForce One is to be sold in favor of making skype calls…etc etc.
Oct 2, 2013, 6:50 pm
Vote them out. Good luck with that. With the 2010 gerrymandering by the GOP none of these criminals, because truly that is what they are, will be held accountable.
Oct 3, 2013, 8:40 am
Can these miscreants be charged with treason? After all, they are attempting to stand in the way of a law that was voted in, confirmed by SCOTUS and affirmed with Obama’s reelection.
Oct 3, 2013, 8:59 am
Unfortunately, the Idaho citizens are too stupid to vote the bums out. All of our representatives know this too. Ever write a letter to one and see the crap(o) sent back in response? Like talking to a fence post.
Oct 3, 2013, 9:29 am
American’s are starting to see through this and understand that Obama is a vindictive whining baby who clearly has a lot of hatred for America and the citizens of this country.
Oct 3, 2013, 3:17 pm
…yeah, Zippo, that’s why he’s made it possible for all of those citizens, like the citizens of every other developed country in the world, to get medical insurance.
Oct 3, 2013, 8:48 pm
Way to prove my point Zip!
Oct 5, 2013, 1:58 am
Not free dog & rabula publice, Not affordable either, Not gonna fly, Gonna be fun to watch it flop. Might create prohibition-like organized black market too.
rabu, Still trying to figure out why the citizens of the world come to the USA for healthcare when they can supposedly get high quality care for free at home? Help me out here dude.
PS: Let us know what your análisis de costo beneficio is after ya sign up.
Oct 6, 2013, 1:45 pm
First of all, Zip, I signed up a long time ago—for our only single-payer health insurance program. It’s called Medicare; I paid premiums for more than 40 years and have been benefiting therefrom for eight. It’s been working great. All it needs is tweaking to remain solvent going forward. Raising the taxed income limit will fix both Medicare and Social Security.
You may be correct about the Affordable Care Act ultimately flopping: it was co-opted by the insurance companies from the get-go, and they are a major part of the problem. What a concept: Insurance companies running a country’s health care system!